Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and

Technology, Topi, Pakistan

ME203
Circuits and Electronic Devices

Lecture No: 05

Instructor
Dr. Abid Imran
------Faculty of Mechanical Engineering------ 1
 Outline of the lecture

• Series Circuits
• Parallel circuits

2
 Series Circuits: Application of Ohm Law
Example: Red LED will always have a 1.7 V across it
Together, the rheostat and the fixed resistor will have a total of
3.3 V across them.
Assume you want current in the LED from 2.5 mA (dim) to a 10 mA
(bright). What would be the value of values of and .
Solution:
Start with the brightest condition 𝑅1=0 Ω
No voltage across and across
𝑉 3.3
Series circuit so same current through & Led. 𝑅2 = = =330 Ω
𝐼 0.01
Total resistance to limit the current to + Now the voltage drop across

𝑉 3.3 𝑹𝟏 =𝑹𝑻 − 𝑹𝟐=𝟗𝟗𝟎 Ω

𝑅𝑇 = = =1.32 𝐾 Ω
𝐼 0.0025

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 Series Circuits: Application of Ohm Law

• Tabulating current, resistance, voltage and power is a

useful way to summarize parameters in a series circuit.

𝑉 =𝐼𝑅 𝑃=𝐼 2 𝑅

I1= 2.74 mA R1= 0.68 kW V1= 1.86 V P1= 5.1 mW

I2= 2.74 mA R2= 1.50 kW V2= 4.11 V P2= 11.3 mW

I3= 2.74 mA R3= 2.20 kW V3= 6.03 V P3= 16.5 mW

IT= 2.74 mA RT= 4.38 kW VS= 12 V PT= 32.9 mW

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 Series Circuits: Voltage source in series

• When two or more voltage sources are in series, the

total voltage is equal to the algebraic sum of the
individual source voltages.

• Voltage sources in series add algebraically. For example,

the total voltage of the sources shown is 27 V

• What is the total voltage if one battery is reversed?

9V
 Series Circuits: Kirchhoff’s voltage law

• The voltages across the resistors (voltage drops) always have

polarities opposite to the source voltage polarity

Kirchhoff’s voltage law is generally stated as:

The sum of all the voltage drops around a single closed path in a
circuit is equal to the total source voltage in that loop.

The algebraic sum of all the voltages (both source and drops)
around a single closed path is zero.
 Series Circuits: Kirchhoff’s voltage law

Find the resistance

Voltage across each resistor (Ohm Law)

Next use KVL to find

𝑽 𝟒=34.3 V

Calculate by using Ohm law.

𝑉 4 34.3
𝑅 4= = =3.43 𝐾 Ω
𝐼 0.01
 Series Circuits: Kirchhoff’s voltage law

• Notice in the series example given earlier that the sum of

the resistor voltages is equal to the source voltage.

𝑉 =𝐼𝑅 𝑃=𝐼 2 𝑅

I1= 2.74 mA R1= 0.68 kW V1= 1.86 V P1= 5.1 mW

I2= 2.74 mA R2= 1.50 kW V2= 4.11 V P2= 11.3 mW

I3= 2.74 mA R3= 2.20 kW V3= 6.03 V P3= 16.5 mW

IT= 2.74 mA RT= 4.38 kW VS= 12 V PT= 32.9 mW

 Series Circuits: Voltage divider

• A circuit consisting of a series string of resistors

connected to a voltage source acts as a voltage divider

Apply KVL −𝑉 𝑠 +𝑉 1 +𝑉 2=0

𝑉 𝑠 =𝑉 1+𝑉 2

• The total voltage drop around a single closed path divides among the series
resistors in amounts directly proportional to the resistance values

𝑉 𝑠 =𝐼 𝑅1 + 𝐼 𝑅 2
 Series Circuits: Voltage divider formula

• Let represent the voltage drop across any one of

the resistors with resistance as

Apply Ohm Law

𝑉 𝑥 =𝐼𝑅 𝑥 𝑎

Current in series circuit

𝑉𝑠
𝐼=
𝑅𝑇
Equation will become
𝑉 𝑥=
𝑉𝑠
𝑅
𝑅𝑇 𝑥
𝑉 𝑥=
{ }
𝑅𝑥
𝑅𝑇
𝑉
𝑠

The voltage drop across any resistor or combination of resistors in a series circuit is equal to the
ratio of that resistance value to the total resistance, multiplied by the source voltage.
 Series Circuits: Voltage divider: Example

• Determine (the voltage across ) and (the voltage

across )

Voltage Divider formula 𝑉 𝑥=

{ }
𝑅𝑥
𝑅𝑇
𝑉
𝑠

Substitute 𝑉 1=
{ }
𝑅1
𝑅𝑇
𝑉
𝑠

Total resistance 𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1+ 𝑅2=156 Ω

Voltage Voltage

by applying KVL

𝑉 𝑠 =𝑉 1+𝑉 2 𝑉 2=𝑉 𝑠 −𝑉 1 ⇒ 10 −6.41=𝟑 .𝟓𝟗 𝑽

 Series Circuits: Voltage divider: Example

What is the voltage across R2?

The total resistance is 25 kW.

Applying the voltage divider formula:

Notice that 40% of the source voltage is

across R2, which represents 40% of the
total resistance.
 Series Circuits: Voltage divider: Example
Voltage between two points

𝑉 𝑥=
{ }
𝑅𝑥
𝑅𝑇
𝑉
𝑠

A Potentiometer as an Adjustable Voltage Divider

 Different methods: voltage

Voltage across each resistor (Ohm Law)

Voltage across each resistor by applying (Voltage division rule)

𝑉 1=
{ }
𝑅1
𝑅𝑇
𝑉 =1 𝑉
𝑠

Voltage across
each resistor)
𝑉 2=
{ }𝑅2
𝑅𝑇
𝑉 =3.3 𝑉
𝑠

𝑉 3=
{ }𝑅3
𝑅𝑇
𝑉 =4.7 𝑉
𝑠
 Series Circuits: Power
• The power dissipated by each individual resistor in a series circuit contributes to the
total power in the circuit.

• The total amount of power in a series resistive circuit is equal to the sum of the
powers in each resistor in series.

• Power formulas are applicable to series circuits. Since there is the same current
through each resistor in series,

𝑉 𝑠2
𝑃 𝑇 =𝑽 𝒔 𝐼 2
𝑃 𝑇 =𝐼 𝑹 𝑻 𝑃𝑇=
𝑹𝑻
 Series Circuits: POWER

Power in Series Circuits

• Use the voltage divider rule to find V1 and V2. Then find
the power in R1 and R2 and PT.

Applying the voltage divider rule: The power dissipated by each resistor is:

} PT = 0.5 W
 Series Circuits: Power
Determine if the indicated power rating (0.5 W) of each
resistor is sufficient to handle the actual power when the
switch is closed. If a rating is not adequate, specify the
required minimum rating.

Calculate total resistance:

𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅1+ 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 + 𝑅 4 =𝟕 .𝟗𝟏 𝑲 𝜴

𝑉 𝑠 120
Current in series circuit: 𝐼= =
3
×10 =15 𝑚𝐴
𝑅𝑇 7.91

Power of each resistor

𝑃 1=( 𝐼 ¿ ¿ ❑)2 𝑅=(15 ×10 −3 )2 ×1.0 × 103 =𝟐𝟐𝟓 𝒎𝑾 ¿
𝑃 2=( 𝐼 ¿ ¿ ❑)2 𝑅=(15 ×10 −3 )2 × 2.7 ×10 3=𝟔𝟎𝟖 𝒎𝑾 ¿
𝑃 3=( 𝐼 ¿ ¿❑)2 𝑅=(15 × 10−3 )2 × 0.9 ×10 3=𝟐𝟎𝟓 𝒎𝑾 ¿ and Do not have a rating sufficient to
handle the actual power,
𝑃 4 =( 𝐼 ¿ ¿❑)2 𝑅=(15 ×10− 3)2 ×3.3 × 103 =𝟕𝟒𝟑 𝒎𝑾 ¿ Use 1 W power rating.
 Series Circuits: Circuit Ground

• The term “ground” typically means a

common or reference point in the circuit.

• Voltages that are given with respect to ground are shown with a
single subscript. For example, VA means the voltage at point A with
respect to ground. VB means the voltage at point B with respect to
ground. VAB means the voltage between points A and B.

What are VA, VB, and VAB for the circuit shown?

VA = 12 V VB = 8 V VAB = 4 V
 Key Terms
Circuit ground A method of grounding whereby the metal chassis that houses the
assembly or a large conductive area on a printed circuit board is
used as a common or reference point; also called chassis ground.

Kirchhoff’s A law stating that (1) the sum of the voltage drops around a closed
voltage law loop equals the source voltage in that loop or (2) the algebraic
sum of all of the voltages (drops and source) is zero.

Open A circuit condition in which the current path is broken.

 Key Terms

Series In an electric circuit, a relationship of components in which the

components are connected such that they provide a single path
between two points.

A circuit condition in which there is zero or an abnormally low

Short
resistance between two points; usually an inadvertent condition.

Voltage divider A circuit consisting of series resistors across which one or more
output voltages are taken.
BOOK: Thomas L. Floyd - Principles of Electric Circuits_ Conventional Current
Version-Pearson Education Limited (2013)

Chapter 5:
Section 1-9

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 Parallel Circuits
• A parallel circuit provides more than one path for current.
• Each current path is called a branch, and a parallel circuit is one that has more than one branch.

When two or more resistors are individually connected between two

separate points (nodes) in a circuit, they are in parallel with each other.

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 Parallel Circuits
A rule for identifying parallel circuits
• If there is more than one current path (branch) between two separate points and
• if the voltage between those two points also appears across each of the branches, then there
is a parallel circuit between those two points.

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 Voltage in a parallel circuit

• The voltage across any given branch of a parallel circuit is equal to the voltage across
each of the other branches in parallel

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 Voltage in a parallel circuit: EXAMPLE

Parallel circuit rule for voltage

• Because all components are connected across the same voltage source, the voltage
across each is the same.

• For example, the source voltage is 5.0 V. What will a volt- meter read if it is placed
across each of the resistors?

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