CURRENT, RESISTANCE, AND CAPACITANCE (CIRCUIT ANALYSIS)

The microscopic model of current and resistance, and the macroscopic bechaviour of simple circuits.

Students should be able to:

Current
• descibe current microscopically using the Plinko model of conduction.
• descibe conductivity in terms of the microscopic quantities that make it up.
• use the current to predict the electric field strength in a conductor.
• use the electric field to predict the current and drift velocity of electrons.
• given the necessary information, calucate the drift velocity.
• predict how the current will change when microscopic properties are changed.

Resistance
• describe what resistivity is, and how it is related to conductivity.
• describe what resistance is.
• predict how a resistance will change if the geometry of the resistor changes.
• find the equivalent resistance of two or more resistors in series or parallel.

Capacitance
• explain why capacitance only depends of the physical geometry of the capacitor.
• predict the behaviour of a capacitor when the geometry is changed (both connected to a voltage source, or charged and disconnected)
• determine the electric field inside a capacitor
• given the necessary information (i.e., dimension of hte capacitor) calculate the capacitance.
• find the equivalent capacitance of two or more capacitors in parallel or in sersies.

Circuit Analysis
• Use kirchoff's loop law to analyze a circuit.
• Determine the voltage difference between two points in a circuit.
• Find the current running through a component of a circuit.


• Determine the amount of current in an RC circuit, or the amount of charge on a capacitor, a given amount of time after a switch is flipped.
• Calculate the time constant of an RC curcuit.
• Predict the voltage across the capacitor or resistor in an RC circuit the moment after a switch is flipped.
• Predict the voltage across the capacitor or resistor in an RC circuit very long after a switch is flipped.
• Describe the current through a capacitor the instant it starts to charge.
• Describe the current through a capacitor when it's fully charged.
• Plot the voltage across a component as a capacitor is dischraging.