ELECTRIC CIRCUIT PROBLEMS

WITH SOLUTIONS
Electric Circuit Problems
with Solutions
F. A. BENSON
D.Eng., Ph.D., F.LE.E., Sen.M.LE.E., F.Illum.E.S.
Professor of Electronic and Electrical Engineering,
University of Sheffield

LONDON
CHAPMAN AND HALL
 First published 1967 by
E & F. N. Spon Ltd.,
Second edition published 1975
by Chapman and Hall Ltd.
11 New Fetter Lane, London E4CP 4EE
© 1975 F. A. Benson

TSBN-13: 978-0-412-21260-4 e-TSBN-13: 978-94-009-5847-0

DOT: 10.1007/978-94-009-5847-0

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 74-33176
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Electrical-engineering and electronic-engineering students have

frequently to resolve and simplify quite complex circuits in order
to understand them or to obtain numerical results and a sound
knowledge of basic circuit theory is therefore essential. The author is
very much in favour of tutorials and the solving of problems as a
method of education. Experience shows that many engineering
students encounter difficulties when they first apply their theoretical
knowledge to practical problems.
Over a period of about twenty years the author has collected a
large number of problems on electric circuits while giving lectures
to students attending the first two post-intermediate years of Uni-
versity engineering courses. The purpose of this book is to present
these problems (a total of 365) together with many solutions (some
problems, with answers, given at the end of each Chapter, are left
as student exercises) in the hope that they will prove of value to other
teachers and students. Solutions are separated from the problems
so that they will not be seen by accident. The answer is given at the
end of each problem, however, for convenience.
Parts of the book are based on the author's previous work Electrical
Engineering Problems with Solutions which was published in 1954.
Very specialized material in the earlier book, such as electrochemistry,
machine windings and illumination, has been omitted together with
elementary problems on units and circuit parameters while other
topics have now been introduced or covered much more fully. It has
been necessary to limit the number of examples so some subjects,
such as topology and signal-flow graphs, which readers may expect
to find included have had to be left out and others have had less
space devoted to them than one would have liked. Valve and tran-
sistor circuits have not been dealt with as these are covered in con-
siderable detail in the author's existing book Problems in Electronics
with Solutions. For the same reason coupled circuits, more advanced
problems on transients in circuits and Fourier-series representation
of non-sinusoidal waveforms have been omitted.
The author cannot possibly claim that all the problems in the
collection are original and it is impossible to acknowledge the sources
v
vi PREFACE
of those which are not. He is indebted to the late Professor E. W.
Marchant, D.Sc., F.e.G.!., Hon. M.I.E.E., who granted permission
for a set of problems, originally produced for students at the University
of Liverpool, to form the basis of Electrical Engineering Problems
with Solutions. Some of these problems have been used again. The
author also wishes to thank his colleagues 0.1. Butler, D.Sc., F.!.E.E.,
A.M.I.Mech.E., R. Brown, B.Eng., Ph.D., P. J. Spreadbury, M.A.,
M.Sc. and J. Dobson, B.Eng., Ph.D. for providing questions and
solutions on certain topics which they have produced for tutorial
classes and the University of Sheffield for permission to use some of
the questions set in examination papers.
Although great care has been taken to try to eliminate mistakes
some will inevitably have crept in and the author will be glad to have
any brought to his notice.
F. A. BENSON

Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department,

The University of Sheffield,
1966.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

Many changes have been made in this edition to bring the nomencla-
ture up-to-date and to use S.1. units throughout. For example mho
has been replaced by siemens, cycle per second by hertz and vector
by phasor. Also British units have been deleted. In addition the
circuit diagrams have been re-drawn to conform to the recom-
mendations in B.S.S. 3939. Some further minor modifications and
corrections have been made.
F. A. BENSON

Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department,

The University of Sheffield,
1975
 CONTENTS
Preface to the first edition page v
Preface to the second edition vi
SECTION ONE • PROBLEMS

1 D.C. Circuits. Problems 1-92 1

2 Single-Phase A.C. Circuits. Problems'9~200 28
3 Complex Quantities and their use in A.C. Circuits
Problems 201-243 54
4 Polyphase Circuits. Problems 244-278 64
5 Non-sinusoidal Waves. Problems 279-300 73
6 Transformers and Electric Machines. Problems 301-365 78

SECTION TWO· SOLUTIONS

Problems 1-57, 9~159, 201-224, 244-265, 279-292, 301-325 97
Index 255

vii