Diana Voropaeva

Period 02
Section I: Introduction
TITLE: Ohms Law Lab
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this experiment is: to determine the mathematical relationship
between current, potential difference, and resistance in a simple circuit and to compare the
potential vs. current behavior of a resistor to that of a light bulb.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
Computer
Vernier Circuit Board, or Vernier computer interface
Wires
Logger Pro clips to hold wires
One Vernier Current Probe
Switch
One Vernier Differential Voltage Probe
Two resistors (about 10 and 50 )
Adjustable 5 volt DC power supply
Light bulb

PROCEDURE:
1. 1. Connect the Current Probe to Channel 1 and the Differential Voltage Probe to Channel 2 of the
computer interface.
2. Open the file 22 Ohms Law in the Physics with Vernier folder. A graph of potential vs. current
will be displayed. The meter displays potential and current readings.
3. With the power supply turned off, connect the power supply, 10 resistor, wires, and clips as
shown in Figure 1. Take care that the positive lead from the power supply and the red terminal
from the Current & Voltage Probe are connected as shown in Figure 1. Note: Attach the red
connectors electrically closer to the positive side of the power supply.
4. Click Zero. A dialog box will appear. Click Ok to zero both sensors. This sets the zero for
both probes with no current flowing and with no voltage applied.
5. Have your teacher check the arrangement of the wires before proceeding. Turn the control on the
DC power supply to 0 V and then turn on the power supply. Slowly increase the voltage to 5 V.
Monitor the meter in Logger Pro and describe what happens to the current through the resistor as
the potential difference across the resistor changes.
6. Answer the Preliminary Questions.
7. Record the value of the resistor in the data table.
8. Zero your power supply: make sure the power supply is set to 0 V.
9. Click Collect to begin data collection. Monitor the voltage and current. Click Keep to keep
your data.
10. Increase the voltage on the power supply to approximately 0.5 V. Click Keep.

11. Increase the voltage by about 0.5 V. Click Keep . Repeat this process until you reach a voltage
of 5.0 V.
12. Click Stop and set the power supply back to 0 V.
13. Print a copy of the graph.
14. Click the Linear Fit button. Record the slope and y-intercept of the regression line in the data
table, along with their units.
15. Repeat Steps 1 6 using a different resistor.
16. Replace the resistor in the circuit with a 6.3 V light bulb. Repeat Steps 25, but this time increase
the voltage in 0.1 V steps up to 5.0 V.
17. To compare slopes of data at different parts of the curve, first click and drag the mouse over the
first 3 data points. Click the Linear Fit button and record the slope of the regression line in the
data table. Be sure to enter the units of the slope.
18. Click and drag the mouse over the last 10 points on the graph. Click the Linear Fit button and
record the slope of the regression line in the data table.
Section II: Data
DATA TABLES:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Preliminary Questions:
Procedural
Procedural
Procedural
Procedural
If the voltage doubles, then the current should double as well. This is because their relationship is
I =V / R , with I being the current and V being the voltage.
Slope of Regression Line
(V/A)

Y-intercept of regression line

(V)

Resistor 10

9.694 V/A

0.007822 V

Resistor 10

9.685 V/A

0.001130 V

Light Bulb (first 3 pts)

Ran out of time. Was not

calculated.

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Light Bulb (last 10 pts)

49.12 V/A

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Analysis Questions:
1. The y-intercept is at 0. The current (A) increases by 0.05 A with each event. The potential (V)
increases by 0.5 J with each event. For the first run you could use the equation V1= 10 I1,
and for the second equation V2= 10 I2.

2. I do not understand the question.

3. I do not understand the question.
4. When I applied R=V /I , I got a resistance of 10 , which was, in fact, my resistors value.
Therefore, my resistors follow Ohms Law.
5. As the potential increased through the light bulb, so did the current. However, this graph seems
to be an example exponential growth rather than a linear function. The resistance increased as the
voltage increased. Resistance increases with the temperature.
6. The Light Bulbs we used were not of the required resistance and we were not told what that
resistance is. Therefore, I am unable to answer this question.
Extension:
1. We did not have enough time to complete the extension.

CALCULATIONS:
The following formulas were used to make calculations in this experiment.
I =V / R
R=V /I
V =RI
RESULTS:
For the first graph, we got an almost perfectly linear graph, with a slope of 9.694 V/A,
which was a very good sign. However, I believe we made an error in the experiment in that for
the second graph we did not change the resistor, meaning we did two trials with the resistor at 10
. In addition, we were rushed for time in doing the portion of the experiment with the light
bulb and were unable to measure the slope of the first three points of the graph, meaning we did
not have sufficient enough information to complete the entire lab. We were able to get the slope
of the last ten points, which was 49.12 V/A. Plus, the light bulbs we used were of an unknown
and incorrect resistance in correlation to the procedure. To improve this experiment, all I can
suggest is a more thorough reading of the procedure and more time to complete the experiment,
as it was because of these reasons we did not gather all the information required for the lab and
that we may have messed up our second trial.
CONCLUSION:
Im unsure that I ended up reaching all my objectives, which were to determine the
mathematical relationship between current, potential difference, and resistance in a simple circuit

and to compare the potential vs. current behavior of a resistor to that of a light bulb. The last
objective I feel I completed, seeing that potential vs. current behavior of a resistor resulted in
specific increases per point that gave us a linear graph whereas potential vs. current behavior of a
light bulb increased quicker and more in the form of an exponential growth graph. However, I
didnt understand several of the Analysis Questions and still am a bit unsure of the relationship
between current, potential difference, and resistance.