Circuit analysis

This course is a part of Electrical engineering, a 9-course Topic series from Khan Academy.

Circuit analysis is the process of finding all the currents and voltages in a network of connected components. We look at the basic elements used to build circuits, and find out what happens when elements are connected together into a circuit.

This course contains 5 segments:

Circuit elements

The basic elements of circuit design are components (resistors, capacitors, and inductors), and sources (voltage and current). We describe these elements as both ideal elements and real-world objects. We also develop precise terminology for how to talk about circuits and label voltages and currents.

Resistor circuits

Series and parallel resistors, delta-wye networks, and the voltage divider

DC circuit analysis

Determine the state of a DC circuit using Kirchhoff's Laws, node voltage method, mesh or loop current methods.

Natural and forced response

Circuits containing capacitors and inductors change with time. The natural and forced response of RC, RL, and RLC circuits.

AC circuit analysis

If we limit ourselves to input signals shaped like sines or cosines, we can develop a whole AC analysis method to figure out what happens in circuits with changing signals. The methods are far simpler than solving a differential equation.