PHY 201 Kirchhoff-01

PHY 201: Using Kirchhoff's Rules (and Excel) to Solve for the Currents in a Network of Resistors

Consider the network below:

Let us assign currents I₁ going through R₁ (downward), I₂ going through R₂ (downward) and I₃ going through R₃ (to the right).

We will apply Kirchhoff's current (node) rule immediately by noting that I₄=I₁-I₃ going through R₄ (downward) and I₅=I₂+I₃ going through R₅ (downward).