Electrical Circuits 1

Dr. Magdy A. Abdelhay

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 Chapter 9
Capacitors and Inductors

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Introduction

So far we have limited our study to resistive circuits.

In this chapter, we shall introduce two new and important passive
linear circuit elements: the capacitor and the inductor.
Unlike resistors, which dissipate energy, capacitors and inductors do
not dissipate but store energy, which can be retrieved at a later time.
For this reason, capacitors and inductors are called storage elements.
Be assured that the circuit analysis techniques covered in previous
chapters are equally applicable to circuits with capacitors and
inductors.

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Capacitors
A capacitor is a passive element designed to store energy in its
electric field.
Capacitors are used extensively in electronics, communications,
computers, and power systems. For example, they are used in the
tuning circuits of radio receivers and as dynamic memory elements in
computer systems.
A capacitor is typically constructed as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1: A typical
capacitor.

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Capacitors
A capacitor consists of two conducting plates separated by an insulator
(or dielectric).

In many practical applications, the plates may be aluminum foil while

the dielectric may be air, ceramic, or paper.
When a voltage source v is connected to the capacitor, as in Figure 2,
the source deposits a positive charge q on one plate and a negative
charge −q on the other. The capacitor is said to store the electric
charge.

Figure 2: A capacitor
with applied voltage v.

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Capacitors

The amount of charge stored, represented by q, is directly

proportional to the applied voltage v so that

q = Cv (1)

where C, the constant of proportionality, is known as the

capacitance of the capacitor.
The unit of capacitance is the farad (F), in honor of the English
physicist Michael Faraday (1791–1867).
Note from Eq. (1) that 1 farad = 1 coulomb/volt.
From Eq. (1), we may derive the following definition.

Capacitance is the ratio of the charge on one plate of a capacitor to the

voltage difference between the two plates, measured in farads (F).

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Capacitors

The capacitance C of a capacitor depends on the physical dimensions

of the capacitor.
For example, for the parallel-plate capacitor shown in Figure 1, the
capacitance is given by
A
C= (2)
d
where A is the surface area of each plate, d is the distance between
the plates, and  is the permittivity of the dielectric material between
the plates.

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Capacitors
Capacitors are commercially available in different values and types.
Typically, capacitors have values in the picofarad (pF) to microfarad
(µF) range.
They are described by the dielectric material they are made of and by
whether they are of fixed or variable type.
Figure 3 shows the circuit symbols for fixed and variable capacitors.
Note that according to the passive sign convention, if v > 0 and i > 0
or if v < 0 and i < 0, the capacitor is being charged, and if v · i < 0
the capacitor is discharging.

Figure 3: Circuit symbols for capacitors: (a) fixed capacitor, (b) variable capacitor.

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Capacitors
Figure 4 shows common types of fixed-value capacitors.
Polyester capacitors are light in weight, stable, and their change with
temperature is predictable.
Film capacitors are rolled and housed in metal or plastic films.
Electrolytic capacitors produce very high capacitance.

Figure 4: Fixed capacitors: (a) polyester capacitor, (b) ceramic capacitor, (c)
electrolytic capacitor.

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Capacitors
Figure 5 shows the most common types of variable capacitors.
Variable capacitors are used in radio receivers allowing one to tune to
various stations.

Figure 5: Variable
capacitors: (a) trimmer
capacitor, (b) filmtrim
capacitor.

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Capacitors
To obtain the current-voltage relationship of the capacitor, we take the
derivative of both sides of Eq. (1), i.e,. q = Cv. Since
dq
i= (3)
dt
differentiating both sides of Eq. (1) gives
dv
i=C (4)
dt
This is the current-voltage relationship for a capacitor, assuming the
passive sign convention.

Figure 6:
Current-voltage
relationship of a
capacitor.

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Capacitors

The voltage-current relation of the capacitor can be obtained by

integrating both sides of Eq. (4). We get
Z t
1
v= idt (5)
C −∞

or
Z t
1
v= idt + v(t0 ) (6)
C t0

where v(t0 ) = q(t0 )/C is the voltage across the capacitor at time t0 .
Equation (6) shows that capacitor voltage depends on the past
history of the capacitor current.
Hence, the capacitor has memory—a property that is often exploited.

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Capacitors
The instantaneous power delivered to the capacitor is
dv
p = vi = Cv (7)
dt
The energy stored in the capacitor is therefore
Z t Z t Z v(t) v(t)
dv 1
ω= pdt = C v dt = C vdv = Cv 2 (8)
−∞ −∞ dt v(−∞) 2 v(−∞)

We note that v(−∞) = 0, because the capacitor was uncharged at

t = −∞. Thus,
1
ω = Cv 2 (9)
2
Using Eq. (1), i.e., q = Cv, we may rewrite Eq. (9) as
q2
ω= (10)
2C
Equation (9) or (10) represents the energy stored in the electric field that
exists between the plates of the capacitor.
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Capacitors

We should note the following important properties of a capacitor:

1 Note from Eq. (4) that when the voltage across a capacitor is not
changing with time (i.e., dc voltage), the current through the
capacitor is zero. Thus,

A capacitor is an open circuit to dc.

However, if a battery (dc voltage) is connected across a capacitor, the

capacitor charges.
2 The voltage on the capacitor must be continuous.

The voltage on a capacitor cannot change abruptly.

The capacitor resists an abrupt change in the voltage across it.

According to Eq. (4), a discontinuous change in voltage requires an
infinite current, which is physically impossible.

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Capacitors

For example, the voltage across a capacitor may take the form shown in
Figure 7(a), whereas it is not physically possible for the capacitor voltage
to take the form shown in Figure 7(b) because of the abrupt changes.

Conversely, the current through a capacitor can change instantaneously.

Figure 7: Voltage across a capacitor: (a) allowed, (b) not allowable; an abrupt
change is not possible.

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Capacitors

3 The ideal capacitor does not dissipate energy. It takes power from the
circuit when storing energy in its field and returns previously stored
energy when delivering power to the circuit.
4 A real, nonideal capacitor has a parallel-model leakage resistance, as
shown in Figure 8. The leakage resistance may be as high as 100 MΩ
and can be neglected for most practical applications. For this reason,
we will assume ideal capacitors in this chapter.

Figure 8: Circuit model of a nonideal capacitor.

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Example 1

Example 1:
1 Calculate the charge stored on a 3-pF capacitor with 20 V across it.
2 Find the energy stored in the capacitor.

Solution:
1 Since q = Cv,
q = 3 × 10−12 × 20 = 60 pC
2 The energy stored is
1 1
ω = Cv 2 = × 3 × 10−12 × 400 = 600 pJ
2 2

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Example 2

Example 2: The voltage across a 5 µF capacitor is

v(t) = 10 cos 6000t V

Calculate the current through it.

Solution:
By definition, the current is
dv d
i(t) = C = 5 × 10−6 (10 cos 6000t)
dt dt
= −5 × 10−6 × 6000 × 10 sin 6000t = −0.3 sin 6000t A

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Example 3

Example 3: Determine the voltage across a 2 µF capacitor if the current

through it is
i(t) = 6e−3000t mA
Assume that the initial capacitor voltage is zero.

Solution: Z t
1
Since v = idt + v(0),
C 0
Z t
1
v= 6e−3000t dt · 10−3
2 × 10−6 0
t
3 × 103 −3000t
= e = (1 − e−3000t ) V
−3000 0

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Example 4
Example 4: Determine the current through a 200 µF capacitor whose
voltage is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9: For Example 4.

Solution: The voltage waveform can be described mathematically as



50t V, 0<t<1

100 − 50t V, 1<t<3
v(t) =


−200 + 50t V, 3<t<4

0, otherwise
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Example 4

Since i = Cdv/dt and C = 200 µF, we take the derivative of v to obtain




50, 0<t<1

−50, 1 < t < 3
i(t) = 200 × 10−6 ×


50, 3<t<4

0, otherwise



 10 mA, 0<t<1

−10 mA, 1 < t < 3
=
10 mA,
 3<t<4


0, otherwise
Thus the current waveform is as shown in Figure 10.

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Example 4

Figure 10: For Example 4.

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Example 5

Example 5: Obtain the energy stored in each capacitor in Figure 11(a)

under dc conditions.

Figure 11: For Example 5.

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Example 5
Solution:
Under dc conditions, we replace each capacitor with an open circuit, as
shown in Figure 11(b). The current through the series combination of the
2 kΩ and 4 kΩ resistors is obtained by current division as
3
i= (6 mA) = 2 mA
3+2+4
Hence, the voltages v1 and v2 across the capacitors are

v1 = 2000i = 4 V v2 = 4000i = 8 V

and the energies stored in them are

1 1
ω1 = C1 v12 = (2 × 10−3 )(4)2 = 16 mJ
2 2
1 1
ω2 = C2 v22 = (4 × 10−3 )(8)2 = 128 mJ
2 2
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Series and Parallel Capacitors
We desire to replace these capacitors by a single equivalent capacitor
Ceq
In order to obtain the equivalent capacitor Ceq of N capacitors in
parallel, consider the circuit in Figure 12(a). The equivalent circuit is
in Figure 12(b). Note that the capacitors have the same voltage v
across them.

Figure 12: (a) Parallel-connected N capacitors, (b) equivalent circuit.

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Series and Parallel Capacitors
Applying KCL to Figure 12(a),

i = i1 + i2 + i3 + · · · + iN (11)

But ik = Ck dv/dt. Hence,

dv dv dv dv
i = C1 + C2 + C3 + · · · + CN
dt dt dt dt
N
! (12)
X dv dv
= Ck = Ceq
dt dt
k=1

where
Ceq = C1 + C2 + C3 + · · · + CN (13)

The equivalent capacitance of N parallel-connected capacitors is the

sum of the individual capacitances.
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Series and Parallel Capacitors
We observe that capacitors in parallel combine in the same manner as
resistors in series.

Figure 13: (a) Series-connected N capacitors, (b) equivalent circuit for the series
capacitor.
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Series and Parallel Capacitors
Note that the same current i flows (and consequently the same charge)
through the capacitors. Applying KVL to the loop in Figure 13(a),
v = v1 + v2 + v3 + · · · + vN (14)
t
Z
1
But vk = i(t)dt + vk (t0 ). Therefore,
Ck t0
Z t Z t
1 1
v= i(t)dt + v1 (t0 ) + i(t)dt + v2 (t0 ) + · · ·
C1 t0 C2 t0
Z t
1
+ i(t)dt + vN (t0 )
CN t0
 Z t
1 1 1
= + + ··· + i(t)dt + v1 (t0 ) + v2 (t0 ) + · · · + vN (t0 )
C1 C2 CN t0
Z t
1
= i(t)dt + v(t0 )
Ceq t0
(15)
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Series and Parallel Capacitors

where
1 1 1 1 1
= + + + ··· + (16)
Ceq C1 C2 C3 CN

The initial voltage v(t0 ) across Ceq is required by KVL to be the sum of
the capacitor voltages at t0 . Or according to Eq. (15),

v(to ) = v1 (t0 ) + v2 (t0 ) + · · · + vN (t0 )

Thus, according to Eq. (16),

The equivalent capacitance of series-connected capacitors is the

reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual capacitances.

Note that capacitors in series combine in the same manner as resistors

in parallel.

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Series and Parallel Capacitors

For N = 2 (i.e., two capacitors in series), Eq. (16) becomes

1 1 1
= +
Ceq C1 C2
or
C1 C2
Ceq = (17)
C1 + C2

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Example 6

Example 6: Find the equivalent capacitance seen between terminals a

and b of the circuit in Figure 14.

Figure 14: For Example 6.

Solution:
The 20 µF and 5 µF capacitors are in series; their equivalent capacitance is
20 × 5
= 4 µF
20 + 5

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Example 6

This 4 µF capacitor is in parallel with the 6 µF and 20 µF capacitors; their

combined capacitance is

4 + 6 + 20 = 30 µF

This 30 µF capacitor is in series with the 60 µF capacitor. Hence, the

equivalent capacitance for the entire circuit is
30 × 60
Ceq = = 20 µF
30 + 60

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Example 7

Example 7: For the circuit in Figure 15, find the voltage across each
capacitor.

Figure 15: For Example 7.

Solution: We first find the equivalent capacitance Ceq , shown in Figure

16. The two parallel capacitors in Figure 15 can be combined to get
40 + 20 = 60 mF. This 60 mF capacitor is in series with the 20 mF and 30
mF capacitors.

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Example 7
Thus,
1
Ceq = mF = 10 mF
1 1 1
+ +
60 30 20
The total charge is
q = Ceq v = 10 × 10−3 × 30 = 0.3 C
This is the charge on the 20-mF and 30-mF capacitors, because they are
in series with the 30-V source. (A crude way to see this is to imagine that
charge acts like current, since i = dq/dt.) Therefore,
q 0.3 q 0.3
v1 = = −3
= 15 V, v2 = = = 10 V
C1 20 × 10 C2 30 × 10−3

Figure 16: Equivalent circuit for Figure 15.

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Example 7

Having determined v1 and v2 , we now use KVL to determine v3 by

v3 = 30 − v1 − v2 = 5 V

Alternatively, since the 40-mF and 20-mF capacitors are in parallel, they
have the same voltage and their combined capacitance is
40 + 20 = 60 mF. This combined capacitance is in series with the 20-mF
and 30-mF capacitors and consequently has the same charge on it. Hence,
q 0.3
v3 = = =5V
60 mF 60 × 10−3

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Inductors
An inductor is a passive element designed to store energy in its
magnetic field.
Inductors find numerous applications in electronic and power systems.
They are used in power supplies, transformers, radios, TVs, radars,
and electric motors.
Any conductor of electric current has inductive properties and may be
regarded as an inductor.
But in order to enhance the inductive effect, a practical inductor is
usually formed into a cylindrical coil with many turns of conducting
wire, as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17: Typical form

of an inductor.

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Inductors

If current is allowed to pass through an inductor, it is found that the

voltage across the inductor is directly proportional to the time rate of
change of the current.
Using the passive sign convention,

di
v=L (18)
dt

where L is the constant of proportionality called the inductance of the

inductor. The unit of inductance is the henry (H), named in honor of
the American inventor Joseph Henry (1797–1878).
It is clear from Eq. (18) that 1 henry equals 1 volt-second per ampere.

Inductance is the property whereby an inductor exhibits opposition to the

change of current flowing through it, measured in henrys (H).

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Inductors

The inductance of an inductor depends on its physical dimension and

construction.
Formulas for calculating the inductance of inductors of different
shapes are derived from electromagnetic theory and can be found in
standard electrical engineering handbooks.
For example, for the inductor, (solenoid) shown in Figure 17,

N 2 µA
L= (19)
`
where N is the number of turns, ` is the length, A is the
cross-sectional area, and is µ the permeability of the core.
We can see from Eq. (19) that inductance can be increased by
increasing the number of turns of coil, using material with higher
permeability as the core, increasing the cross-sectional area, or
reducing the length of the coil.
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Inductors

Like capacitors, commercially available inductors come in different

values and types.
Typical practical inductors have inductance values ranging from a few
microhenrys (µH), as in communication systems, to tens of henrys
(H) as in power systems.
Inductors may be fixed or variable.
The core may be made of iron, steel, plastic, or air.
The terms coil and choke are also used for inductors.
Common inductors are shown in Figure 18.
The circuit symbols for inductors are shown in Figure 19, following
the passive sign convention.

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Inductors

Figure 19: Circuit symbols for inductors:

(a) air-core, (b) iron-core, (c) variable
iron-core.
Figure 18: Various types of inductors:
(a) solenoidal wound inductor, (b)
toroidal inductor, (c) chip inductor.
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Inductors
Equation (18), i.e., v = Ldi/dt, is the voltage-current relationship for
an inductor.
Figure 20 shows this relationship graphically for an inductor whose
inductance is independent of current. Such an inductor is known as a
linear inductor.
For a nonlinear inductor, the plot of Eq. (18) will not be a straight
line because its inductance varies with current. We will assume linear
inductors unless stated otherwise.

Figure 20: Voltage-current relationship of an inductor.

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Inductors

The current-voltage relationship is obtained from Eq. (18) as

1
di = vdt
L
Integrating gives Z t
1
i= v(t)dt (20)
L −∞
or
Z t
1
i= v(t)dt + i(t0 ) (21)
L t0

where i(t0 ) is the total current for −∞ < t < t0 and i(−∞) = 0. The
idea of making i(−∞) = 0 is practical and reasonable, because there must
be a time in the past when there was no current in the inductor.

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Inductors

The inductor is designed to store energy in its magnetic field. The energy
stored can be obtained from Eq. (18). The power delivered to the
inductor is  
di
p = vi = L i (22)
dt
The energy stored is
Z t
 
di
ω= L idt
−∞ dt
Z t (23)
1 1
=L idi = Li2 (t) − Li2 (−∞)
−∞ 2 2

Since i(−∞) = 0,
1
ω = Li2 (24)
2

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Inductors
We should note the following important properties of an inductor.
1 Note from Eq. (18) that the voltage across an inductor is zero when
the current is constant. Thus,

An inductor acts like a short circuit to dc.

2 An important property of the inductor is its opposition to the change
in current flowing through it.

The current through an inductor cannot change instantaneously.

According to Eq. (18), a discontinuous change in the current through

an inductor requires an infinite voltage, which is not physically
possible. Thus, an inductor opposes an abrupt change in the current
through it.

An inductor opposes an abrupt change in the current through it.

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Inductors

For example, the current through an inductor may take the form shown in
Figure 21(a), whereas the inductor current cannot take the form shown in
Figure 21(b) in real-life situations due to the discontinuities.

The voltage across an inductor can change abruptly.

Figure 21: Current through an inductor: (a) allowed, (b) not allowable; an abrupt
change is not possible.

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Inductors
1 Like the ideal capacitor, the ideal inductor does not dissipate energy.
The energy stored in it can be retrieved at a later time. The inductor
takes power from the circuit when storing energy and delivers power
to the circuit when returning previously stored energy.
2 A practical, nonideal inductor has a significant resistive component,
as shown in Figure 22. This is due to the fact that the inductor is
made of a conducting material such as copper, which has some
resistance. This resistance is called the winding resistance Rw , and
it appears in series with the inductance of the inductor.

Figure 22: Circuit model for a practical inductor.

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Inductors

The presence of Rw makes it both an energy storage device and an

energy dissipation device.
Since Rw is usually very small, it is ignored in most cases.
The nonideal inductor also has a winding capacitance Cw due to
the capacitive coupling between the conducting coils.
Cw is very small and can be ignored in most cases, except at high
frequencies.
We will assume ideal inductors.

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Example 8

Example 8: The current through a 0.1-H inductor is i(t) = 10te−5t A.

Find the voltage across the inductor and the energy stored in it.

Solution:
Since v = Ldi/dt and L = 0.1 H

d
v = 0.1 (10te−5t ) = e−5t + t(−5)e−5t = e−5t (1 − 5t) V
dt
The energy stored is
1 1
ω = Li2 = (0.1)100t2 e−10t = 5t2 e−10t J
2 2

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Example 9
Example 9: Find the current through a 5-H inductor if the voltage
across it is (
30t2 , t>0
v(t) =
0, t<0
Also, find the energy stored at t = 5 s. Assume i(v) > 0.
Solution:
1 Rt
Since i = v(t)dt + i(t0 ) and L = 5 H,
L t0
1 t t3
Z
i= 30t2 dt + 0 = 6 × = 2t3 A
5 0 3

The power p = vi = 60t5 , and the energy stored is then

5 5
t6
Z Z
5
ω= pdt = 60t dt = 60 = 156.25 kJ
0 6 0

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Example 9

Alternatively, we can obtain the energy stored using Eq. (24), by writing
5
1 1 1
w = Li2 (5) − Li(0) = (5)(2 × 53 )2 − 0 = 156.25 kJ
0 2 2 2

as obtained before.

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Example 10
Example 10: Consider the circuit in Figure 23(a). Under dc conditions,
find: (a) i, vC , and iL , (b) the energy stored in the capacitor and inductor.

Figure 23: For Example 10.

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Example 10
Solution:
(a) Under dc conditions, we replace the capacitor with an open circuit and
the inductor with a short circuit, as in Figure 23(b). It is evident from
Figure 23(b) that
12
i = iL = =2A
1+5
The voltage vC is the same as the voltage across the 5 Ω resistor. Hence,

vC = 5i = 10 V

(b) The energy in the capacitor is

1 2 1
ωC = CvC = (1)(102 ) = 50 J
2 2
and that in the inductor is
1 1
ωL = Li2L = (2)(22 ) = 4 J
2 2
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Series and Parallel Inductors
Consider a series connection of N inductors, as shown in Figure 24(a),
with the equivalent circuit shown in Figure 24(b). The inductors have the
same current through them.

Figure 24: (a) A series connection of N inductors, (b) equivalent circuit for the
series inductors.
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Series and Parallel Inductors

Applying KVL to the loop,

v = v1 + v2 + v3 + · · · + vN (25)

Substituting vk = Lk di/dt results in

di di di di
v = L1 + L2 + L3 + · · · + LN
dt dt dt dt
di
= (L1 + L2 + L3 + · · · + LN ) (26)
dt
N
!
X di di
= Lk = Leq
dt dt
k=1

where
Leq = L1 + L2 + L3 + · · · + LN (27)

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Series and Parallel Inductors

The equivalent inductance of series-connected inductors is the sum of

the individual inductances.

Inductors in series are combined in exactly the same way as resistors in

series.

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Series and Parallel Inductors
We now consider a parallel connection of N inductors, as shown in Figure
25(a), with the equivalent circuit in Figure 25(b). The inductors have the
same voltage across them.

Figure 25: (a) A parallel connection of N inductors, (b) equivalent circuit for the
parallel inductors.
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Series and Parallel Inductors
Using KCL,
i = i1 + i2 + i3 + · · · + iN (28)
Z t
1
But ik = vdt + ik (t0 ); hence,
Lk t0
Z t Z t Z t
1 1 1
i= vdt + i1 (t0 ) + vdt + i2 (t0 ) + · · · + vdt + iN (t0 )
L1 t0 L2 t0 LN t0
 Z t
1 1 1
= + + ··· + vdt + i1 (t0 ) + i2 (t0 ) + · · · + iN (t0 )
L1 L2 LN t0
N N
!Z
t Z t
X 1 X 1
= vdt + ik (t0 ) = vdt + i(t0 )
Lk t0 Leq t0
k=1 k=0
(29)
where
1 1 1 1 1
= + + + ··· + (30)
Leq L1 L2 L3 LN
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Series and Parallel Inductors

The initial current i(t0 ) through Leq at t = t0 is expected by KCL to be

the sum of the inductor currents at t0 . Thus, according to Eq. (29),

i(t0 ) = i1 (t0 ) + i2 (t0 ) + · · · + iN (t0 )

The equivalent inductance of parallel inductors is the reciprocal of the

sum of the reciprocals of the individual inductances.

Note that the inductors in parallel are combined in the same way as
resistors in parallel.

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Series and Parallel Inductors

For two inductors in parallel (N = 2), Eq. (30) becomes

1 1 1
= +
Leq L1 L2
or
L1 L2
Leq = (31)
L1 + L2
As long as all the elements are of the same type, the transformations for
resistors discussed in a previous chapter can be extended to capacitors and
inductors.

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Series and Parallel Inductors
Table 1: Important characteristics of the basic elements.

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Example 11
Example 11: Find the equivalent inductance of the circuit shown in
Figure 26.

Figure 26: For Example 11.

Solution: The 10-H, 12-H, and 20-H inductors are in series; thus,
combining them gives a 42-H inductance. This 42-H inductor is in parallel
with the 7-H inductor so that they are combined, to give
7 × 42
=6H
7 + 42
This 6-H inductor is in series with the 4-H and 8-H inductors. Hence,
Leq = 4 + 6 + 8 = 18 H
Magdy A. Abdelhay Electrical Circuits 1 61 / 64
Example 12
Example 12: For the circuit in Figure 27, i(t) = 4(2 − e−10t ) mA. If
i2 (0) = −1 mA. Find: (a) i1 (0); (b) v(t), v1 (t), and v2 (t); (c) i1 (t) and
i2 (t).

Figure 27: For Example 12.

Solution:
(a) From i(t) = 4(2 − e−10t ) mA, i(0) = 4(2 − 1) = 4 mA. Since
i = i1 + i2 ,
i1 (0) = i(0) − i2 (0) = 4 − (−1) = 5 mA

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Example 12

(b) The equivalent inductance is

Leq = 2 + 4||12 = 2 + 3 = 5 H

Thus,
di
v(t) = Leq = 5(4)(−1)(−10)e−10t mV = 200e−10t mV
dt
and
di
v1 (t) = 2 = 2(−4)(−10)e−10t mV = 80e−10t mV
dt
Since v = v1 + v2 ,

v2 (t) = v(t) − v1 (t) = 120e−10t mV

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Example 12

(c) The current i1 is obtained as

Z t Z t
1 120
i1 (t) = v2 dt + i1 (0) = e−10t dt + 5 mA
4 0 4 0
t
= −3e−10t + 5 mA = −3e−10t + 3 + 5 = 8 − 3e−10t mA
0

Similarly,
Z t Z t
1 120
i2 (t) = v2 dt + i2 (0) = e−10t dt − 1 mA
12 0 12 0
t
= −e−10t − 1 mA = −e−10t + 1 − 1 = e−10t mA
0

Note that i1 (t) + i2 (t) = i(t).

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