ECE 1311

Chapter 1 Basic Concepts

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Introduction
An electric circuit is an interconnection of electrical
elements.

Basic concepts:
Electric charge
Current
Voltage
Power
Circuit elements
Energy

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1.1 System of Units (1)
Six basic units
Quantity Basic unit Symbol
Length meter m
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Electric current ampere A
Thermodynamic kelvin K
temperature
Luminous intensity candela cd
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1.1 System of Units (2)

The derived units commonly used in electric circuit theory

Decimal multiples and

submultiples of SI units
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Electric charge q(t)
Basic quantity in an electric circuit.

Defined as an electrical property of the atomic particles

of which matter consists.
Measured in coulombs (C).
Note:
All matter is made of atoms.
Each atom consists of electron, proton and neutron.

The charge on one electron is negative.

Magnitude of an electron=- 1.602 10-19 C.

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Current i(t)
It is the time rate of change of charge.
Measured in ampere (A).

Current-charge relastionship:
dq t
i q idt q (t 0)
dt t0

Current may be:

Constant (direct current)
Varying (alternating current)

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 Current i(t) (1)

Electric current i = dq/dt. The unit of ampere can be

derived as 1 A = 1C/s.
A direct current (dc) is a current that remains
constant with time.
An alternating current (ac) is a current that varies
sinusoidally with time. (reverse direction)

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Current i(t) (2)

The direction of current flow

Positive ions Negative ions

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Current i(t) (3)
Example 1

A conductor has a constant current of 5 A.

How many electrons pass a fixed point on the

conductor in one minute?

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Current i(t) (4)
Solution

Total no. of charges pass in 1 min is given by

5 A = (5 C/s)(60 s/min) = 300 C/min

Total no. of electrons passed in 1 min is given by

300 C/min
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1.87 x1021
electrons/min
1.602x10 C/electron

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Voltage v(t)
It is the energy required to move a unit charge through an
element (i.e. from point a to point b).
Measured in volts (V).
Mathematically expressed as:
dw q
v w vdq w(q 0)
dq q0

Voltage polarity:

+vab

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 Voltage v(t) (1)
Voltage (or potential difference) is the energy required to move
a unit charge through an element, measured in volts (V).

Mathematically, vab dw / dq (volt)

w is energy in joules (J) and q is charge in coulomb (C).

Electric voltage, vab, is always across the circuit element or

between two points in a circuit.
vab > 0 means the potential of a is higher than potential of b.
vab < 0 means the potential of a is lower than potential of b.

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Power p(t)
It is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy.
Measured in watts (W).
Mathematically expressed as:
dw
p
dt
or:
p vi

Passive sign convention:

Positive power:
If current enters through the positive terminal.
Element absorbs power.
Negative power:
If current enters through the negative terminal.
Element supplies power.

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Power and Energy (1)
Power is the time rate of expending or absorbing energy,
measured in watts (W).
dw dw dq
Mathematical expression: p vi
dt dq dt
i i

+ +

v v

Passive sign convention
P = +vi p = vi
absorbing power supplying power
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Power and Energy (2)

The law of conservation of energy

p0
Energy is the capacity to do work, measured
in joules (J).
t t
Mathematical expression w pdt vidt
t0 t0

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Power p(t)

(a) (b) (c) (d)

An ideal circuit:
p sup plied
p absorbed 0

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Energy
It is the capacity to the work.
Measured in joules (J).

Mathematically expressed as:

t t
w pdt vidt w(t 0)
t0 t0

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Circuit Elements
An element is the basic building block of a circuit.
Electric circuit is interconnection of the elements.
Two types of elements:
Active elements:
Capable of generating energy (i.e. batteries, and generators).
Passive elements:
Absorbs energy (i.e. resistors, capacitors and inductors).

Voltage and current sources are the most important active elements.
They can be dependent or independent.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

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1.6 Circuit Elements (1)
Active Elements Passive Elements

A dependent source is an active

element in which the source quantity
is controlled by another voltage or
current.

They have four different types:

voltage controlled voltage source
(VCVS), CCVS, VCCS, CCCS. Keep in
Independent Dependant minds the signs of dependent
19 sources sources sources.
Examples
Determine the current flowing through an element if the
charge flow is:
q(t ) (8t 2 4t 2)C

Find the charge q(t) flowing through a device if:

i (t ) (2t 5)mA note q (0) 0
The charge entering an element is shown in Figure 1.
Determine current at:
t=1 ms
t=6 ms
t=10 ms

Figure 1
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 i = dq/dt = (16t + 4) A

q(t) (2t s) dt q(v) (t 5t) mC

2

dq 80
At t = 1ms, i 40 A
dt 2

At t = 6ms, dq
i 0A
dt
dq 80
At t = 10ms, i 20 A
dt 4

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Examples
Plot the corresponding
current for the graph in
Figure 2.

The current through an

element is shown in
Figure 2
Figure 3. Calculate total
charge that pass
through an element at:
t = 1s
t = 3s
t = 5s
Figure 3
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 25A, 0t2
dq
i - 25A, 2t6
dt
25A, 6t8

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 (a)

1
q idt 10 dt 10 C
0

(b)

3 5 1
q idt 10 1 10 5 1
0 2
15 7.5 5 22.5C
(c)
5
q idt 10 10 10 30 C
0

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 Figure below shows a circuit with five
elements. If

p1 205 W, p2 60 W, p4 45 W, p5 30 W,

calculate the power p3 received or delivered by

element 3.

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 p = 0 -205 + 60 + 45 + 30 + p3 = 0

p3 = 205 135 = 70 W

Thus element 3 receives 70 W.

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 The charge entering a certain element is shown in the
above Figure. Plot the current versus time.

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28
 Calculate the power absorbed or supplied by each
element in
4A + 6V -

1 4A
+
+ 2
9V +- 3V
-
-

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Note, we will express absorbed power as
positive terms and delivered power as negative
power absorbed.

For the 9-V voltage source, p = -4 (9) = 36 W

For element 1, p = 4 (6) = 24W
For element 2, p = 4 (3) = 12W

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 The Figure on the left
shows the current
through and the voltage
across a device. Sketch
the power delivered to
the device for t > 0. Find
the energy absorbed by
the device over the
period 0 < t < 4s.

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32
 The current entering the positive terminal of a device is

i t 3e 2t
A
and the voltage across the device is

vt 5 di / dt V
(a) Find the charge delivered to the device between t = 0 and
t = 2 s.
(b) Calculate the power absorbed.
(c) Determine the energy absorbed in 3 s.

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 3 -2t
2
2
q idt 3e dt e- 2t
0 2 0

1.5 e 1
-4
1.4725 C

5di
v 6e (5) 30e
- 2t - 2t

dt
4 t
p vi 90 e W

90 -4t
3
3
w pdt -90 e -4t
dt e 22.5 J
0 4 0

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