This course has been discontinued
All electrical circuits can be viewed as some combination of series circuits and parallel circuits. A thorough understanding of the basic principles involved with series circuits and parallel circuits is an essential part of understanding how electricity functions. In addition, more complicated circuits consist of combinations of series circuits and parallel circuits called series-parallel circuits. These series-parallel circuits make up the bulk of circuits that are used for applications in industry. This 1-hour interactive online course provides the basis for understanding parallel circuits.
A multiple-choice quiz is included at the end of this course.This course includes downloadable files in Word document format.
After completing this course, you will be able to:
• Describe the current in a series circuit.
• Explain the voltage in a series circuit.
• Use notation conventions in a schematic diagram.
• Illustrate the use of ammeters and voltmeters.
Who the course is for
There are at least two general approaches to presenting Circuit Analysis course material. One way is a “plug and play” approach that is useful to someone who wants a quick fix for some particular problem. Many times a formula can be extracted from the course material that will provide this kind of solution. For this approach, a minimal amount of time is required on the part of the student and he can be prepared to solve basic problems such as addressed in the course. As an example, the student can memorize the three versions of Ohm’s Law and be able to find any of the three quantities – current, voltage, or resistance – knowing only two of them.
A second method requires a bit more time on the part of the student to understand the material more thourghly and be able to adapt his thinking to a situation that was not covered exactly in the course material. An example of this kind of approach would be the student who may not remember all three versions of Ohm’s Law, but understands that he can derive the other two if he knows any one of them.
This course is presented in such a way that both types of student needs are met. Equations are presented in their final form and used to illustrate their application. The first type of student can use the equation to solve a problem with no further ado. The second type of student can take the time to understand the basis for the equation and be better prepared to adapt it to a problem that is slightly different than the one covered by the basic formula.
Part of a series
The course presented here is a part of a series of courses on the subject of Circuit Analysis. This course assumes that the user has the knowledge presented in the previous courses in the series, or has obtained sufficient background elsewhere.
There are generally two ways to use this series: A user may start at the beginning and work through the entire series, or he may simply choose parts of the series to either refresh his knowledge or to selectively obtain new knowledge.
The series contains two major classifications – AC and DC. The DC courses (or their equivalent) should be mastered first, as many of the AC courses assume a basic knowledge of the DC Circuit Analysis courses. For example, Ohm’s Law for an AC circuit is very much like Ohm’s Law for a DC circuit and the user should have the knowledge of the DC circuit to understand the AC circuit material on Ohm’s Law.
Series Outline - Circuit Analysis Series
DC Circuits, conventional current flow version
- Current, voltage, and resistance. 2 hour
- Ohm’s Law, and power. 1 hour
- Series and parallel resistors. 1 hour
- Current and Voltage in series circuits. 1 hour
- Current and Voltage in parallel circuits. 1 hour
- Series and Parallel Networks. 2 hours
Power. 1 hour
- Kirchhoff’s Laws. 1 hour
- Voltage Divider Rule and Current Divider Rule. 1 hour
- Open and short circuits, notation and source resistance. 1 hour
- Thevenen’s Theorem. 1 hour
- Norton’s Theorem. 1 hour
- Superposition Theorem. 1 hour
- Mesh Analysis. 2 hour
- Node Analysis. 2 hour
DC Circuits, electron flow version
- Same topics as conventional flow version
AC Circuits
- Sinusoidal generation and definitions. 1 hour
- Sinusoidal general format and phase relationships. 1 hour
- Average Value and Effective Value. 1 hour
- Complex Numbers and Phasors. 2 hour
- Dependent Sources. 1 hour
- Mesh Equations with dependent sources. 1 hour
- Mesh Equations with independent sources. 2 hour
- Node Equations with dependent sources. 1 hour
- Node Equations with independent sources. 2 hour
- RLC circuit response. 1 hour
- Source Conversions. 1 hour
- Series and Parallel Circuits. 2 hour
- Series and Parallel Networks. 2 hour
- Thevenin’s and Norton’s Theorem. 1 hour
- AC Power. 2 hour
