Introduction To Engineering Electrical Circuits - 2

Agenda Kirchhoffs Law Resistors & Resistance Wheatstone Bridge

Kirchhoffs Laws
Voltage Law: The sum of the voltage rises around a closed loop in a circuit must equal the sum of the voltage drops.
Current Law: The sum of all currents into a junction (node) must equal the sum of all currents flowing away from the junction.

Resistors in Series
Applying Kirchhoffs voltage law gives us:

V = I R1 + I R2 + I R3

Resistors in Parallel

voltage law: V = I1R1 = I2R2 = I3R3 current law: Ix = I1 + Iy and Iy = I2 + I3

Equivalent Resistance
If desired, several resistors can sometimes be replaced by a single equivalent resistor:

For resistors in series: Req = R1 + R2 + R3 +

R1 R2 R3 Req

Equivalent Resistors (cont)

For Resistors in Parallel

1 1 1 1 ... Req R1 R2 R3

R1

R2

R3

Req

Student Problem:
If each of the Rs were 60 W light bulbs, (R =240 ohm), what would be the equivalent resistance for all three bulbs in parallel. What would be the total power draw for the three bulbs

1 1 1 1 ... Req R1 R2 R3
R1
R2 R3 V=IxR P=VxI

Wheatstone Bridge
Circuit with resistors in both series and parallel configurations. Used in strain gages, alarm circuits, and many other systems. The bridge is balanced when im = 0, at which point:

R1/R2 = R3/R4

Assignment #29
Do problem set 2 on electrical circuit drawings found in the assignment packet.