EDEXCEL NATIONAL CERTIFICATE

UNIT 38 – ELECTRICAL and ELECTRONIC PRINCIPLES

OUTCOME 1
1 Circuit analysis methods, simple dc circuits

DC circuit analysis methods: dc circuit theory, Ohm's law, algebraic formulation of

Kirchhoff's laws, potential division, current division, power formulae, resistance networks,
nodes in circuits; internal resistance of a dc source; diode and its characteristic, forward
and reverse bias modes

Circuits: combinations of series and parallel resistances and sources of EMF, to test above
theorems; determination of internal resistance by measurement; simple diode forward and
reverse bias testing using a multimeter

CONTENTS

o BASIC THEORY

o RESISTORS
• Fixed resistors – types, construction and symbols.
• Colour Codes
• Variable Resistors – – types, construction and symbols.
o OHM’S LAW

o ELECTRIC POWER

o KIRCHOFF’S LAW

o RESISTORS IN SERIES
• Voltage Dividers

o RESISTORS IN PARALLEL
• Current Dividers

o RESISTOR NETWORKS

o INTERNAL RESISTANCE AND E.M.F.

o DIODES

© D.J.Dunn 1
1. BASIC ELECTRICAL THEORY

If you have already studies the very basic theory you should skip this section.

Electricity is conducted through a substance by the movement of electrons from one molecule to another.
Each electron possesses energy so the flow of electricity transfers energy from one place to another rather
like how a flow of liquid can transport energy from one place to another.

Some materials such as copper have atoms with a large number of orbiting electrons so electrons jump
easily from one to another. Other materials have few electrons (e.g. polymers and glass) so they do not
conduct electricity very well. In order to make electricity flow along a conductor, a force is needed to
make them jump from one atom to another. This is the voltage or potential difference. Voltage is rather
like pressure in a pipe which is needed to make a liquid flow along it.

Fluids do not flow easily through a pipe because of the frictional resistance. If you wish to make a fluid
flow faster, the pressure behind it must be increased. If the pipe is long and narrow the pressure required
is much larger than if it was short and wide. In the same way, if an electrical conductor has lots of free
electrons, a smaller voltage is needed to make them flow than for a conductor with few free electrons.

Wherever friction is present, a force is needed to cause movement and energy is lost as heat as a result.
This is true when you slide an object on a rough surface or if you force fluid through a restriction. The
same is also true of conductors. A large voltage is needed to make the electrons flow through a poor
conductor and it heats up as a result and loses energy. The property which governs how easily the
electrons flow is called RESISTANCE (R).

Note the analogy between Voltage Force Pressure.

also between Current movement Flow rate.
also between Resistance Friction Restriction.

Each electron carries a small amount of energy equal to 160.25 x 10-21 Joules per Volt. The greater the
voltage, the greater this energy becomes. The total energy per volt is called the CHARGE (Q) and this is
measured in Coulombs.

Electrical energy = Charge x Volts = Q V

The charge transferred per second is called the CURRENT (I) and this is measured in Amperes (A).

Current = Charge/second = Q/time = I Amps.

1 Amp = 1 Coulomb per second.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 1

1. A charge of 500 Coulombs flows through a conductor in 200 seconds. What is the average current?
(2.5 A)

2. A Battery holds a charge of 2000 Coulombs at a potential of 12 Volts. What is the energy stored?
(24000 Joules)

© D.J.Dunn 2
2. RESISTORS

If you are already familiar with the various types of resistors, you should skip section 2

A resistor is an electrical component specifically designed to resist the flow of electric current. The
resistance is measured in Ohms (Ω). Resistors may be fixed in value or designed to have the resistance
varied. In order to resist the flow of current they produce heat so they are made to dissipate different heat
rates (the Wattage value).

FIXED RESISTORS

The most common form of construction is a ceramic tube coated in a resistor material. This may be a
carbon film, a metal oxide film or a metal film. The resistors are generally larger for higher wattage
ratings. The wire wound resistor is generally used for high heat dissipation rates. The heat produced by
resistors may cause the resistance value to change and affect the electronic circuit of which it is a part.
The type and size must be chosen carefully to suit the application.

COLOUR CODE

Band 1 represents the first digit.

Band 2 represents the second digit.
Band 3 represents the number of zeros following the second digit.
Band 4 represents the tolerance and has the following codes.

Black 0 Green 5
Brown 1 Blue 6
Red 2 Violet 7
Orange 3 Grey 8
Yellow 4 White 9

None ±20% Silver ±10% Gold ±5% Red ±2%

For example a colour code of yellow, Violet and Orange would translate into 47000 Ω or 47 kΩ.

© D.J.Dunn 3
VARIABLE RESISTORS

A variable resistor is a two terminal device and the resistance value between them may be adjusted. A
potentiometer is a three terminal device and the resistance between one end the sliding contact may be
varied to produce different voltages (potentials).

The diagram shows the construction of a typical rotary potentiometer. The track is made from a film or
from resistance wire. When the spindle is rotated, the sliding contact moves along the track and the
resistance value between the middle and end terminals change.

The construction of a simple wire wound linear potentiometer is shown below.

A typical circuit for a potentiometer is shown below. The supply voltage Vs is usually constant and the
output voltage Vo is varied by moving the contact. This is often used to control electronic circuits.

© D.J.Dunn 4
3 OHM'S LAW

Ohm discovered that the current ‘I’ flowing

through a resistance is directly proportional to
the voltage across it. The circuit shows how a
voltmeter and ammeter may be used to prove
this.

If the voltage V is varied and the current is I measured, it is found that V/ I = constant

The constant is the resistance R and has units of Volts per Ampere but this is commonly known as the
Ohm (Ω).
V/ I = R
4 ELECTRIC POWER

Electrons carry energy and this is given by Energy = Volts x Charge = VQ

Power is energy per second so the electric power is

P = E/second = V Q/Second

Charge per second is the current I Amperes. It follows that the power contained in an electric current is
P = VI

The formula may be presented in other ways by substituting Ohm's law into it. from Ohm's law we have
V = IR and I = V/R.

Substituting for V gives P = I2R

Substituting for I gives P = V2/R

5 KIRCHOFF'S RULE

This rule concerns the currents flowing in and out of a junction. It simply states that the total current
entering a junction equals the total current leaving the junction. Consider 4 conductors carrying currents
into and out of a junction as shown.

Let current entering the junction be positive and currents leaving be negative. The rule then becomes
I1+ I2+ I3+ I4 = 0

Suppose I1 = -2 Amps, I3 = -4 Amps and I4 = 7 Amps. Determine I2 .

I1+ I2+ I3+ I4 = 0

- 2 + I2 - 4 + 7 = 0
I2 = -1 Amp (i.e. leaving)

© D.J.Dunn 5
 SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 2

1. Calculate the resistance if a voltage of 10 V produces a current of 0.2 Amperes. Also calculate the
power dissipated. (50 Ω)

2. Calculate the current which flows in a resistor 5Ω when 240 V is applied to it. Also calculate the
power dissipated. (48 A and 11520 W)

3. Calculate the voltage needed to make 20 mA flows in a resistor of 470kΩ . (9400 V)

4. Find the unknown current for each case shown.

© D.J.Dunn 6
6 RESISTORS IN SERIES –VOLTAGE DIVIDERS

Consider 3 resistors in series as shown.

The same current I flow through each of them. The voltage drop on each is given by Ohms' Law as
follows.
V1 = I R1 V2 = I R2 V3 = I R3

In other words the voltage is divided according to the resistors. If the resistors were all equal, the voltage
would be divided equally across each. The three voltages must add up to the supply voltage V.

V = V1 + V2 + V3
V = I R1+ I R2 + IR3
V = I ( R1+ R2 +R3 )

If the 3 resistors were replaced by a single total resistor RT then the supply voltage would be
V = I RT
Comparing the two equations it is apparent that RT = R1+ R2 +R3
Resistors in series may be added to give one equivalent value.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 3

1. Calculate the current flowing in the circuit below and the voltage drop over the middle resistor.

2. Calculate the total resistance of the circuit shown. Determine the current and the voltage drop over
each resistor. (150 W), 0.333 A, 33.3 V and 16.67 V)

© D.J.Dunn 7
7 RESISTORS IN PARALLEL – CURRENT DIVIDERS

Consider 3 resistors in parallel as shown.

The voltage across each is the supply voltage V. The current flowing in
each is given by Ohms' Law as

I1= V/R1 I2= V/R2 I3= V/R3

In other words the current is divided according to the resistance. If the

resistors were all the same, the same current would flow in each. The
total current drawn from the supply is

I = I1+ I2 + I3
I = V/R1 + V/R2 + V/R3
I = V(1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3)

If the same current was drawn from the supply by a single resistor RT the current would be
I = V/RT
Comparing the two equations it is apparent that
1
1/RT = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 RT =
1 1 1
+ +
R1 R 2 R 3

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 4

1. Calculate the total resistance for the circuit shown. Determine the total current drawn from the supply.

2. Calculate the total resistance for the circuit shown. Determine the current in each resistor and the total
current drawn from the supply.
(1.66Ω, 40 A 120 A)

© D.J.Dunn 8
8 RESISTANCE NETWORKS

A network is a combination of parallel and series circuits. In order to find the total resistance, the circuit
must be broken down step by step by identifying the series and parallel circuits and replacing them with a
single resistor. The following example shows this.

First identify two series circuits and replace them by single resistors.
20 + 40 = 60 15 + 30 = 45

Next solve the parallel circuit. RT = 1/{1/60 + 1/45} = 25.71 kΩ.

The total current is IT= V/RT = 150/25710 = 0.00583 Amps or 5.83 mA.

SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No. 5

1. Solve the total resistance and current. Determine the voltage over the 20 K resistor.

(Answers 91.72 Ω, 5.45 mA and 109 V)

2. Solve the total resistance and current. Determine the voltage over the 800Ω resistor.

(Answers 552.46 Ω, 0.452 A and 93 V)

© D.J.Dunn 9
9 ELECTRO-MOTIVE FORCE

When direct current is supplied to a circuit, it must come from a source. This will be a battery, mains
power supply or a generator. The current flowing from the terminals must pass through the internal parts
of the source and this will have a resistance called the internal resistance Rs. When a current I flows, there
will be a voltage drop inside the source given by I Rs.

When the current is zero, the terminal voltage will be the maximum possible from the source and this is
the Electro-Motive Force (e.m.f). We define the e.m.f. as the ideal voltage of the source. We can measure
the e.m.f. by measuring the terminal voltage with a volt meter that draws negligible current.

If the e.m.f. is E then the terminal voltage will be V = E – I Rs. If we measure the terminal voltage of a
battery for various currents and plot the results we get something like the graph shown. E is the value at
zero current. The graph may not be straight and this indicates that the internal resistance is not constant. A
good quality battery will have a low internal resistance and is capable of delivering high currents.

10 DIODES

A diode is an electronic component that ideally only passes current in one

in one direction. The symbol is shown. Current flows from the anode to the
cathode (forward bias) but not in the reverse direction (reverse bias).

An ideal diode behaves like a one way valve. In reality a small current may flow in reverse bias. In
forward bias it has some resistance so there is a small voltage drop over the diode.

Diodes have many applications such as rectification of alternating electricity.

Here is a great web site to find out all about diodes. http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_3/chpt_3/1.html

© D.J.Dunn 10