Simple Resister Circuits

1. The following questions all apply to the circuit drawn.

a. What is the circuit’s equivalent resistance, Req?

−1
1 1
𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 60Ω + [ + ] = 80.833Ω
25𝛺 (75𝛺 + 50𝛺)

b. Use your equivalent resistance from part (a) to fill in the missing values in the chart.
Round numbers to two decimal places and show all work.

Note: Depending on when and by how much you round, you may get different looking values. The
first table results from rounding to two decimal places right from the start (never do this!). The
second rounds to 4 or 5 places and results in a more accurate table. All answers found in the
correct way would receive full credit. I would word this problem differently in the future.
R (Ω) I (A) ΔV (V) P (W)
60 0.15 9.00 1.35
Steps: 25 0.12 3.00 0.36
75 0.03 2.25 0.07
 Used the equivalent resistance to find
the current in the batteries branch, 50 0.03 1.50 0.05
which includes the 60Ω resistor.
 Current and resistance through the 60Ω, gives its voltage drop
 The 25Ω gets the rest of the batteries voltage drop
 The resistance and voltage for the 25Ω give its current
 The other two resistors get the rest of the batteries current
 Now that the current and resistance of the final two resistors is known, their voltage drops
are found
 Use any power formula for each row.

R (Ω) I (A) ΔV (V) P (W)

60 0.14845 8.9072
25 0.12371 3.0928
75 0.02474 1.8556
50 0.02474 1.237
More Accurate Version
2. A student has built a simple circuit with one battery and one resistor. Another student adds an
extra resistor as drawn.

a. When the extra resistor (R) is added to the simple circuit as

drawn, does the current meter (‘ammeter’) read:

i. more,
ii. less, or
iii. the same?

b. Explain your choice.

More paths means less resistance, which allows larger current, given the same push
(voltage) from the battery.

c. Extra: What if an even larger resistor (2R) was added instead?

 Would the ammeter read more, less, or the same as the simple circuit?
 Would it read more, less, or the same as the previous circuit with the extra resistor
R added?
 Explain the differences. Careful, this one is tricky.

A table summarizes the differences:

Equivalent Resistance Current
Simple R ε/R
Extra R added in parallel R/2 (2)(ε/R)
Extra 2R added in parallel 2R/3 (3/2)(ε/R)

The 2nd circuit with the R added has the most current out of the three (and the least resistance).
The 3rd circuit with the added 2R has the middle current value (and the middle resistance) while
the original circuit has the least current (and most resistance).

One conclusion from this might be that adding extra paths always decreases the resistance of
the circuit no matter how resistive the additional path.
Circuits and Kirchhoff’s Rules
Kirchhoff’s Loop rule states that the sum of voltage changes around any closed path must be zero.
This also represents the fact that the voltage at any one location must have only a single value.
Loop Rule:
∑ ∆𝑉𝑖 = 0
𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝
Kirchhoff’s Junction rule states that the total current flowing into a junction (a place where more than
two wires meet) is equal to the current flowing out of the junction. This also represents the fact that
charge (current) is conserved in a circuit.
Junction Rule:
∑ 𝐼𝑖𝑛 = ∑ 𝐼𝑜𝑢𝑡

3. The drawn circuit has 2 equal batteries of voltage ε R3

and 3 different resistors. =es

a. Draw and label the different currents in the

circuit. You will have to pick directions for the R2 ε
current flow in each unique branch. You should
label them I1, I2, etc. DRAW CLEARLY I1 ε I2 I3
b. Write a current conservation equation
(Kirchhoff’s junction rule) for this circuit using
your currents: R1

𝑰𝟏 + 𝑰𝟑 = 𝑰𝟐

c. Using your currents and the provided variables ε and R, write down three voltage conservation
equations (Kirchhoff’s loop rule) for this circuit:
(Careful, signs are important!)
𝜀 − 𝐼2 𝑅2 − 𝐼1 𝑅1 = 0
𝜀 − 𝐼3 𝑅3 − 𝐼2 𝑅2 = 0
𝜀 + 𝐼3 𝑅3 − 𝜀 − 𝐼1 𝑅1 = 0
4. The following represents the circuit used to jump start a car. (ε2 is the battery being jumped) The
resistances r1 and r2 are actually inside the batteries but we don’t need that information to model
the situation. Use Kirchhoff’s rules for multi-loop circuits to solve for all three currents. On a
separate page, show that:

(𝜀1 −𝜀2 )𝑅+𝜀1 𝑟2

a. 𝐼1 = 𝑅(𝑟1 +𝑟2 )+𝑟1 𝑟2
(𝜀1 −𝜀2 )𝑅−𝜀2 𝑟1
b. 𝐼2 = 𝑅 (𝑟1 +𝑟2 )+𝑟1 𝑟2
𝜀1 𝑟2 +𝜀2 𝑟1
c. 𝐼3 = 𝑅 (𝑟1 +𝑟2 )+𝑟1 𝑟2
d. For typical car values listed in the table, how much current is delivered to the starter (resistor R)
during charging?
The charging battery’s emf 𝜀1 12.0V
The charging battery’s internal resistance 𝑟1 0.020Ω
The ‘dead’ battery’s emf 𝜀2 10.0V
The ‘dead’ battery’s internal resistance 𝑟2 0.050Ω
The starter’s resistance 𝑅 0.020Ω

+ -

ε1 r1 I1

r1

+ -

ε2 r2 I2
‘ground,’ V=0

R I3
Top loop (didn’t use):
𝜀1 − 𝜀2 − 𝐼2 𝑅2 − 𝐼1 𝑅1 = 0
Bottom loop:
𝜀2 − 𝐼3 𝑅 + 𝐼2 𝑅2 = 0
Outer loop:
𝜀1 − 𝐼3 𝑅 − 𝐼1 𝑅1 = 0
Junction:
𝐼1 = 𝐼2 + 𝐼3

Only two of the three loop equations are independent. I choose to work with the bottom and outer loop. Plug in the junction equation to the
outer loop equation:
𝜀1 − 𝐼3 𝑅 − (𝐼2 + 𝐼3 )𝑅1 = 0
𝜀1 − 𝐼3 (𝑅 + 𝑅1 ) − 𝐼2 𝑅1 = 0
From the bottom loop equation:
𝐼3 𝑅 − 𝜀2
𝐼2 =
𝑅2
Plug this into the previous:
𝐼3 𝑅 − 𝜀2
𝜀1 − 𝐼3 (𝑅 + 𝑅1 ) − ( ) 𝑅1 = 0
𝑅2
Solve for 𝐼3
𝐼3 𝑅𝑅1 𝜀2 𝑅1
𝜀1 − 𝐼3 (𝑅 + 𝑅1 ) − + =0
𝑅2 𝑅2
𝑅𝑅1 𝜀2 𝑅1
𝜀1 − 𝐼3 (𝑅 + 𝑅1 + )+ =0
𝑅2 𝑅2
𝜀2 𝑅1
𝜀1 +
𝑅2
𝐼3 =
𝑅𝑅
𝑅 + 𝑅1 + 1
𝑅2
𝜺𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝜺𝟐 𝑹𝟏
𝑰𝟑 =
𝑹𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝑹𝟏

Plug this into the outer loop equation and solve for I1:
𝜺𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝜺𝟐 𝑹𝟏
𝜀1 − ( ) 𝑅 − 𝐼1 𝑅1 = 0
𝑹𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝑹𝟏
𝜀1 𝜀1 𝑅2 + 𝜀2 𝑅1 𝑅
𝐼1 = −( )
𝑅1 𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1 𝑅1

We’re going to want a common denominator here:

𝜀1 (𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1 ) 𝜀1 𝑅2 + 𝜀2 𝑅1 𝑅
𝐼1 = −( )
(𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1 )𝑅1 (𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1 ) 𝑅1

(𝜀1 𝑅𝑅2 + 𝜀1 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝜀1 𝑅𝑅1 ) − 𝜀1 𝑅𝑅2 − 𝜀2 𝑅𝑅1

𝐼1 =
(𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1 )𝑅1

𝜀1 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝜀1 𝑅𝑅1 − 𝜀2 𝑅𝑅1
𝐼1 =
(𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1 )𝑅1

𝜺 𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝜺 𝟏 𝑹 − 𝜺 𝟐 𝑹
𝑰𝟏 =
(𝑹𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝑹𝟏 )

Finally, and here’s where the common denominator really shines, use the junction rule to find I2: 𝐼2 = 𝐼1 − 𝐼3

𝜀1 𝑅2 + 𝜀1 𝑅 − 𝜀2 𝑅 𝜀1 𝑅2 + 𝜀2 𝑅1
𝐼2 = −
𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1 𝑅𝑅2 + 𝑅1 𝑅2 + 𝑅𝑅1
𝜺 𝟏 𝑹 − 𝜺 𝟐 𝑹 − 𝜺 𝟐 𝑹𝟏
𝑰𝟐 =
𝑹𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝟏 𝑹𝟐 + 𝑹𝑹𝟏

While the method here is straightforward, the algebra is too time consuming for an exam.

d) Plug the known values into I3 to find the current to the starter:

I got 333A