Click on “Download PDF” for the PDF version or on the title for the HTML version.

If you are not an ASABE member or if your employer has not arranged for access to the full-text, Click here for options.

A first step in analyzing an electrical or electronic device or network is to describe its equivalent circuit in terms of ideal electrical elements. After completing the description, all the currents and voltages can be determined by applying three fundamental laws of circuits: Ohms Law, Kirchoffs Voltage Law, and Kirchoffs Current Law. This chapter will develop procedures for using these three laws to solve series, parallel, and combination series-parallel circuits made up of resistive components. An electrical circuit (or multiple circuits) consisting of several loads each having only resistance is known as a resistive network. It is important to remember that the procedures in this chapter are valid for circuits containing only resistance elements. In future chapters these will be modified to handle more complex circuits and elements.