Linear Circuits 1 - 10 - Voltage & Current Division, Part 1

Review core circuit analysis rules, including Ohm's Law and power concepts, sign conventions, Kirchhoff's laws, and a three-step method for simplifying resistors in series and parallel.

Examine a 10-volt source in parallel with two resistors. Show that equal values yield equal currents, while a smaller resistor draws a larger current, 10 A versus 1 A.

current division with an 11 amp current source feeding two parallel resistors (1 ohm and 10 ohms) yields i1 = 10 amps and i2 = 1 amp.

Learn the general current division for two parallel resistors, deriving I1 = I × R2/(R1+R2) and I2 = I × R1/(R1+R2) from Ohm's law and Kirchhoff's current law.

An example of current division demonstrates how a 5.3 amp input splits between 12 ohm and 1.9 ohm resistors using the current division formula, yielding about 0.72 and 4.58 amps.

Verify current division by applying Kirchhoff's current law, Ohm's law, and a practical check: match the largest current to the smallest resistor and vice versa.

Explain how an input current splits between two parallel resistors and how the branch current is governed by the other resistor's value, with the smaller resistor drawing the larger current.

Learn how voltage division in series circuits follows Ohm's law, showing how voltage drops scale with resistance and sum to the source, with proportional 1 kΩ and 10 kΩ examples.

Compare current division and voltage division using Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff's Current Law, and Kirchhoff's Voltage Law for two parallel or two series resistors, and check your work.