Lecture Notes - Chapter 1
(These Lecture Notes are for courses using the book
the
Complete Electronics Self-Teaching Guide with Projects. Instructors
of courses using that text are permitted to use these Lecture Notes
as-is or adapt
them for their use).
Fundamentals of DC Circuits
- Current Flow
- Introduce the term electric current.
- An electric current is a flow of electric charge.
- Discuss the difference between conventional current
flow and electron flow.
- Discuss common ways to generate electric current.
- Ohms Law
- Discuss the equation for Ohm's law in the form to calculate
voltage.
- Larger current results in larger voltage for any given
resistance.
- The unit of measurement for voltage is volts.
- Discuss the equation for Ohm's law in the form to calculate
current.
- Larger resistance results in smaller current for any
given voltage.
- The unit of measurement for current is amperes.
- Discuss the equation for Ohm's law in the form to calculate
resistance.
- Used to determine the necessary resistance in a circuit
to result in a targeted current value for a given voltage.
- The unit of measurement for resistance is ohms (Ω).
- Discuss the resistor color code.
- Resistors in Series
- Discuss the equation for RT for series resistors.
- Resistors in Parallel
- Discuss the equation for RT for parallel
resistors.
- Introduce the equation for RT for two parallel
resistors.
- RT is always smaller than the smallest of the
resistors in parallel.
- Power
- Discuss the equation to calculate power when voltage and
current are known.
- Discuss the equation to calculate power when current and
resistance are known.
- Discuss the equation to calculate power when voltage and
resistance are known.
- The unit of measurement for power is watts.
- Discuss the use of these equations to determine the power
ratings of resistors and other components used in circuits.
- Small Currents
- Discuss the range of currents seen in electronic circuits.
- Introduce the term milliampere (mA).
- Introduce the term microampere (µA).
- Discuss the range of resistance seen in electronic circuits.
- Introduce the term kilohm (kΩ).
- Introduce the term megohm (MΩ).
- The Graph of Resistance
- Introduce the term V-I curve.
- The V-I curve for a resistor is a straight line (figure
1-6).
- The value of the resistor is the slope of the line.
- The Voltage Divider
- Review the voltage divider circuit (figure 1-7).
- Introduce the term; voltage drop.
- Discuss the equation for Vo.
- Introduce Kirchhoff's voltage law (KVL)
- The sum of the voltage drops in a circuit equals the
voltage supplied to a circuit.
- The Breadboard
- Introduce the use of breadboards to make temporary circuits.
- Discuss the + V and ground busses.
- Discuss the use of interconnected contact holes.
- Discuss the use of jumper wires.
- The Current Divider
- Review the current divider circuit.(figure 1-9).
- Discuss the equation that determines the current flowing
through each resistor in this circuit.
- If one resistor is larger than the other the current
flowing through the higher value resistor will be the
smaller of the two.
- Introduce Kirchhoff's current law (KCL).
- The total current entering a junction in a circuit
equals the sum of the currents leaving that junction.
- The Multimeter
- Discuss how the multimeter is used to measure voltage.
- Discuss how the multimeter is used to measure current.
- Discuss how the multimeter is used to measure resistance.
- Switches
- Review the single pole single throw (SPST) switch (figure 1-13
).
- Review the single pole double throw (SPDT) switch (figure
1-14).
- Capacitors in a DC Circuit
- Discuss the process of charging a capacitor
- Introduce the term; time constant (τ).
- Discuss the equation for τ.
- Review the capacitor charging graph (figure 1-16).
- Discuss the process of discharging a capacitor (figure 1-17)
- Discuss the equation for CT for capacitors in
series.
- Discuss the equation for CT for capacitors in
parallel.
This page includes material extracted, by
permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, from Complete
Electronics Self-Teaching Guide with Projects, ISBN: 9781118217320.
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