ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS 100

NAME

: Wong Yee Jing

Tan Tze Sing
Goh Ruoh Chien
Angela Voon Joon Lan
Angela Tiong Ung Sang
Koh Huey Ying

GROUP

: Group 1C Monday (8:00am)

LABORATORY

: 1 (Laboratory Test Equipments, Basic DC

Measurements and Ohms Law)

LABORATORY
SUPERVISOR

: Mr. Chua Shin Cheng

DATE PERFORMED

: 4th March 2013

DATE SUBMITTED

: 18th March 2013

(7E1B9107)
(7E1B9012)
(7E1B9087)
(7E2B1464)
(7E2B1281)
(7E1B9270)

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

Table of Contents

Page

1.0 Introduction. 2-4

2.0 Experiment 1: Ohms Law5
2.1 Results and Calculations..5-6
2.2 Discussion7
3.0 Experiment 2: Basic Measurement I...8
3.1 Results and Calculations..8
3.2 Discussion9-10
4.0 Experiment 3: Basic Measurement II.10
4.1 Results and Calculations.10-11
4.2 Discussion.12-13
5.0 Experiment 4: Basic Measurement III.14
5.1 Results and Calculations..14
5.2 Discussion.15-16
6.0 Experiment 5: Basic Measurement IV.17
6.1 Results and Calculations...17-18
6.2 Discussion.19
7.0 Conclusion.20
8.0 References.21
9.0 Appendix...22-24

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

1.0 Introduction
R1

R
2

R3
Figure 1: Series Circuit
In series circuit (Figure 1), the current that flows through each of the components in
the circuit is the same. This is because that any charges flow through one resistor must also
flow through the other. Besides, the total voltage of the series circuit is the sum of voltage
across each resistor. The voltage across each particular resistor can be calculated by using
Ohms Law. Ohms law shows the relationship between the potential difference (V), current
(I) and resistance (R). It can be written in three ways,
R=

V
I

or

V=IR

or

I=

V
R

Where:
V =voltage/ potential difference (V)
I = current (A)
R =resistance ()
Ohms law states that electric current passing through a conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference across it provided the temperature and other
conditions remain unchanged (Mastascusa 2012). The greater the voltage, the greater the
current will be produced. According to theory which states that I is directly proportional to V,
a straight line graph is obtained in graph of I versus V whereas, the graph of I versus 1/R
shows a quadratic line which start from the origin line as I is inversely proportional to R.
The total resistance in the series circuit can be calculated by summing up all of those
resistances in a series circuit by using Equation 1. The equivalent resistance of a series
connection of resistors is always greater than any individual resistance.
RT=R1+R2++Rn
(Equation 1)

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

V
R1

R2

R3

Figure 2: Parallel Circuit

Figure 2 shows a parallel circuit. A parallel circuit is a circuit that has more than one
resistor which has multiple paths to move along. No charge will pass through the path if one
of the items in the circuit is broken while other paths will continue to have charges flow
through them (Wagon 1998).
The potential drops are equal to the potential rise across each of the resistor. The
equation is shown as below,

(Equation 2)
The current outside the branches is the same as the total of the current drawn from the
supply. Equation 3 below shows the relationship of currents in branches. The current is not
the same through each resistor because any charge flowing through one resistor cannot flow
through the other.

(Equation 3)
The total resistance for parallel circuit is always less than any of the branch resistance.
The total resistance in the circuit will decrease with the addition of more parallel resistances
to the paths. Thus, the inverse of the total resistance of the circuit is equal to the sum of the
inverses of the individual resistances. The equation is shown as below:

(Equation 4)

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

Furthermore, Ohms Law is used in parallel circuit to calculate the current of each of
the branches. Ohms Law states that the current flowing through a conductor is linearly
proportional to the potential difference across its ends at constant temperature.
V=RI (at constant temperature)
Where V is potential difference/voltage, R is resistance () and I is current (A).

-4-

(Equation 5)

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

2.0 Experiment 1: Ohms Law

Figure 3
2.1 Results and Calculations:
Table 1: Experimental Data from Experiment 1 (Ohms Law).
Calculated Current
(mA)
0.00

Measured Resistance
(k)

0.00

Measured Current
(mA)
0.00

2.00

1.10

1.10

1.82

4.00

2.20

2.20

1.82

6.00

3.30

3.30

1.82

8.00

4.50

4.40

1.78

10.00

5.50

5.60

1.82

12.00

6.60

6.70

1.82

14.00

7.70

7.80

1.82

16.00

8.80

8.90

1.82

18.00

10.00

10.00

1.80

20.00

11.00

11.10

1.82

Supply E1 (V)

-5-

0.00

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

Graph 1: Graph of Voltage, V (V) versus Current, I (mA)

Calculations:
There are three types of Ohms law formulas shown as below,
V=IR

(Equation 6)

V
R

(Equation 7)

V
I

(Equation 8)

I=

R=

Theoretical values of current can be calculated according to Equation 7 while the

resistance was calculated using Equation 8. There is a relationship that could be stated for
Ohms Law. By referring to Equation 6, voltage, V is directly proportional to current, I
while the resistance, R is constant.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

2.2 Discussion
The objective of conducting this experiment was to experimentally verify Ohms Law
through measurement and to confirm findings by comparing measured values with prediction.
In Ohms law, the current (I), voltage (V) and resistance (R) are related to formula,
V=IR, which also can be written as R=

V
. V is directly proportional to I as shown in Graph 1.
I

The conductor is said to be ohmic if it obeyed Ohms law because R is kept constant at a
given temperature independent on the direction of the current (Current-voltage (I-V)
Characteristics of Circuit Elements 2013).
From the Graph 1 plotted, gradient can be derived from the y-axis, which is voltage,
over x-axis, which is current. In other words, the resistance which is the gradient can be
calculated by using formula, R=

V
, where V represents difference of voltage while I
I

represents difference of current. The gradient of the graph is 1.82k. By using formula, y=
mx+c, the accuracy of result can be verified since points were on the linear line when
substitute each point into the formula, where m=1.82 is obtained from graph. The Ohms law
experiment can be said successful as there was no much difference between the experimental
results and the theoretical values.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

3.0 Experiment 2: Basic Measurement I (Voltage and Current Polarity)

Figure 4
3.1 Results and Calculations:
Table 2: Experimental Data from Basic Measurement I.
Quantity
E1
VR1
VR2
IR1
IR2

Measured Values
14.00 V
10.95 V
3.00 V
11.17 mA
11.16 mA

Calculated Values
14.00 V
11.02 V
2.98 V
11.00 mA
11.00 mA

Calculations:
The voltages were calculated by using voltage divider as according to Equation 9. This
equation indicated that the higher the resistance, the higher the voltage.

)
(Equation 9)

Since the circuit is series, hence the current that flows throughout the circuit will be the same.
Ohms Law equation was applied in this case as according to Equation 10.

(Equation 10)

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

3.2 Discussion
The objective of conducting this experiment was to validate the application of
Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL) and Kirchhoffs Current Law (KCL) in series circuit.
From the results of measured voltages, VR1 has the higher value, 10.95V compared to

VR 2 , 3.00V. This is according to Ohms Law, the higher the resistance, the higher the voltage
as high energy is needed to go against the resistance (All About Circuit 2012).
Besides of Ohms Law, Kirchhoffs Voltage Law is another essential and prior law to
be discussed. According to the experimental voltage values, the sum of VR1 and VR 2 was
equal to 13.95V, which was believed to be almost same as the measured electromotive force
(e.m.f), which was 14V. This phenomenon obeys the law.

Kirchhoffs Voltage Law

emphasises on the conservation of electrical energy. Hence, the voltage drop across the
closed loop will be equal to zero. This has further indicated that the voltage across a battery
will be same as the sum of the voltages across the two resistors (refer to Equation 11)
(Mastascusa 2012).
(Equation 11)
Meanwhile, the measured current values for I R1 and I R 2 were 11.17 mA and 11.16
mA, which the difference between them was insignificant. Thus, we consider both values are
the same. From the above phenomenon, Kirchhoffs Current Law cannot be explained since
the circuit was series. Kirchhoffs Current Law is applicable in circuits that have nodes and
junctions. The law is based on the conservation of charge. Hence, we can say that the total
current entering a node must be equal to the total current leaving the node (refer Figure 5).
This indicates that the sum of current entering and leaving the node will be equal to zero
(refer Equation 12) (University of Guelph 2013).

i2

i1

i3

Figure 5: The total current

entering a node equals to
the total current leaving the
node.

i4

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

i1 i2 i3 i4
i1 i2 i3 i4 0

(Equation 12)

After tabulating the experimental and calculated results in Table 2, we realised the
differences between the values. It might be due to the heat loss when current passes through
the resistors. Moreover, it might be caused by the fluctuation and the insensitivity of the
Digital Multimeter.

4.0 Experiment 3: Basic Measurement II (Voltage Reference Point)

Figure 6

4.1 Results and Calculations:

Table 3: Experimental Data from Basic Measurement II.
Quantity
E1
VR1
VR2
VR3
VA
VB
VC
VD

Measured voltage values (V)

17.02
7.18
3.93
5.93
17.03
9.85
5.93
0.00
- 10 -

Calculated voltage values (V)

17.00
7.12
3.95
5.93
17.00
9.88
5.93
0.00

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

VAB
VBC
VCD
VDC
VCB
VBA

7.18
3.93
5.93
-5.92
-3.92
-7.17

7.12
3.95
5.93
-5.93
-3.95
-7.12

Calculations
The values of E1, VR1, VR2 and V R 3 can be calculated by using Ohms Law (Equation
13):
V=

I
R

(Equation 13)

The values of VA, VB, VC and V D can be measured by calculating the voltage between
those particular points to a common reference point which is the ground point. For example,
the value of VA is equal to the voltage from point A to the ground. VAB means that the voltage
of point A with respect to point B. It can be calculated by using equation below:
VAB=VA-VB=-VBA

(Equation 14)

Thus, The values of VAB, VBC, VCD, VDC, VCB and VBA can be calculated by using Equation
14.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

4.2 Discussion
The objective of conducting this experiment was to determine the voltage of a certain
point in the series circuit by referring ground point as the reference point.
As the circuit is connected in series, the current passing through each resistor will be
the same, but the voltage varies. However, based on Kirchoffs Voltage Law (KVL), the sum
of the input voltage which passes through each resistor will be equivalent to the total output
voltage of the circuit (Mastascusa 2012). Since the values of resistance are given, the amount
of current can be determined by applying the formula as shown:

(Equation 15)

Where V is the output voltage and RT is the total amount of resistance present in the circuit.
When measuring the voltage VA, it is same as the value of E1, which is 17V. This is
because the voltage from the battery passes through the point A before passing through any
resistor. VB is the voltage passing through resistor R1 and R2. VC is the voltage passing
through resistor R3; while VD gives a zero reading. This is because at the point D there is no
potential difference can be measured, as the voltage goes to the ground point. These are
related to Kirchoffs Voltage Law (KVL) which can be used to find net voltage. The formula
of KVL is as shown:

(Equation 16)
If the ammeter was placed across resistor R1, short circuit will occur. Only current
will flow through it, but the voltage and resistance are zero. This is because when the circuit
is being short-circuited, the current will flow through the ammeter instead of passing through
the resistor R1. Since the resistance at R1 is ignored, the amount of current and resistance in
the circuit will be changed.
(

- 12 -

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

Hence, the new current value shown in the ammeter is 6.810-3A.

Based on the results obtained, the calculated voltage values are slightly higher than
the measured voltage values. The lower measured results obtained may be due to the
technical problem in the digital multimeter (DMM). The DMM itself contains a small amount
of resistance. The presence of this small amount of resistance may cause disturbance to the
voltage reading. Besides, human errors that occurs while measuring the voltage may affect
the results obtained as well.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

5.0 Experiment 4: Basic Measurement III (Meter Loading)

Figure 7

5.1 Results and Calculations:

Table 4: Experimental Data from Basic Measurement III.
Quantity
E1
VR1
VR2
IR1
IR2

Measured Values
14.04 V
9.14 V
2.46 V
0.00 A
0.00 A

Calculated Values
14.00 V
11.00 V
3.00 V
1.1010-6 A
1.1010-6 A

Calculations:
The value for VR1, VR2, IR1 and IR2 can be calculated by using the formula for Ohms law.
Ohms Law:

(Equation 17)

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

5.2 Discussion:
The objective of this experiment is to investigate how the addition of instruments such
as voltmeter and ammeter affect the value of the quantity measured.
Ammeter and voltmeter are used to measure the current and voltage flowing in the
circuit. These meters have an internal resistance. Since the meters are connected in the circuit
in order for measurements to be taken, the internal resistance have an effect towards the
quantity measured. Such effect is known as the meter loading effect (Boylestad 2007, 218)
A voltmeter is used to measure the voltage by connecting it in parallel. The loading
effect of the voltmeter will be insignificant if the value of the internal resistance is high
compared to the value of the resistors present in the circuit (Boylestad 2007, 219)
The loading effect of the internal resistance can be calculated by using the parallel resistor
formula. The internal resistance of the voltmeter is denoted by r and the resistance of the
circuit is denoted by R.

(Equation 18)
An ammeter is used to measure the current flowing in the circuit by connecting it in
series. The loading effect of the ammeter is insignificant if the value of the internal resistance
is low compared to the value of the resistors present in the circuit (Robbins and C. Miller
2004, 167).
The loading effect of the ammeter can be calculated by using the series circuit
formula. The internal resistance of the ammeter is denoted by r and the resistance of the
circuit is denoted by R.
RT = R + r
(Equation 19)
The values of the current and voltage measured vary slightly compared to the
theoretical value even though the loading effect is insignificant due to the inaccuracy of the
ammeter and voltmeter.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

There are differences in the values obtained. It is observed that the values measured
were lower compared to the calculated values. This is because the internal resistance of the
meters were not taken into consideration when calculating the values of the voltage and
current. The voltage drop is due to the increase in total resistance. With reference to the
formula of Ohms Law, when the resistance increases, the voltage drop will increase.
The current values measured and calculated differ from each other due to the internal
resistance of the ammeter. However, IR1 and IR2 equal because in a series circuit, the current
values are all equal.
Current in series circuit:
I = I1 = I2 = I3 = .
(Equation 20)
Comparison had made between the measured voltage and current in Figure 4 and
Figure 7. Voltage and current of resistor in Figure 7 was obviously lower than that of in the
Figure 4. Firstly, the resistors used in Figure 5 had a larger resistance. For example, the total
resistance in Figure 4 was 1.27 k while the total resistance in Figure 7 was 12.7 M.
Supposedly, higher resistance will have the higher voltage but this did not occur for the
voltage in Figure 7. This might due to the meter loading effect. Since Digital Multimeter had
internal resistance, hence the resistance ratio of voltage divider will be influenced, leading to
the changes of voltage measured. Thus, Digital Multimeter will show smaller voltage (All
About Circuits 2012).
Meanwhile, the measured currents were 0.00 A. The results were reasonable as the
theoretical current values were equal to 1.1010-6 A. This indicated that the current was too
small and nearly equal to zero. This was because of the high resistance in the circuit.
According to Ohms law, the higher the resistance, the lower the current.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

6.0 Experiment 5: Basic Measurement IV(Parallel Circuit)

Figure 6
6.1 Results and Calculations:
Table 5: Experimental Data from Basic Measurement IV.

Quantity
E1
VR1
VR2
VR3
IT
IR1
IR2
IR3

Measured Values
18.02 V
18.02 V
18.02 V
18.02 V
37.02 mA
9.94 mA
15.21 mA
12.19 mA

Calculated Values
18.00 V
18.00 V
18.00 V
18.00 V
37.00 mA
10.00 mA
15.00 mA
12.00 mA

Calculations
In a parallel circuit, the voltage across each resistor is the same because they are
sharing the same voltage from power supply. Thus, E1 VR1 VR 2 VR 3 .
The current across each resistor can be calculated by using Ohms Law (Equation 21).
Current is inversely proportional to the current. Thus, when the resistance increase, the current
will decrease.
I

V
R

(Equation 21)

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

Meanwhile, the total resistance in a parallel circuit is calculated by using Equation 22. The
total resistance of the circuit is less than the smallest individual resistance.
1
1
1
1

RT R1 R2 R3

(Equation 22)

Thus, the sum of current entering a junction must be equal to the current leaving the junction
(Equation 23). Thus,

and

is the same as the total of the current,

This

phenomenon is known as Kirchhoffs Current Law.

entering

I leaving

- 18 -

(Equation 23)

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

6.2 Discussion
The main objectives of this experiment are to determine the voltage across each
resistor and the current through each resistor in a parallel circuit.
In a parallel circuit, there is more than one path that enables the current to flow. Each
path is called a branch. The current flow in each branch is dependent of the resistance (Sturm
2013). To calculate the sum of the total current flows through the parallel circuit, Ohms law
need to be applied by using Equation 21. From the equation, we can conclude that current is
directly proportional to voltage and inversely proportional to resistance.
However in a parallel circuit, one of the characteristics is the sum of the total
resistance is always less than the smallest individual resistance. From the Figure 6, the
calculated value of the total resistance is 0.486 k is smaller than the smallest individual
resistance in the parallel circuit which is R2, 1.5k .This can be proven by using the
Equation 22.
From the result, we can observe that the voltage across each resistance is similar with
the voltage of the power supply because the resistor in each branch is sharing the same
voltage from the power supply. So, we can conclude that in parallel circuit, V =V 1 =V 2 =V 3 .
Besides that, we can also observe that the current through each resistor is not the same
due to any charge flowing through each resistor cannot flow through the other. The current
flows through each branch are dependent on the resistor in it. From the result it may show
that the sum of the current through each resistor is equal to the total current in the circuit
(refer to Equation 24).

I T = I R1 + + I R 3 + I Rn

(Equation 24)

This phenomenon is called as Kirchhoffs Current Law. This law states that the sum
of the current entering the node must be equal to the sum of the current leaving the node
(refer to Equation 23) (Hoppe 2012).

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

7.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, based on Graph 1 (graph of voltage against current), it had the
gradient, which was the resistance, of 1.82 k. Current is directly proportional to voltage.
Hence, it did obey Ohms Law.
Besides, Kirchhoffs Voltage Law validates in series and parallel circuits while
Kirchhoffs Current Law is only validate in parallel circuit.
In order to determine the voltage of a point, a reference point such as ground point has
to be made in a circuit.
Meter Loading Effect does reduce the voltage across resistor in a circuit when Digital
Multimeter (voltmeter) was placed in parallel with the particular resistor.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

8.0 References (left references, angela tiong)

All About Circuit. 2012. How voltage, current and resistance relate. Accessed March 13,
2013. http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_2/1.html.
Boylestad, Robert L. 2007. Introductory Circuit Analysis. 11th ed.
United States of America: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Current-voltage (I-V) Characteristics of Circuit Elements: Ohms Law. 2013. Physics 182.
Accessed March 14, 2013.
http://www.physicslabs.umb.edu/Physics/sum07/Exp3_182_Sum07.pdf.
Hoppe, Patrick. 2012. Kirchhoffs Current Law. Accessed March 13, 2013.
http://www.wisconline.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=DCE3102.
Kaye, Norman. 2013. Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurement and Ohms Law.
Accessed March 13, 2013.
http://moodle.curtin.edu.my/pluginfile.php/76775/mod_folder/content/1/LAB1100_2013v9-1.pdf?forcedownload=1.
Mastascusa, E.F. 2012. Kirchhoffs Voltage Law. Accessed March 13, 2013.
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/elessonshtml/basic/basic5kv.html.
Robbins, Allan H. and Wilhelm C. Miller. 2004. Circuit Analysis With Devices: Theory and
Practice. New York: Thomson Delmar Learning.
Sturm, R.W. 2013. Automotive Technology Studies. Accessed March 7.
http://rsandas.com/P1_Session_8-3.html.
University of Guelph, Department of Physics. 2013. Kirchhoffs Current Law. Accessed
March 13, 2013. http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/ohm/Q.ohm.KCL.html.
Wagon, Joy. 1998. The Parallel Circuit. Accessed March 9, 2013.
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/physics/phys03/bparcir/default.htm.

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Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

9.0 Appendix
Calculations for Experiment 3
(

In series circuit, I=I1=I2=I3=

V=IR=(
VR1

)(

= (3.9510-3) (1800)
= 7.12V#

VR2

= (3.9510-3) (1000)
= 3.95V#

VR3

= (3.9510-3) (1500)
= 5.93V#

Kirchoffs Voltage Law (KVL):

VA

= E1
= 17.00V#

VB

= 17.00-7.12
= 9.88V#

VC

= 9.88-3.95
= 5.93V#

VD

= 5.93-5.93
=0V#

VAB

= VR1
=7.12V#

VBC

= VR2
= 3.95V#

VCD

= VR3
- 22 -

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

= 5.93V#
VDC = -VCD = -5.93V#
VCB = -VBC = -3.95V#
VBA = -VAB = -7.12V#
Kirchhoffs Voltage Law, V=0. Assume the current in the circuit flow in clockwise
direction.
V=-E1+VR1+VR2+VR3
= (-17=7.12+3.95+5.93) V
=0V (proven)#

Calculations for Experiment 5

In parallel circuit, voltage across each resistor is the same as the voltage of power supply.
E1=VR1=VR2=VR3=18V#
1
1
1
1
=
+
+
RT 1.8k 1.5k 1.2k

RT=486.486
IT=

VT
18V

RT 486 .486

=0.037A#
I1

VT
R1

18V
1 . 8 k
0.01 A#

I2

VT
R2

- 23 -

Experiment 1: Laboratory Test Equipment, Basic DC Measurements And Ohms Law.

18V
1 . 2 k
0.015 A#

VT
R3

I3

18V
1 . 5 k
0.012 A#

Kirchhoffs Current Law,

In this parallel circuit,

Leaving

Entering

Entering

I Leaving .

0.037 A .

I1 I 2 I 3

= (0.01+0.015+0.012)A
=0.037A (proven)#

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