SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

ILLUSTRATION

INSTRUCTIONS
Measure the resistance of the lamp with your multimeter. This resistance figure is due
to the thin metal "filament" inside the lamp. It has substantially more resistance than a
jumper wire, but less than any of the resistors from the last experiment. Record this
resistance value for future use.
Build a one-battery, one-lamp circuit. Set your multimeter to the appropriate voltage
range and measure voltage across the lamp as it is energized (lit). Record this voltage
value along with the resistance value previously measured.
Set your multimeter to the highest current range available. Break the circuit and
connect the ammeter within that break, so it becomes a part of the circuit, in series
with the battery and lamp. Select the best current range: whichever one gives the
strongest meter indication without over-ranging the meter. If your multimeter is
autoranging, of course, you need not bother with setting ranges. Record this current
value along with the resistance and voltage values previously recorded.
Taking the measured figures for voltage and resistance, use the Ohm's Law equation
to calculate circuit current. Compare this calculated figure with the measured figure
for circuit current:

What you should find is a marked difference between measured current and calculated
current: the calculated figure is much greater. Why is this?
To make things more interesting, try measuring the lamp's resistance again, this time
using a different model of meter. You will need to disconnect the lamp from the
battery circuit in order to obtain a resistance reading, because voltages outside of the
meter interfere with resistance measurement. This is a general rule that should be
remembered: measure resistance only on an unpowered component!
Using a different ohmmeter, the lamp will probably register as a different value of
resistance. Usually, analog meters give higher lamp resistance readings than digital
meters.

This behavior is very different from that of the resistors in the last experiment. Why?
What factor(s) might influence the resistance of the lamp filament, and how might
those factors be different between conditions of lit and unlit, or between resistance
measurements taken with different types of meters?
This problem is a good test case for the application of scientific method. Once you've
thought of a possible reason for the lamp's resistance changing between lit and unlit
conditions, try to duplicate that cause by some other means. For example, if you think
the lamp resistance might change as it is exposed to light (its own light, when lit), and
that this accounts for the difference between the measured and calculated circuit
currents, try exposing the lamp to an external source of light while measuring its
resistance. If you measure substantial resistance change as a result of light exposure,
then your hypothesis has some evidential support. If not, then your hypothesis has
been falsified, and another cause must be responsible for the change in circuit current.

Power dissipation
PARTS AND MATERIALS

Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic)

6 volt battery
Two 1/4 watt resistors: 10 and 330 .
Small thermometer

The resistor values need not be exact, but within five percent of the figures specified
(+/- 0.5 for the 10 resistor; +/- 16.5 for the 330 resistor). Color codes for 5%
tolerance 10 and 330 resistors are as follows: Brown, Black, Black, Gold (10, +/5%), and Orange, Orange, Brown, Gold (330, +/- 5%).
Do not use any battery size other than 6 volts for this experiment.
The thermometer should be as small as possible, to facilitate rapid detection of heat
produced by the resistor. I recommend a medical thermometer, the type used to take
body temperature.

CROSS-REFERENCES
Lessons In Electric Circuits, Volume 1, chapter 2: "Ohm's Law"

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Voltmeter use
Ammeter use
Ohmmeter use
Use of Joule's Law
Importance of component power ratings
Significance of electrically common points

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

ILLUSTRATION

INSTRUCTIONS
Measure each resistor's resistance with your ohmmeter, noting the exact values on a
piece of paper for later reference.
Connect the 330 resistor to the 6 volt battery using a pair of jumper wires as shown
in the illustration. Connect the jumper wires to the resistor terminals before
connecting the other ends to the battery. This will ensure your fingers are not touching
the resistor when battery power is applied.

You might be wondering why I advise no bodily contact with the powered resistor.
This is because it will become hot when powered by the battery. You will use the
thermometer to measure the temperature of each resistor when powered.
With the 330 resistor connected to the battery, measure voltage with a voltmeter. In
measuring voltage, there is more than one way to obtain a proper reading. Voltage
may be measured directly across the battery, or directly across the resistor. Battery
voltage is the same as resistor voltage in this circuit, since those two components
share the same set of electrically common points: one side of the resistor is directly
connected to one side of the battery, and the other side of the resistor is directly
connected to the other side of the battery.