Lesson 4

Applications of Circuits
 Focus Question

How are circuits used in your home and

school?
 New Vocabulary

short circuit
circuit breaker
fuse
ground-fault interrupter
combination series-parallel circuit
 Safety Devices

• A short circuit occurs when a circuit with very low

resistance is formed. The low resistance causes the
current to be very large.
• When appliances are connected in parallel, each
additional appliance placed in operation reduces the
equivalent resistance in the circuit and increases the
current through the wires.
• This additional current might produce enough
thermal energy to melt the wiring’s insulation, cause
a short circuit, or even begin a fire.
 Safety Devices

A circuit breaker is an automatic switch that opens

when the current reaches a threshold value.
 Safety Devices

• If there is a current in the circuit greater than the

threshold value, the circuit becomes overloaded, and
the circuit breaker opens and stops the current.
• Sometimes, a faulty appliance or an accidental drop
of the appliance into water might create another
current pathway. If this pathway flows through the
user, serious injury could result.
 Safety Devices

• A fuse is a short piece of metal that melts when too

large a current passes through it. If a large, unsafe
current passes through the circuit, the fuse melts and
breaks the circuit.
• A ground-fault interrupter in an electric outlet
prevents such injuries because it contains an
electronic circuit that detects small differences in
current caused by an extra current path and opens the
circuit.
 Combined Series-Parallel Circuits

• When you turn on a hair dryer, the light in your

bathroom or bedroom dims.
• Because of the parallel connection, you would not
expect the current through the light to change when
you turned on the hair dryer.
• Yet the light did dim, so the current must have
changed.
 Combined Series-Parallel Circuits

• The dimming occurred because the house wiring had

a small resistance that is in series with the parallel
circuit.
• A circuit that includes series and parallel branches is
called a combination series-parallel circuit.
 Combined Series-Parallel Circuits
When analyzing a series-parallel
circuit, use the following steps
to break down the problem.
1.Draw a schematic diagram.
2.Find any parallel resistors.
Calculate the equivalent
resistance of a single resistor
that can replace them. Draw a
new schematic using that
resistor.
 Combined Series-Parallel Circuits
3. Are any resistors (including the
equivalent resistor) now in series?
Calculate a single new equivalent
resistance that can replace them.
Draw a new schematic diagram
using that resistor.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you can
reduce the circuit to a single resistor.
Find the total circuit current. Then
go backward through the circuits to
find the currents through and the
potential differences across
individual resistors.
Combined Series-Parallel Circuits
Response
Use with Example Problem 4. SKETCH AND ANALYZE THE PROBLEM
• Add current notations to the diagram.
Problem • List the knowns and unknowns.
An air conditioner with a resistance of
50.0 Ω (R1) and a computer with a resistance of KNOWN UNKNOWN
20.0 Ω (R2) are connected in parallel to a 120.0-V R1 = 50.0 Ω R3 = 2.00 Ω I2, ac on = ?
source through a 2.00-Ω resistor (R3) in series, as R2 = 20.0 Ω ΔV = 120.0 V I2, ac off = ?
shown below. Find the current through the
computer when the air conditioner is and is not SOLVE FOR THE UNKNOWN
running. When the air conditioning is on:
• Determine the equivalent resistance.
I=? I1 = ? I2 = ? R|| 
R1R2

50.0 20.0   14.3 
R1  R2 50.0   20.0 
R  R3  R||  2.00   14.3   6.3 
• Determine the current through the source.
I3 = I Vsource 120.0 V
I    7.36 A
R 16.3 
Combined Series-Parallel Circuits
Response
Use with Example Problem 4. SKETCH AND ANALYZE THE PROBLEM
• Add current notations to the diagram.
Problem • List the knowns and unknowns.
An air conditioner with a resistance of 50.0 Ω (R1)
and a computer with a resistance of 20.0 Ω (R2) KNOWN UNKNOWN
are connected in parallel to a 120.0-V source R1 = 50.0 Ω R3 = 2.00 Ω I2, ac on = ?
through a 2.00-Ω resistor (R3) in series, as shown R2 = 20.0 Ω ΔV = 120.0 V I2, ac off = ?
below. Find the current through the computer
when the air conditioner is and is not running. SOLVE FOR THE UNKNOWN
When the air conditioning is on:
• Use the loop rule to determine the voltage drop
I= I1 = ? I2 = ? across the computer.
7.36A Vsource  V1  V3
V1  V2  Vsource  V3  Vsource  I 3R3
 120.0 V  7.36 A2.00   105.3 V
I3 = I • Determine the current through the computer.
V 105.3 V
I2  2   5.26 A
R2 20.0 
Combined Series-Parallel Circuits
Response
Use with Example Problem 4. SKETCH AND ANALYZE THE PROBLEM
• Add current notations to the diagram.
Problem • List the knowns and unknowns.
An air conditioner with a resistance of 50.0 Ω (R1)
and a computer with a resistance of 20.0 Ω (R2) KNOWN UNKNOWN
are connected in parallel to a 120.0-V source R1 = 50.0 Ω R3 = 2.00 Ω I2, ac on = 5.26 A
through a 2.00-Ω resistor (R3) in series, as shown R2 = 20.0 Ω ΔV = 120.0 V I2, ac off = ?
below. Find the current through the computer
when the air conditioner is and is not running. SOLVE FOR THE UNKNOWN
When the air conditioning is off:
• Use the circuit analysis for a basic series circuit.
I=? I1 = 0 I2 = I
R  R3  R2  2.00   20.0   22.0 
Vsource 120.0 V
I  I2    5.45 A
R 22.0 
I3 = I EVALUATE THE ANSWER
• The current through the computer is larger
when the air conditioning is off, as expected.
 Ammeters
• An ammeter is a device
that is used to measure
the current in any
branch or part of a
circuit.
• To measure the current
through a resistor, you
would place an
ammeter
in series with the
resistor.
 Ammeters
• Ideally, the use of an
ammeter should not
change the current
in the circuit.
• Because the current
would decrease if the
ammeter increased the
resistance in the circuit,
the resistance of an
ammeter is designed to
be as low as possible.
 Voltmeters
• Another instrument,
called a voltmeter, is
used to measure the
voltage drop across a
portion of a circuit.
• To measure the
potential drop across a
resistor, a voltmeter is
connected in parallel
with the resistor.
 Voltmeters
Voltmeters are
designed to have a
very high resistance
so as to cause the
smallest possible
change in the
current through and
the voltage across
the resistor.
 Quiz

1. What is a circuit with very low resistance called?

A short circuit CORRECT

B fuse circuit

C uninterrupted circuit

D ground-fault interrupter
 Quiz

2. What electrical safety device is used in a bathroom

or kitchen where water is present?

A fuse

B short circuit

C ground-fault interrupter CORRECT

D circuit breaker
 Quiz

3. Which device is used to measure the current in

any branch or part of a circuit?

A meter

B ammeter CORRECT

C voltmeter

D circuit meter
 Quiz

4. Which instrument is used to measure the potential

difference across a portion of a circuit?

A meter

B ammeter

C circuit meter

D voltmeter CORRECT