Wk2 Lecture1

DC Circuits
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Lecture Overview

➢ Ohm’s Law

➢ Electrical Resistance

➢ Resistivity

➢ Ohmic and non-ohmic conductors

➢ Superconductivity

➢ Resistors in Series and Parallel

➢ Voltage Divider
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Ohm’s Law
Under normal circumstances, wires present some resistance to
the motion of electrons. Ohm’s law relates the voltage to the
current:

Ohm’s law:
The current flowing through a resistor at a constant
temperature is directly proportional to the voltage across the
resistor.

▪ Ohm’s law is not a universal law and is only useful for

certain materials (which include most metallic conductors).

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Electrical Resistance
The ratio between V and I is defined as the
resistance of a component:
V
I R
The unit of resistance, volts per ampere, are called ohms:

• Note that the resistance equation can be used for both Ohmic
and non-Ohmic components
• For a component to obey Ohm’s law, the resistance must be
constant.
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Electrical Power
In materials for which Ohm’s law holds, the power can also
be written as:

This power mostly becomes heat inside the resistive

material.
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Resistivity
Resistivity ():
▪ Two wires of the same length and diameter will have different
resistances if they are made of different materials.

This property of a material is called the resistivity ().

where,
L = the length of the conductor (m).
A = its cross-sectional area (m2).
 = resistivity (m)
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Resistivity
The difference between insulators, semiconductors, and
conductors can be clearly seen in their resistivities.

 = resistivity (m)

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Worked Example:
 copper = 1.68 x 10-8(m)
1) A cell supplies 48 J of energy to each 8 coulombs of charge
that passes through it. What is the cell’s voltage?

2) A fixed resistor has a resistance of 480 ohms. What is the

p.d. across the element when a current of 0.400 A passes
through it?

3) A copper wire of length 70 cm has a diameter of 0.52 mm.

Calculate its resistance.

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Solution:
1) Cell’s voltage
E 48
V = = =6𝑉
Q 8

2) Potential difference across the element

V = IR = 0.400 × 480 = 192 𝑉

3) The resistance
A =  r2 =   (0.26 10 −3 ) 2  A = 2.110 −7 m 2

L 1.68  10−8  0.70

R= = = 0.056 
A 2.1  10−7
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Ohmic vs Non-ohmic conductors
I-V graphs can tell us whether a component obeys Ohm’s law or not.

Constant gradient Changing gradient

I I

V V

Does it obey Ohm’s law ? Yes Does it obey Ohm’s law ? No

Example: Metal resistor Example: Light bulb

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Ohmic vs Non-ohmic conductors
I-V graphs for ohmic and non-ohmic conductors

I
I

V V

Resistor Filament lamp

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Ohmic vs Non-ohmic conductors

▪ In a semiconductor, the Current (I)

resistance varies with current.

▪ The graph of current against

voltage for a silicon diode is
shown here. Voltage (V)

▪ The voltage across the diode

needed to switch it on (this is also
known as the threshold p.d.) is
Silicon diode (LED)
approximately 0.7 volts.
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Resistance vs Temperature
▪ In general, the resistance of materials goes up as the
temperature goes up, due to thermal effects. This property can
be used in thermometers.

Resistance

Thermistor
Metallic Conductor

Temperature

Unlike a metallic conductor, a thermistor has a resistance which

falls with rising temperature,. This allows the current in an
expensive lamp filament to be limited when the lamp is cold.
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Superconductivity
▪ There is a certain class of materials called superconductors in
which the resistivity drops suddenly to zero at a finite
temperature, called the critical temperature TC.

▪ TC may be above 100 K (-173 oC) and research is being carried

out to find ‘room temperature’ superconductors.
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Resistors in Series
Series Connection:

▪ Resistors connected end to end are said to be in series.

▪ They can be replaced by a single equivalent resistance without
changing the current in the circuit.

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Resistors in Series
Series Connection:

▪ The current through the series resistors must be the same in

each resistor.

▪ The total potential difference is the sum of the potential

differences across each resistor

Thus, the equivalent resistance is:

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Resistors in Parallel
Parallel Connection:

▪ Resistors are in parallel when

they are across the same
potential difference.

▪ They can again be replaced by

a single equivalent resistance:

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Resistors in Parallel
Parallel Connection:

▪ The potential difference across each resistor is the same.

▪ The total current is the sum of the currents in each resistor.

Thus, the equivalent resistance is:

▪ Note that this equation gives you the inverse of the resistance,
not the resistance itself!
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Parallel & Series circuits
▪ If a circuit is more complex, start with combinations of resistors
that are either purely in series or in parallel.

▪ Replace these with their equivalent resistances

▪ As you go on you will be able to replace more and more of
them.

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Worked Examples

1) Work out the equivalent resistance of the circuit shown below.

R1 = 2 

R2 = 10  R3 = 10 

R4 = 5 

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Solution
R1 = 2 

R2 = 10  R3 = 10 

R4 = 5 

R1 = 2 

R2 = 10  R3 = 10  R23 = 5 

R4 = 5 

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Solution

R23 = 5 
Requivalent = 12 

Therefore, the equivalent resistance of the circuit (Req) is:

R1 = 2 

R2 = 10  R3 = 10  Requivalent = 12 

R4 = 5 
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Worked Examples:
I1
12.0 
I I
2.0 
I1 I2
9.0  4.0 
I
I2
3.0 
6.0 V
3) Calculate (a) the combined resistance of
4.5 V the 12 and 4.0 (b) Req (c) I (d) I1 (e) I2
2) Calculate: (a) Req (b) I1 (c ) I2 (d) I
10.0  4.0 

4) Calculate (a) Req (b) I 15.0  2.0 

24.0 V
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Solution:
1. a) 1/Req = 1/R1 + 1/R2 = 1/3 + 1/9 2. a) 1/R = 1/R1 + 1/R2 = 1/4 + 1/12
1/R = (3+1)/12 = 4/12
1/Req = (3+1)/9 = 4/9 R = 12/4 = 3 Ω
Req = 9/4 = 2.25 Ω b) Req = 3 + 2 = 5 Ω
c) I = V/Req = 6.0/5.0 = 1.2A
b) I1 = V/R1 = 4.5/9 = 0.5A
c) I2 = V/R2 = 4.5/3 = 1.5A d) I2 = 3 x I1 and I1 + I2 = 1.2A
d) I = I1 + I2 = 0.5 + 1.5 = 2.0A I2 = 0.9A I1 = 0.3A

3.a) 1/Rp = 1/10 + 1/15 = (3+2)/30 =5/30

Rp = 30/5 = 6 Ω
Req = 6 + 4 + 2 = 12 Ω

3.b) I = V/ Req
I = 24/12 =
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Voltage Divider

▪ A ‘voltage divider’ may be

used to obtain a reduced R1
voltage.
Vin

▪ Each resistor carries the

source current. R2 Vout

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Worked Examples:
1) What is the voltage (Vout) shown
i
on the voltmeter?

Solution: R1 = 6Ω

In a series connection, we get:

Vin = 12V

Vin = V1 + V2 Vin = i  R1 + i  R2
R2 = 6Ω Vout
Vin 12
i= = = 1 amp
R1 + R2 6+6

Vout = i  R2 = 1 amp  6  = 6 V

The voltmeter shows 6V, as the voltage is shared equally between

the resistors.
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Worked Examples:

i
2) In the circuit shown on the
right, R1 = 6 Ω. What value of
R2 is required to make the
R1 = 6Ω
voltmeter read 8 V?

Vin = 12V

R2 = ?? Vout

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Solution:

The current in the chain of i

resistors is:
12
i=
6 + R2
R1 = 6Ω

Vin = 12V
and the voltage shown on the
voltmeter is then:
R2 = ?? Vout

12  R2
i  R2 = = 8V
6 + R2
Solving, R2 = 12Ω.
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Circuit Symbols

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Circuit Symbols
Can you draw the circuit symbols for these components?

Component Symbol Component Symbol

Cell Voltmeter
Battery Resistor
Variable
Switch
resistor/Rheostat
Light dependent
Lamp/bulb
resistor (LDR)
Wire Thermistor
Motor Diode
Light emitting diode
Ammeter
(LED)
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Circuit Symbols
Can you draw the circuit symbols for these components?
Component Symbol
Cell

Battery

Switch

Lamp/bulb

Wire

Motor

Ammeter
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Circuit Symbols
Can you draw the circuit symbols for these components?

Component Symbol
Voltmeter
Resistor
Variable
resistor/Rheostat
Light dependent resistor
(LDR)
Thermistor
Diode
Light emitting diode
(LED)
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Summary

❖ Equivalent resistance for resistors in series:

❖ Inverse of the equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel:

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Summary
❖ Direction of current is the direction positive charges would
move.

❖ Ohm’s law:

❖ Relation of resistance to resistivity:

❖ Resistivity generally increases with temperature.

❖ The resistance of a superconductor drops suddenly to zero

at the critical temperature, TC.

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Summary
❖ The potential energy: E = QV

E
❖ The power in electrical circuit: P=
t

❖ Power in an electric circuit:

❖ If the material obeys Ohm’s law:

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 The End
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Now that you have watched lecture 1 you should

attempt the seminar 2 questions.

You will find these in the seminar 2 folder.

It is vital that you do these before logging into seminar 2
as your tutor will be going through the model answers
for these questions.

Make sure you refer back to the lecture and look at the
relevant pages of your online textbook.
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