Help for a complete newbie... Please

New member
Hello all,

Where to start... Ok well I'm not the brightest of people and did not have the best education as a child, but I'm trying to improve myself so please forgive me because I will be asking some really easy questions (well to almost all of you guys anyway) but I have to learn somewhere so I would appreciate any help you are willing to give, many thanks in advance.

So to start with I would like to learn how I go about working this out;

P=EI=(IR)I=I2R (sorry don't know how to make the 2 small)

I understand that P is power which is = to E times I (E being Voltage and I being current) but then the part in brackets, am I right in saying this is I times R (resistance) and if so what do I do with the I after the brackets to get the right answer to a question?

As I said this will be basic to all of you, but even so I would like your help if you wouldn't mind

Many thanks
Tom

Bob Brown MSEE

Full Member
 P= EI P= (IR)I Definition of E P= (RI)I can multiply in either order ( commutative ) P= R(I I) can chose first to multiply ( associative ) P= RI2 definition of squaring P= I2R can multiply in either order ( commutative )

New member
Bob,

Thanks for your reply, but I am a pure simpleton and you will need to put this in plain layman's terms for me to understand, what I'm getting from your answer is P=ExR is that right???

New member
Basically I know (or at least I think I do) P=EI means P is equal ExI then what do I with the answer to that, and how do I work out the next part (IR)I to get the answer I2R.

I know Bob answered this for me but I am that thick I cant work it out..... Or could it just be telling me that P is equal to ExI OR IxR then the answer to that is times with I hence the I2R???

stapel

Super Moderator
Staff member
Thanks for your reply, but I am a pure simpleton and you will need to put this in plain layman's terms for me to understand, what I'm getting from your answer is P=ExR is that right???
No. He said that P equalled I2R. Where are you getting that this means the same thing as "ExR"? (And where did the variable "x" come from?)

New member
No. He said that P equalled I2R. Where are you getting that this means the same thing as "ExR"? (And where did the variable "x" come from?)
Hi Stapel,

Yes I get that P=I2R ultimately!! what I was trying to work out in layman's terms how I got the answer using the formula that was in front of me.... I have already said SORRY for not understanding this and I did explain that I'm quite thick when it comes to maths or in fact any subject but I am trying to improve myself, so the variable "x" in my little world is the multiplication symbol? but of course if this is wrong I would appreciate being told so, and how to change it..

All I wanted to know in layman's terms is,

P=EI Means P equals E times I....... OR
(IR)I... Means (IR) which if you times together is the equivalent E (thanks Bob) then times it by the I as you would do above... OR
Square the I times it by the R and you will still get the same result....

Because if I'm right, which I'm still not 100% sure I am at the end of the day EI.... (IR)I.... I2R are all just ways of calculating P????

If I'm wrong please can you explain why I'm going wrong

JeffM

Elite Member
Hi Stapel,

Yes I get that P=I2R ultimately!! what I was trying to work out in layman's terms how I got the answer using the formula that was in front of me.... I have already said SORRY for not understanding this and I did explain that I'm quite thick when it comes to maths or in fact any subject but I am trying to improve myself, so the variable "x" in my little world is the multiplication symbol? but of course if this is wrong I would appreciate being told so, and how to change it..

All I wanted to know in layman's terms is,

P=EI Means P equals E times I....... OR
(IR)I... Means (IR) which if you times together is the equivalent E (thanks Bob) then times it by the I as you would do above... OR
Square the I times it by the R and you will still get the same result....

Because if I'm right, which I'm still not 100% sure I am at the end of the day EI.... (IR)I.... I2R are all just ways of calculating P????

If I'm wrong please can you explain why I'm going wrong
There are frequently many ways to express a result.

$$\displaystyle E = IR\ and\ P = EI \implies P = (IR)* R = I(R * R) = IR^2.$$

Three ways to say the same thing in English:

I will go to the store Tuesday

Tuesday, I will go to the store.

I will go on Tuesday to the store.

Subhotosh Khan

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hello all,

Where to start... Ok well I'm not the brightest of people and did not have the best education as a child, but I'm trying to improve myself so please forgive me because I will be asking some really easy questions (well to almost all of you guys anyway) but I have to learn somewhere so I would appreciate any help you are willing to give, many thanks in advance.

So to start with I would like to learn how I go about working this out;

P=EI=(IR)I=I2R (sorry don't know how to make the 2 small)

I understand that P is power which is = to E times I (E being Voltage and I being current) but then the part in brackets, am I right in saying this is I times R (resistance) and if so what do I do with the I after the brackets to get the right answer to a question?

As I said this will be basic to all of you, but even so I would like your help if you wouldn't mind

Many thanks
Tom
This is all algebra.

What level of algebra have you finished and/or you are taking now?

Subhotosh Khan

Super Moderator
Staff member
There are frequently many ways to express a result.

$$\displaystyle E = IR\ and\ P = EI \implies P = (IR)* R = I(R * R) = IR^2.$$

Three ways to say the same thing in English:

I will go to the store Tuesday

Tuesday, I will go to the store.

I will go on Tuesday to the store.
Store I will go - when Tuesday comes....

has poetic ring to it!!

New member
This is all algebra.

What level of algebra have you finished and/or you are taking now?
I have never done it before, but the company I work for have kindly paid for me to do a BTEC in a field that requires it. Now I want to show them the same amount of gratitude by passing this course.
Hard work has worked for me so far so i will just keep plugging away until I have learnt enough to carry me through, although once i complete this course I'm going to start a basic course in mathematics as I've never felt this stupid before

JeffM

Elite Member
I have never done it before, but the company I work for have kindly paid for me to do a BTEC in a field that requires it. Now I want to show them the same amount of gratitude by passing this course.
Hard work has worked for me so far so i will just keep plugging away until I have learnt enough to carry me through, although once i complete this course I'm going to start a basic course in mathematics as I've never felt this stupid before
I wish I could tell you that learning math is a snap. It's not. Elementary algebra (the algebra taught in high school) involves a small number of concepts but requires a lot of practice in learning how those concepts fit together and how to use them as a tool kit for solving real life problems. This site and purplemath have written lessons on elementary algebra, and khanacademy has lectures via youtube, but to make algebra your own, you must do many practice problems. For some reason, the concepts seem to drift away in a fog until you have used them enough times.