AP Physics 2 Study Guide

Chapter 3: Circuits

Brian Lee, Mr. Lawrence Pd. 2

November 2017
Contents

3 Circuits 2
3.1 Currents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.1.1 Defining Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.1.2 Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
3.1.3 Ohm’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1.4 Electric Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2 DC Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2.1 A Word on Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.2.2 Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2.3 Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2.4 Kirichnoff’s Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2.5 Capacitors and Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2.6 RC Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.3 Practice Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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Chapter 3

Circuits

3.1 Currents
3.1.1 Defining Current
Last unit we discussed how a Capacitor is charged by connecting wires between its Parallel Plates and a
battery. When that happens, electrons flow from the battery to the Capacitor and back. This thus captures
the notion of Current – literally electron flow.
Definition 3.1.1 (Electric Current). A certain amount of electrons flow through a wire given time ∆T such
that
∆Q
I= ,
∆T
where I is Current.
The unit for current is Ampere (A = C/s) and only flows in closed circuits (fully connected) – open
circuits (with a break in them) fail. This introduces an interesting point to consider – Current is conceptually
understood as electrons flowing (−) → (+) (Electron Flow), but it’s described as positive particles flowing
(+) → (−). (Conventional Current) It doesn’t impact calculations significantly, but it’s important to
remember.

3.1.2 Resistance
How fast water flows in a river depends many things, namely how wide the river is, how long that river is,
and how smooth the riverbed is (the smoother the faster). This has cross-applications over to current, which
can be viewed as a river for electrons (of sorts). This thus defines a Current’s resistance, how difficult it is
for electrons to flow in a current.
Definition 3.1.2 (Resistance). A wire’s characteristics determine how hard it is for atoms to flow, such
that
ρL
R= ,
A
where R is the wire’s resistance, ρ is the wire material’s Resistivity Constant and A is the wire’s area.

The unit for Resistance is the Ohm (Ω = V /I, see Section 3.1.2). Conceptually, wires with higher
resistance means electrons will bump into the interior more often, hence literally slowing down the electron
flow. It’s also good to know that temperature impacts resistivity, notably that higher temperatures decrease
resistance.

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CHAPTER 3. CIRCUITS 3

3.1.3 Ohm’s Law

Section 3.1.2 defined Resistance in the context of wire characteristics, but it can be defined within the
characteristics of circuits as well. Doing so revolves around the understanding that
V ∝ I,
that is, a higher Voltage difference yields higher current. Similarly we can conceptualize Voltage how much
V there is given a certain I 1 – in other words,
V
R= .
I
This thus defines the most pivotal equation in circuits.
Definition 3.1.3 (Ohm’s Law). A circuit’s voltage is proportional to its current, but is gauged by how much
resistance it has.
V = IR
In a circuit, any electrical device (e.g. light bulbs) added to the circuit adds additional resistance in
addition to the base resistance of the wire. These devices are collectively known as resistors, and are
commonly written in a circuit diagram, as shown in Figure 3.1.

Battery R

Figure 3.1: Circuit Diagram

3.1.4 Electric Power

When one turns on a light bulb, it brightly glows. In actuality, that bulb has very little Resistance – most
of the Current is being released in the form of light, that is, power. Given a certain amount of time, it
releases a certain amount of light, or energy. This thus defines power.
Definition 3.1.4 (Electric Power). Power determines how much of a current is wasted in the form of energy
over a certain amount of time
PE qV V2
P = = = IV = = I 2R
t t R
Power is commonly expressed in watts (W), but it can also be expressed in terms of Energy itself, or
kilowatt-hours (kW · h).

3.2 DC Circuits
3.2.1 A Word on Batteries
In AP Physics 1, batteries were abstracted out as VT . However, that’s not exactly the case, especially since
they have their own resistance. The basic idea is that the circuit’s voltage (i.e. VT ) is less than the battery’s
provided voltage.
Definition 3.2.1. Let E represent the battery’s source of electromotive force (emf ), the provided voltage.
Let r represent battery B’s internal resistance to the circuit’s current. Let VT be less than E, such that 2
VT = E − Ir,
where I is the current.
1 analogous to velocity’s distance/time
2V is listed in the textbook, and that is also good.
ab
CHAPTER 3. CIRCUITS 4

3.2.2 Series
There are two major types of circuits covered in AP Physics, the first being Series Circuits. Its main
characteristic is that all of its resistors run through a single branch of current, as shown in Figure 3.2.

R R

VT

Figure 3.2: Series Circuit

As depicted in Figure 3.2, there is one current flow for all resistors. This introduces the Series Circuit’s
first property.
Theorem 3.2.1. Current is constant throughout a Series Circuit.

Inet = In ,

where In represents the current at each resistor.

Energy Conservation in turn introduces two additional Series Circuit properties.
Theorem 3.2.2. A Series Circuit’s Voltage is composed of the sum of its constituents.

Vnet = ΣVn ,

where Vn represents the Voltage at each resistor.

Theorem 3.2.3. A Series Circuit’s Resistance is composed of the sum of its constituents.

Req = ΣRn ,

where Rn represents each resistor’s resistance.

3.2.3 Parallel
A Parallel Circuit, on the other hand, separates branches for each resistor, as seen in Figure 3.3.

VT

Figure 3.3: Parallel Circuit

Figure 3.3 also illustrates that V is constant to the left and right of the resistors – that is, the number of
branches of Current doesn’t impact the Voltage drop. This introduces the Parallel Circuit’s first property.
CHAPTER 3. CIRCUITS 5

Theorem 3.2.4. A Parallel Circuit’s Voltage is constant throughout the entire circuit.
VT = Vn ,
where n represents each resistor.
Additionally, it is clearly seen that the branches of Current in Figure 3.3 eventually merge back to one
branch. This introduces an additional property.
Theorem 3.2.5. A Parallel Circuit’s Current is composed of its constituents.
Inet = ΣIn ,
where In represents the Current at each resistor.
Theorem 3.2.5 can in turn be rewritten (referencing Figure 3.3) as
Inet = I1 + I2
And in turn using Ohm’s Law,
V V V
= +
REQ R1 R2
1 1 1
= + ,
REQ R1 R2
thus yielding our last Primary Circuit Property.
Theorem 3.2.6. A Parallel Circuit’s Resistance decreases per each additional resistor.
1 1
=Σ
REQ Rn

3.2.4 Kirichnoff ’s Laws

Problem 3.3.4 illustrates one method to solve circuit problems, which is to reduce the circuit to a single
circuit and work backwards. However, some circuits are too complicated to use this method. To that end,
there are a set of higher-level rules that work for any circuit 3 called Kirichnoff ’s Rules which are based
off Conservation of Energy and Charge.
Definition 3.2.2 (Junction Rule). The amount of Current entering a junction equals the amount of Current
leaving it.
Ientering = ILeaving
Definition 3.2.3 (Loop Rule). Given any arbitrary loop of Current in a circuit (that is, starting and ending
on the same junction), the Voltage doesn’t change. That is,
∆Vloop = 0

3.2.5 Capacitors and Circuits

In some problems, Capacitors will be used instead of resistors in a circuit. The very basic thing to remember
is that Capacitor rules are the opposite of Resistor rules. A proof of the following rules is omitted here (they
are in the textbook).
Definition 3.2.4. Given a circuit and capacitors C1 ,C2 , ... Cn all in parallel, capacitance sums.
CEQ = ΣCn ,
where Cn represents each individual capacitor.
Definition 3.2.5. Given a circuit and capacitors C1 , C2 , ... Cn all in series, the inverse of capacitance
sums.
1 1
=Σ ,
CEQ Cn
where Cn represents each resistor.
3 including the one in Problem 3.3.4
CHAPTER 3. CIRCUITS 6

3.2.6 RC Circuits
A very common scenario of circuit is RC Circuit, where a circuit includes a capacitor and a resistor, as in
Figure 3.4. There’s a couple key things to know about the capacitor’s behavior in the circuit.
1. When t = 0, the capacitor acts like a regular wire. Assuming the the capacitor has not accrued
any charge yet, (most questions operate with this given) no resistance has been generated.
2. When t = +∞, the capacitor acts like an open circuit. As the capacitor approaches full charge,
its resistance gradually increases until it becomes essentially ∞. (Compared to the wire’s resistance).
Because of that, current can’t flow through the capacitor, hence the open circuit. This, by extension,
means the Current gradually decreases to 0. This does not mean, however, that the Voltage becomes
0. The voltage difference is still there – it’s just that current no longer flows.
3. The capacitor’s voltage VC gradually matches E. Initially VC increases rapidly, until gradually
leveling off at E.
These observations hence form the basis for Definitions 3.2.6 and 3.2.7.4

E C

Figure 3.4: Battery and Capacitor

Definition 3.2.6. Given capacitor C in a circuit, its voltage VC initially increases rapidly, but as t → +∞,
VC levels off at E. This is expressible as

VC = E(1 − e−t/RC ),

where E is the battery’s EMF, e is Euler’s number, t is time, and RC (Resistance × Capacitance) is the
time constant (τ ), a measure of how fast a capacitor charges.
Definition 3.2.7. Given capacitor C in a circuit, the circuit’s current at the capacitor initially decreases
rapidly, but eventually levels off and approaches 0. This is a exponential decay relationship expressible as
VR E
I= = e−t/RC ,
R R
where R is the resistor’s resistance, and VR is the resistor’s voltage, expressible in another exponential decay
relationship as
VR = Ee−t/RC .
The textbook has a more in-depth mathematical overview of the relationships.

3.3 Practice Problems

Problem 3.3.1. Electrons carry energy from a battery to a lightbulb. What happens to the electrons when
they reach the lightbulb?
1. The electrons are used up.
2. the electrons stay in the lightbulb.
4 It’s much more important to understand Capacitance’s behavior than memorize formulas.
CHAPTER 3. CIRCUITS 7

3. The electrons are emitted as light.

4. Fewer electrons leave the bulb than enter it.
5. None of the above.
Solution. An important point must be made about resistors: They do not ‘use up’ any Current or
Charge – Current is always conserved; it’s just that it’s expresed in different ways. To that end, all of
these answer choices are wrong in that they imply that charge was used up in some way – only choice 5 is
correct.
Problem 3.3.2. The total capacitance of several capacitors in parallel is the sum of the individual capaci-
tances for which of the following reasons?
a) The charge on each capacitor depends on each its resistance, but the potential difference across each
is the same.
b) The charge is the same on each resistor, but the potential difference across each capacitor depends on
its capacitance.
c) Equivalent capacitance is always greater than the largest capacitence.
d) Capacitors in a circuit always combine like resistors in series.
e) The parallel combination increases the effective separation of the plates.
Solution. The same reasoning as to why the Voltage of resistors in parallel is the same applies. Even though
the individual capacitors themselves are charged to different levels, the voltage differences remain constant
on the capacitors’ left side and the capacitors’ right side. The answer is thus A.
Problem 3.3.3. A wire of length L and radius r has resistance R. What is the resistance of a second wire
made from the same material that has a length L/2 and a radius R/2?
a) 4R b) 2R c) R d) R/2 e) R/4
Solution. Using Definition 3.1.2, we first express the initial resistance as
ρL ρL
R= = 2.
A πr
The problem tells us that L and R are halved. We express the changes as

ρ × 21 L ρL
R2 =
2 = 2 × 2 = 2R.
1
π 2r πr

The answer is thus B. The important thing to note is that R was treated as an initial value. The goal for
these kinds of problems is to express the desired changes in terms of the initial value.
Question 3.3.4 and 3.3.5 relate to Figure 3.5.
Problem 3.3.4. What is the current I1 ?
a) 0.8mA b) 1.0mA c) 2.0mA d) 3.0mA e) 6.0mA
Solution. This problem highlights one method to solve circuit problems: reduce the circuit to a single resistor
and work backwards. We first begin by finding REQ , for which we’ll need to use both Series and Circuit
properties.
1 1 1
= +
R23 2000Ω 6000Ω
R23 = 1500Ω
REQ = R1 + R23 = 2500Ω + 1500Ω = 4000Ω
CHAPTER 3. CIRCUITS 8

R2 = 2000Ω
I2

R1 = 2500Ω

R3 = 6000Ω
I3

I1

E = 12V

Figure 3.5: Problem 3.3.4 and 3.3.5

Using Ohm’s law we find Inet .

V 12V
I= = = 0.0003 = 3.0mA
R 4000Ω
In this particular problem I1 has not encountered any splits, so we conclude I1 = Inet , or D.
Problem 3.3.5. How do currents I1 ,I2 , and I3 compare?
a) I1 > I2 > I3 b) I1 > I3 > I2 c) I2 > I1 > I3 d) I3 > I1 > I2 e) I3 > I2 > I1
Solution. Given that I2 and I3 branch off I1 , we know that I1 > I2 and I1 > I3 . We also know that since
R2 and R3 are in parallel, V2 = V3 . With V constant, we can safely reason that ↑ R →↓ I, or I3 > I2 . In
other words, I1 > I2 > I3 , or A.
Problem 3.3.6. A power station delivers 750kW of power at 12, 000V to a factory through wires with
total resistance 3.0Ω. How much less power is wasted if the electricity is delivered at 50, 000V rather than
12, 000V?
Solution. This problem highlights the difference between Power Delivered versus Power Dissipated.
Power Delivered goes through the circuit and is associated with
P = IV,
the current and the Voltage through the line in question. Power Dissipated is dissipated as heat – that is, it
has to do with how much resistance the wire puts up or
P = I 2 R.
The equation P = V 2 /R isn’t any less valid, but it’s important to understand P = V 2 /R concerns V with
the entire circuit, not over a specific line.
In this problem, it’s important to understand that the power station’s output – 750kW – is constant.
Rather, V and I increase/decrease accordingly to maintain P . By solving for I, we can determine how much
Power Dissipation there was using P = I 2 R.
PDelivered = IV
PDelivered
I=
V
 2  2  2 
2 P Delivered 750, 000W 750, 000W
∆PDissipated = ∆I R = ∆ R = 3Ω −
V 12, 000V 50, 000V
≈ 1.1 × 104 W
Counter-intuitively, increasing the Voltage decreases the Power Dissipation – this explains why industrial
circuits posess so much Voltage, and should be avoided.