School of Electrical Engineering &

Telecommunications

ELEC1111

Topic 1: Circuit Basics

1. Determine the total charge flowing through an element for 0 < 𝑡 < 2 seconds when
the current entering the positive terminal is 𝑖(𝑡) = 𝑒 −2𝑡 mA.
Solution: Recall that electric current is the rate of change of charge, thus to calculate
the total being transferred over the interval of 2 seconds, we take integral of the
current with respect to time as follows,
𝑡1
𝑞 = ∫ 𝑖 𝑑𝑡 + 𝑞(0) 𝑡0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 𝑡1
𝑡0
or more accurately when seeking the time function for charge
𝑡
𝑞(𝑡) = ∫ 𝑖(𝜏) 𝑑𝜏 + 𝑞(0)
𝑡0

Note that since nothing is mentioned about initial charge, we assume it is zero. Also,
pay attention to unit of current being in mA.

2
−2𝑡
1 −2𝑡 2 1 1 1
𝑞=∫ 𝑒 𝑑𝑡 = − 𝑒 ] = − 𝑒 −4 + 𝑒 0 = − (𝑒 −4 − 1) = 0.4908 mC or 490.8 𝜇C
0 2 0 2 2 2

2. The current flowing through an element is shown in the graph below. Assuming
charge entering the element before 𝑡 = 0 is zero, i.e., 𝑞(0) = 0, calculate the total
charge that has entered the element at the following times,
(a) 𝑡 = 1 s i (A)
(b) 𝑡 = 3s
3
(c) 𝑡 = 5 s

t (s)
0 1 2 3 4 5

Solution:
(a) The current between the time interval [0 1] is 𝑖(𝑡) = 3𝑡 A with no initial
charge, thus the charge at 𝑡 = 1 s is
1 1
𝑡2
𝑞(1) = ∫ 3𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 3 ] = 1.5 C or 1500 mC
0 2 0
1
(b) From 𝑡 = 1 s to 𝑡 = 3 s the current is constant and equal to 3 A with a
build-up initial charge of 1.5 C at 𝑡 = 1 (initial condition). Thus the
charge at 𝑡 = 3 s is
3
𝑞(3) = ∫ 3 𝑑𝑡 + 𝑞(1) = 3𝑡]10 + 1.5 = 7.5 C or 7500 mC
1
3
(c) The current in the last interval is obtained as 𝑖(𝑡) = − (𝑡 − 5) A with
2
the initial charge of 7.5 C at 𝑡 = 3 s, Thus we have
5 3 15 3𝑡 2 15 5
𝑞(5) = ∫ (− 𝑡 + ) 𝑑𝑡 + 𝑞(3) = − 𝑡 + 𝑡] + 7.5 = 10.5 C
3 2 2 4 2 3

3. If the voltage 𝑣(𝑡) across an element is 10 V, and the current through the element
𝑖(𝑡) is shown in the following figure, calculate the power and energy and sketch their
time functions.
i (A)

0 t (s)
0 1 2 3 4 5

−2

Solution: Recall that the power of an element is the product of the voltage across that
element to the current through it, so at any given time 𝑝(𝑡) = 𝑣(𝑡)𝑖(𝑡).
The current is a piecewise function which can be described as below,
2 A, 0<𝑡<2
𝑖 = {−2 A, 2≤𝑡<4
0 A, 𝑡>4
With constant voltage of 10 V over the whole period, the power in then given as
follows,
20 W, 0<𝑡<2
𝑝 = 𝑣𝑖 = 10𝑖 = {−20 W, 2≤𝑡<4
0 W, 𝑡>4
The energy is the integral of power with respect to time, i.e.,
𝑡
𝑤(𝑡) = ∫ 𝑝(𝜏) 𝑑𝜏 + 𝑤(𝑡0 )
𝑡0
And since nothing is mentioned about initial value of energy at 𝑡 = 0, we assume that
𝑤(0) = 0. Thus the energy function is obtained as follows,

2
2
∫ 20𝑑𝑡 + 𝑤(0) = 20𝑡 J, 0<𝑡≤2
0
4
𝑤 = ∫ −20𝑑𝑡 + 𝑤(2) = −20𝑡 + 80 J, 2<𝑡≤4
2
∞
∫ 0𝑑𝑡 + 𝑤(4) = 0 J, 𝑡>4
{ 0

And here are the sketches.

p (W)

20
w (J)

40
0 t (s)
0 1 2 3 4 5

t (s)
0 1 2 3 4 5
−20

4. How much energy does a 100 W electric bulb consume in one day (both in joules and
watt-hours)?
Solution: when the consumed power is constant over a fix period, the result of
integration is simply the product of the constant power to the overall period. Thus we
have
𝑤 = 𝑝 × 𝑡 = 100 W · 24 h = 2400 Wh = 2.4 kWh ≜ 2.4 × 3600 kJ = 8.640 MJ

5. The current entering the positive terminal of a device is 𝑖(𝑡) = 6𝑒 −2𝑡 mA and the
voltage across the device is 𝑣(𝑡) = 10 𝑑𝑖/𝑑𝑡 V.
(a) Calculate the power absorbed.
(b) Determine the energy absorbed in 3 s.
Solution: Note that the voltage is a function of the current going through the same
element. Thus you have to first find the voltage as a function of time as below,
di
= −120e−2t mV = 0.12e−2t V
v = 10
dt
(a) So the power is then given by
p = vi = −120e−2t mV × 6e−2t mA = − 720e−4t μW
(b) And energy in the interval of 0 to 3 is assuming zero initial energy
3 3
720 −4𝑡 3
𝑤 = ∫ 𝑝 𝑑𝑡 = − 720 ∫ 𝑒 −4𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑒 ] = 180(𝑒 −12 − 1) ≅ −180 μJ
0 0 4 0

Note that the power absorbed by the device is negative, which means the device is
an active element that supplies +720𝑒 −4𝑡 μW to the rest of the circuit.
3
6. The figure below shows a circuit with four elements, 𝑃1 = 60 W absorbed, 𝑃3 = −145
W absorbed, and 𝑃4 = 75 W absorbed.
(a) How many watts does element 2 absorb?
(b) Is element 2 an active element or passive element?
3

1 2 4

Solution: the law of conservation of energy says that the total sum of all powers in a
network/circuit must be zero
(a) Thus we have
∑𝑝 = 0 → 𝑃1 + 𝑃2 + 𝑃3 + 𝑃4 = 0
𝑃2 = −𝑃1 − 𝑃3 − 𝑃4 = −60 + 145 − 75 = 10 W absorbed
(b) Since the power is positive, the element 2 could be passive, but remember
that ideal sources can absorb infinite power in the circuit resulting in having
positive power. Therefore, the correct answer to this question is that it is
unknown as we need more information about the element.

7. In the circuit below, find the current 𝐼 and the power absorbed by each element.

I
4A
−
9V
− −
10 A 15 V 15 V +
+ +
6V

Solution: Note that we can use conservation of energy to find the powers for the
elements where the unknown current 𝐼 is flowing through. Thus we have
𝑃1 = −15 × 10 = −150 W
I
4A 𝑃2 = 15 × 4 = 60 W
− 𝑃3 = −9 × 𝐼 = −9𝐼 W
P3 9V 𝑃4 = −6 × 𝐼 = −6𝐼 W
P1 − −
10 A 15 V P2 15 V + ⇒𝑃 + 𝑃 +𝑃 + 𝑃 = 0
1 2 3 4
+ +
P4 6V −150 + 60 − 𝐼(9 + 6) = 0
−90
⇒𝐼 = = −6 A
15
and thus 𝑃3 = 54 W and 𝑃4 = 36 W
As you can see, the current 𝐼 is negative which shows that the assumed direction for
𝐼 can be reversed if we want to have positive current. Later on, you learn that the
current in such circuit can be obtained directly using Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL)

4
8. In the circuit below, find 𝑉𝑜 and the power absorbed by each element.
Io = 2 A

+
28 V

12 V
6A − 1A

+
−

+
3A
28 V
+
30 V Vo 5Io
−
6A 3A

Solution: Similar to the previous question, we can use conservation of energy to find
all the powers including the one with voltage 𝑉𝑜 , but now we have a dependent
voltage source being controlled by current 𝐼𝑜 which is given on the top-right of the
circuit with 2 A.
Io = 2 A P3 𝑃1 = −30 × 6 = −180 W
𝑃2 = 12 × 6 = 72 W
−
+

28 V 𝑃3 = 28 × 𝐼0 = 28 × 2 = 56 W
𝑃4 = 28 × 1 = 28 W
12 V
6A − 1 A P 𝑃5 = −5𝐼0 × 3 = −15 × 2 = −30 W
+

𝑃6 = 𝑉0 × 3 = 3𝑉0 W
−
+

P2 3A
28 V
+ ⇒ 𝑃1 + 𝑃2 + 𝑃3 + 𝑃4 + 𝑃5 + 𝑃6 = 0
30 V P1 Vo P6 P5 5Io
−
6A 3A −180 + 72 + 56 + 28 − 30 + 3𝑉0 = 0
54
⇒ 𝑉0 = = 18 V
3
and thus 𝑃6 = 3 × 18 = 54 W