Circuit Variables & Elements

MCAT Basics (from MedSchoolCoach)

MedSchoolCoach

Science

4.6 • 612 Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode of MCAT Basics covers the world of circuits. We will explore electrical circuits and their fundamental principles.

We’ll start with dissecting the essential parameters that form the backbone of circuits: voltage, current, resistance, and power. These are the building blocks upon which all circuit dynamics are based.

Next, we'll explore a variety of circuit elements, from resistors to batteries, capacitors, and switches. Each of these components plays a vital role in shaping the behavior of circuits and understanding their functionality.

Finally, we'll delve into Ohm’s Law and Kirchhoff’s Law, two fundamental principles that govern circuit behavior. By grasping these laws, you'll gain essential insights into how circuits operate and how to analyze their dynamics effectively.

Visit MedSchoolCoach.com for more help with the MCAT and use promo code PODCAST to receive a five percent discount on your first session.

Jump into the conversation:

[00:00] MCAT Tutorig from MedSchoolCoach

[00:34] Welcome to MCAT Basics

[01:07] Topics covered in this episode

[02:14] Circuit Variables - voltage, current resistance, power

[22:59] Circuit Elements - resistors, sources of voltage, capacitors, and switches

[44:28] Ohm's Law

[45:24] Kirchhoff's Law

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to MCAT basics, your ultimate guide to the essential topics you need to master for the MCAT,
0:06.2	brought to you by the physicians at med school coach. Every week, Sam Smith breaks down high-yield
0:11.4	MCAT topics, ensuring you're primed for success on test day. Join Sam as we explore the most
0:17.1	crucial subjects outlined by the AAMC, pulled from official practice materials and third-party
0:22.2	resources. Get ready to elevate your MCAT game with topics tailored to maximize your score potential.
0:30.1	Hello, I'm Sam Smith. I don't remember the exact derivative you have to use, but you have to use a
0:35.9	pretty specific equation. It's really
0:38.3	not important for the MCAT. But essentially what's going on is your first off, you're charging
0:42.8	up your capacitor. So you have your capacitor and it's plugged into some battery. And over time,
0:49.6	fairly quickly, what's going to happen is you're going to start charging the plates of the
0:54.0	capacitor. And so on one charging the plates of the capacitor.
0:55.0	And so on one of the plates, you'll have a bunch of positive charge built up, and then in the
0:59.4	other plate, you'll have an equal amount of charge, but it will be negative charge built up.
1:03.9	So you keep building up this charge until you reach the maximum charge that can be stored
1:08.8	by that capacitor.
1:10.1	And at this point, the capacitor is fully charged.
1:13.2	And what happens now, and this is usually done by flipping a switch, is you put this capacitor
1:20.3	that's fully charged in a circuit with just a resistor. And this is now an RC circuit. And what happens now is that this capacitor
1:31.1	or the energy stored in this capacitor now drives a current around the circuit and the energy
1:38.3	is dissipated through the resistor. So what happens is you'll get a current flowing for a bit
1:43.4	and then the resistor will continue to kind of give off energy, give off energy until that current dies down, and the parallel plate capacitor has discharged all of its energy. So essentially, a parallel plate capacitor, once it's charged, can act like this kind of short-term battery.
2:02.3	It stores a little bit of charge, just enough to get you, you know, over a hump, I guess.
	...

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