Circuit Analyses

Question 1

What are the steps to node analyses?

Answer 1

1. Assign each non-reference (ground) node a voltage
2. Use Kirchhoff’s Current Law at each non-reference node to generate current equations
3. Use Ohm’s law to express these equations in terms of node voltages
4. Solve the linear equations

Question 2

What are the steps to mesh analyses?

Answer 2

1. Assign each mesh a current
2. Use Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law to generate voltage equations for each mesh
3. Use Ohm’s law to express these equations in terms of current
4. Solve the linear equations

Question 3

What are the steps to superposition?

Answer 3

1. Turn off all independent sources but one (voltage sources become shorts and current sources become open circuits)
2. Solve the circuit
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each source and sum the resistor values

Question 4

When can you apply superposition?

Answer 4

When you have a linear circuit with more than one source

Question 5

What are the steps to converting to a Thevenin circuit?

Answer 5

1. Determine the two nodes which represent the port between the load or interest and the remainder of the circuit.
2. Remove the load.
3. Calculate the open circuit voltage between the two ports.
4. Turn off all independent sources.
5. Calculate the resistance between the two port nodes.

Question 6

What are the steps to converting to a Norton circuit?

Answer 6

1. Determine the load nodes
2. Replace the load with a short circuit
3. Determine the Norton current
4. Turn off all sources
5. Calculate the resistance between the port nodes

Question 7

How do you convert between thevenin and norton circuits?

Answer 7

Since Rt = Rn
Vt = (In)(Rn)

Question 8

When does the maximum power transfer to a load occur?

Answer 8

When the load has the same resistance as the thevenin resistance