9/3/2022

Basic Electronics
Electrical Quantities and Ohm’s Law

By the end of the lesson

• Learners should be able to;
• Define
Current,
Voltage, and
Resistance
Power
Energy
 perform calculations
• State Ohms Law
 Perform calculations on Ohms law

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1. Current
• Current is the rate of flow of electrons through a conductor.
• The letter I (which stands for intensity) is the symbol used to
represent current.
• Current is measured in amperes (A).
• An instrument called an ammeter is used to measure current flow in
a circuit
• Prefixes micro Ampere 1/1,000,000 or 1x10^-6 and milli ampere
1/1,000 or 1x10^-3 are used for small amount of current.
• Kilo Ampere(1,000) and mega ampere (1,000,000) to
represent very large amount.
• the typical units of measurement are as follows.

Units for Very Units for Very

Current Base Unit Small Amounts Large Amounts
Symbol A μA mA kA MA
Pronounced As Ampere Microampere Milliampere Kiloampere Megampere
(Amp)
Multiplier 1 0.000001 0.001 1,000 1,000,000

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2 Voltage
• Voltage (V, EMF, or E) is electric pressure, a potential force or difference in
electric charge between two points.
• Voltage pushes current through a wire similar to water pressure pushing
water through a pipe.
• Voltage is measured in volts (V)
• A voltmeter is used to measure the voltage, or potential energy difference
of a load or source.
• Prefixes micro volt (1/1,000,000 or 1x10^-6) and milli volt (1/1,000 or
1x10^-3) are used for small amount of Voltage.
• Kilo volt(1,000) and mega volt (1,000,000) to represent very large amount.
• the typical units of measurement are as follows.

Base Units for Very Units for Very

Voltage Unit Small Amounts Large Amounts

Symbol V μV mV kV MV

Pronounced As Volt Microvolt Millivolt Kilovolt Megavolt

Multiplier 1 0.000001 0.001 1,000 1,000,000

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3 Resistance
• Resistance (R) is the opposition to the flow of electric current through
a conductor.
• Basically, resistance is the measure of electric friction as current
move through a conductor.
• Resistance is measured in ohms.
• The Greek letter Ω (omega) is used to represent ohms,
• the typical units of measurement are as follows.
Base Units for Very Units for Very
Resistance Unit Small Amounts Large Amounts

Symbol Ω μΩ mΩ kΩ MΩ

Pronounced As Ohm Microhm Milliohm Kilohm Megohm

Multiplier 1 0.000001 0.001 1,000 1,000,000

Conductance
• For very low values of resistance, for example milli-ohms, ( mΩ ) it is
sometimes much easier to use the reciprocal of resistance ( 1/R )
rather than resistance ( R ) itself. The reciprocal of resistance is
called Conductance, symbol ( G ) and represents the ability of a
conductor or device to conduct electricity.
• In other words the ease by which current flows. High values of
conductance implies a good conductor such as copper while low
values of conductance implies a bad conductor such as wood. The
standard unit of measurement given for conductance is the Siemen,
symbol (S).

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4. Ohms Law
• Ohm’s law defines the relationship between circuit current, voltage,
and resistance and is stated as follows:
• The current flowing in a circuit is directly proportional to the applied
voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance.

Multiple and submultiples

Prefix Prefix Prefix

Example
Symbol factor

Femto f 10-15 1fm = 10-15m

pico p 10 -12 1pF = 10-12F
nano n 10-9 1nF = 10-9F
micro μ 10 -6 1μA = 10-6A
milli m 10-3 1mA = 10-3A
kilo k 10 3 1kΩ = 1000Ω
mega M 10 6 1MHz = 106Hz
giga G 10 9 1GHz = 109Hz

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v IR
V  0.01x 2000
20V

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5. Power
• Power is the rate at which the work is being done in an electrical circuit
• Electric power (P) is the amount of electric energy converted to another
form of energy in a given length of time
• Power represents the work performed by an electric circuit and is
measured in watts (W). Power in an electric circuit is equal to
• Instrument for measuring power is Wattmeter
• Power = voltage × current
• Watts = volts × ampere
• P=VI
• P= I2R
• P= V2/R

6.Power

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7. Energy
• Energy is the ability to do work.
• Electric energy refers to the energy of moving electrons
• where work is done when a force moves an object.
• The watt-hour (Wh) is the more practical unit of measurement of
electric energy. Power and time are factors that must be considered
in determining the amount of energy used.
• If power is measured in kilowatts and multiplied by hours, the result
is kilowatt-hours, abbreviated kWh. Energy measurements are used
in calculating the cost of electric energy.
• A kilowatt-hour meter connected to a residential electrical system is
used to monitor your daily power usage

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Definitions
• Ohm- Is defined as the resistance offered by a conductor which will allow
one ampere of current to flow if one volt is applied across the terminals.
• Ampere- Is defined as amount of current which is produced by pressure of
one volt in a circuit having resistance of one ohm.
• Volt- is a unit of potential difference and EMF. The difference of electric
potential which exists between two points of a conductor carrying a
constant current of 1 ampere. When the power dissipated between this
points is 1 watt.
• Voltage(V)- Difference between two points in a conductor.
• Voltage drop- Is the reduction of potential difference along the conductor
through which current is passing.
• Watt- is unit of electrical power. Symbol is W.

Contd’
• Watt-second- is the unit for measuring energy indicated by electrical
meter. Watt-second is also known as a joule.
• Relative permittivity- is the ratio of the permittivity of a substance to
permittivity in a vacuum.
• Resistivity(𝜌)- is the opposition of a substance to the conduction of
electric current. Its reciprocal is conductivity (σ). Resistivity is
measured in ohm meter Ω.m.
• Conductivity(σ,𝛾)- is the capacity of a material to conduct electricity.
It is the reciprocal of the resistivity σ= unit: Siemens per meter S/m.
• Conductance (G)- is the degree to which a material conducts
electricity. It is the reciprocal of resistance G= unit: siemens (S) or
mho, reciprocal of ohm

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Contd’
• Impedance(Z)- is the measure of the total opposition that a circuit offers
to electric current flow. Impedance includes both resistance and
reactance.
• Overcurrent- is an excess current in an electric circuit. or its a larger
than intended electric current exists through an electric circuit.
• Short circuit.- is when there is a low resistance connection between two
conductors that are supplying electrical power to a circuit.
• Open circuit- defined as an electric circuit in which current does not
flow because the circuit is incomplete.

Summary
Quantity Symbol Unit of measure Abbreviation

Current I Ampere A

Voltage V or E Volts V

Resistance R Ohms Ω

Conductance G Siemens S

Power P Watts W

Enegy E Joules or Watts hours J or Wh

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DC circuits
• An electrical/electronic circuit is a group of components connected
together to perform a desired function.
• A circuit consists of electrical elements connected together, and we
can use symbols to draw circuits.
• Engineers use electrical circuits to solve problems that are important
in modern society such as in the generation, transmission and
consumption of electrical power and energy.

DC Electric Circuit

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Direction of Current Flow

• Electron flow is based on the electron theory of matter and follows
the motion of electrons in the circuit from negative to positive.
• Conventional current flow is based on an older theory of electricity
and assumes a current flow in the opposite direction from positive to
negative.

Standard symbols for electrical

components

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