RESISTIVE CIRCUITS

• SERIES/PARALLEL RESISTOR COMBINATIONS - A TECHNIQUE

TO REDUCE THE COMPLEXITY OF SOME CIRCUITS
• LEARN TO ANALYZE THE SIMPLEST CIRCUITS
• THE VOLTAGE DIVIDER
• THE CURRENT DIVIDER
• WYE - DELTA TRANSFORMATION - A TECHNIQUE TO REDUCE
COMMON RESISTOR CONNECTIONS THAT ARE NEITHER SERIES NOR
PARALLEL
SERIES PARALLEL RESISTOR COMBINATIONS

UP TO NOW WE HAVE STUDIED CIRCUITS THAT

CAN BE ANALYZED WITH ONE APPLICATION OF
KVL(SINGLE LOOP) OR KCL(SINGLE NODE-PAIR)

WE HAVE ALSO SEEN THAT IN SOME SITUATIONS

IT IS ADVANTAGEOUS TO COMBINE RESISTORS
TO SIMPLIFY THE ANALYSIS OF A CIRCUIT

NOW WE EXAMINE SOME MORE COMPLEX CIRCUITS

WHERE WE CAN SIMPLIFY THE ANALYSIS USING
THE TECHNIQUE OF COMBINING RESISTORS…

… PLUS THE USE OF OHM’S LAW

SERIES COMBINATIONS

PARALLEL COMBINATION

G p  G1  G2  ...  GN
FIRST WE PRACTICE COMBINING RESISTORS

3k
SERIES
6k||3k

(10K,2K)SERIES

6k || 12k  4k

5k
12k
3k
EXAMPLES COMBINATION SERIES-PARALLEL
9k
If the drawing gets confusing…
Redraw the reduced circuit
and start again

18k || 9k  6k

RESISTORS ARE IN SERIES IF THEY CARRY

EXACTLY THE SAME CURRENT

6k  6k  10k RESISTORS ARE IN PARALLEL IF THEY ARE

CONNECTED EXACTLY BETWEEN THE SAME TWO
NODES
 EFFECT OF RESISTOR TOLERANCE

NOMINAL RESISTOR VALUE : 2.7k

RESISTOR TOLERANCE : 10%
RANGES FOR CURRENT AND POWER?

_

10
NOMINAL POWER : P 
10
2
 37.04 mW
NOMINAL CURRENT : I   3.704 mA
2.7 2.7

10
MINIMUM CURRENT : I min   3.367 mA
1.1 2.7 MINIMUM POWER(VImin ) : 33.67 mW
 4.115 mA MAXIMUM POWER : 41.15 mW
10
MAXIMUM CURRENT : I max 
0.9  2.7
CIRCUIT WITH SERIES-PARALLEL RESISTOR COMBINATIONS

THE COMBINATION OF COMPONENTS CAN REDUCE

THE COMPLEXITY OF A CIRCUIT AND RENDER IT
SUITABLE FOR ANALYSIS USING THE BASIC
TOOLS DEVELOPED SO FAR.
COMBINING RESISTORS IN SERIES ELIMINATES
ONE NODE FROM THE CIRCUIT.
COMBINING RESISTORS IN PARALLEL ELIMINATES
ONE LOOP FROM THE CIRCUIT

GENERAL STRATEGY:
•REDUCE COMPLEXITY UNTIL THE CIRCUIT
BECOMES SIMPLE ENOUGH TO ANALYZE.
•USE DATA FROM SIMPLIFIED CIRCUIT TO
COMPUTE DESIRED VARIABLES IN ORIGINAL
CIRCUIT - HENCE ONE MUST KEEP TRACK
OF ANY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VARIABLES
 4k || 12k 12k
FIRST REDUCE IT TO A SINGLE LOOP CIRCUIT

SECOND: “BACKTRACK” USING KVL, KCL OHM’S

6k
I3
Va KCL : I1  I 2  I 3  0
OHM' S : I 2 
6k
…OTHER OPTIONS...
OHM' S : Vb  3k * I 3 12
6k || 6k I4  I3
4  12
Vb  4k * I 4
KCL : I 5  I 4  I 3  0
OHM' S : VC  3k * I 5

12V
I1  3
12k Va  (12)
39
 2k || 2k  1k
LEARNING BY DOING

1k
VOLTAGE DIVIDER : VO  (3V )  1V
1k  2k

1k  1k  2k

1k
CURRENT DIVIDER : I O  (3 A)  1A
1k  2k
 Y   TRANSFORMATIONS

THIS CIRCUIT HAS NO RESISTOR IN THEN THE CIRCUIT WOULD

SERIES OR PARALLEL BECOME LIKE THIS AND
IF INSTEAD BE AMENABLE TO SERIES
WE COULD
OF THIS PARALLEL TRANSFORMATIONS
HAVE THIS
 Rab  R2 || ( R1  R3 )  Y
Rab  Ra  Rb

Y 

R2 ( R1  R3 ) R R Ra R1
  
Rb R1 Rb R2

RR
 R2  b 1
Ra  Rb  Ra  1 2 R3
R1  R2  R3 R1  R2  R3 Rb R3 Ra Rc R1 Rc
R2 R3 REPLACE IN THE THIRD AND SOLVE FOR R1
R ( R  R2 ) Rb 
Rb  Rc  3 1 R1  R2  R3 
Ra Rb  Rb Rc  Rc Ra
R1  R2  R3 R1
Rb
R3 R1
Rc 
R1  R2  R3 R R  Rb Rc  Rc Ra
R1 ( R2  R3 ) R2  a b
Rc  Ra   Y Rc
R1  R2  R3 R R  Rb Rc  Rc Ra
R3  a b
SUBTRACT THE FIRST TWO THEN ADD Ra
TO THE THIRD TO GET Ra Y 
LEARNING EXAMPLE: APPLICATION OF WYE-DELTA TRANSFORMATION
c
COMPUTE IS c DELTA CONNECTION

R1 12k  6k
R3 
12k  6k  18k
a R2 b

R1 R2 a b
Ra 
R1  R2  R3
R2 R3
Rb 
R1  R2  R3 REQ  6k  3k  9k  || (2k  4k )  10k
R3 R1
Rc 
R1  R2  R3 12V
 Y
IS   1.2mA
10k

ONE COULD ALSO USE A

WYE - DELTA TRANSFORMATION ...