AUTHOR: Huong Vu

DATE PERFORMED: October 1, 2007

CLASS: Physics 227
SECTION: 11:10 am Monday

LAB TITLE: Ohm’s Law

GROUP MEMBERS:
Khoa Le
Tinh Nguyen
Tung Phan
Paula Perez

ABSTRACT:
In this experiment, Ohm’s law, the fundamental law of current electricity, is
examined by finding the relationship between potential difference and current in a circuit.
The resistance box, an unknown resistor and the diode were respectively connected to the
circuit. Then, according to the data, experimenter found out that the voltage and the
current are linearly related for the conductors called ohmic. However, the diode, called
nonohmic device, does not obey to the Ohm’s law, i.e. voltage is not proportional to
current. The lab was successful with small errors.

INTRODUCTION:
Ohm’s Law states that the potential difference (or voltage) across an ideal
conductor is proportional to the current through it. Moreover, any material that obeys
Ohm’s Law is called ohmic device. It was written by the German physicist Georg Ohm. It
was first published in his book Die galvanische Kette, mathematisch bearbeitet (The
Galvanic Circuit Investigated Mathematically) in 1827.

THEORY:

APPARATUS LIST:
• Power supply
• Power Amplifier
• Resistors
• Diode
• Computer program (Data studio)
CONCLUSION:
The lab was successful with small errors. The Ohm’s law was verified by
experiment. According to the data, for the conductors the voltage is proportional to the
current. Through this lab, experimenters have a chance to examine the Ohm’s law by
connecting three resistors and one diode. The graphs clearly represent their characteristic.
The Ohm’s law can be used to solve simple circuits.

QUESTION:
1) According to the graph, the first part (horizontal line and voltage = -2) indicated
that there was a current flowing, so it is forward bias. The vertical line along the
y-axis showed no current (i = 0), so it is reverse bias.
2) According to the data occurred from the lab, the diode becomes conducting at a
forward voltage of -2 V.
3) The three resistors (the resistor box of 100 Ω, the unknown resistor …) is ohmic
devices because they obey the Ohm’s Law (voltage is proportional with current).
And the diode is the non-ohmic device because its graph is non-linear and the
current depends on the polarity.