Hello circuit nerds, this is my first time posting on this forum so bear with me if I break a few rules!

I am working on my circuits homework and I was not sure how to approach this problem. I am not familiar with how to interpret the grounds.

I thought that I would use mesh current analysis, but as I do not necessarily have any meshes, I didn't know what to do. So then I thought about nodal analysis. But how do I handle two voltage sources on one wire? Which direction is the current going? If someone could work out the problem and show it to me, I would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I don't know the answer to the extra credit either! Thanks

 

Since they are all ground, they can be connected with a wire for purposes of calculating behavior via the mesh method.

 

The ground symbol just saves the clutter of drawing the connecting wires. If this is a simulation schematic, it also probably serves to tell the simulator that this is Node 0, the reference node for the simulator. I'm guessing that the .tran is also a command for the simulator, configuring the transient analysis options.

For more help, you need to show some work.

 

Ok, one of my friends suggested the grounds could be connected with a wire, but we weren't sure. That was pretty much most of what I needed to know, I'll reply later if I have any more questions. Thanks!

 

Sure thing. Good luck and please come back if you do have more questions. Or even just to visit.