Chapter 3: Simple Resistive Circuits

Series Connected Elements

elements that carry the same current and connected at a single node.

Black box

 an implied opaque container to hide contents from view

Parallel Connected Elements

elements that carry the same voltage and are connected at both ends of a each of their nodes

Voltage Divider Circuit

a circuit that produces two or more smaller voltages from a single voltage supply

Load

consists of one or more circuit elements that draw power from the circuit

Current Divider Circuit

a circuit that produces two or more smaller currents from a single current source

Voltage Division

a circuit analysis technique that states that the voltage drop across a single resistor in a series of resistors is proportional to the total voltage drop across the set.

Current Division

a circuit analysis technique that states that the current through a single resistor from a collection of parallel-connected resistors is proportional to the total current  supplied to the set of parallel-connected resistors

Ammeter

an instrument designed to measure current; it is placed in series with the circuit element whose current is being measured

Voltmeter

 an instrument designed to measure voltage; it is placed in parallel with the element whose voltage is being measured.

Analog Meter

a type of measuring device based on the d’Arsonval meter movement, which includes a dial readout pointer

Digital Meter

meters that measure the continuous voltage or current signal at discrete points in time, called the sampling times.

Delta Interconnection

a interconnection that looks like the Greek letter ∆. It is also called a pi interconnection because the ∆ can be reshaped like the Greek letter π without disturbing the electrical equivalence of the two configurations

Wye Interconnection

 a interconnection that can be shaped to look like Y.  also called a tee (T) interconnection because the Y structure can be reshaped into a T structure without disturbing the electrical equivalence of the two structure

Wheatstone Bridge

a circuit that is used to make precise measurements of a resistor’s value using four resistors, a dc voltage source, and a galvanometer