Lab #3 Page 1 of 1

DC Circuits: Ohm’s Law and Kirchoff’s Law

Lab Description
So far this semester, we have learned that there is a thing called charge. In the first lab, we explored its nature a bit. In the next
lab, we realized that electric charge creates electric fields, and we saw what these fields looked like for a few charge distributions.
In class, you learned that electric fields exert forces on charges, causing the charges to move. Today, we will verify the formulas
you learned in class using the oscilloscope, and, in the process, learn about how to use this powerful tool.

Learning Goals
1. To give you an idea of how various components behave in a DC circuit.
2. To learn how to use an oscilloscope to make measurements in a circuit.
3. To verify Ohm’s Law.

Background
The purpose of this lab is to help you develop an intuition for the properties of circuits: how various components behave, how
voltages behave, how to correctly measure the voltage in a circuit, etc. This is a topic where, frequently, we make a measurement,
but cannot see what is happening. The oscilloscope will allow us to see what is going on inside a circuit, in real time.

Today, you will construct some simple circuits and look to see how voltage and current behave. The circuits are easy to construct;
they snap onto the board and each other. This is convenient,
because instead of having wires lying around which you have
to trace, you can clearly see the paths the current must take.
Physical Materials
(Refer to the Appendix in Lab 2 if you need help using the oscil-
1. Circuit components
loscope.)
2. A circuit board
3. An oscilloscope
Procedure
1) Verify Kirchoff’s laws for two resistors in series and in parallel. Conceptual Materials
In the process, by measuring the current through each branch 1. DC circuits
of the circuit and the voltage across each resistor, determine the
actual value of each resistor and verify the addition formulas for
resistors in series and in parallel. Can you think of a practical use
for either circuit? (45 minutes)

2) Using the scope and the ammeter, come up with an experiment and determine whether or not light bulbs are ohmic.
Plan your experiment (20 minutes)
Collect Data (40 minutes)
Write up your report (20 minutes)
Your report should include a description of your experiment, presentation of your data, your data analsysis, and
the conclusions you drew from the data

What to Submit
At the conclusion of the session, BEFORE you leave the lab, you should submit to your TA, via BlackBoard, a lab report that includes
the following things, in paragraph form:
1. A report presenting your data and explaining your findings for each portion.