OHMIC RESISTANCE & OHM’S LAW Aim: To investigate the relationship between potentia

l difference and current for a resistor in order to verify Ohm’s Law. Diagram 1 – Ci
rcuit Set-up
Equipment: 6 x insulated crocodile-clip electrical wires Ammeter Milliameter Vol
t meter Variable (2-12) V DC power supply 10Ω resistor
A 10Ω
V
Procedure: 1. The circuit was set up as shown in diagram 1. 2. The power supply
was set to read 0V and the voltage and current were read from the volt meter and
ammeter. 3. Step 2 was repeated for the 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 volt settings on
the power supply. If the current was too small to read accurately, the range on
the ammeter was adjusted.
Results: Table 1 – Relationship Between Potential Difference and Current Voltage i
ntervals on Potential Difference (V) Current (A) power supply Volt meter reading
Ammeter reading 0 0 0 2 2 0.22 4 4 0.35 6 5.6 0.5 8 7.5 0.65 10 9.5 0.8 12 11.5
1
© Sarah Don, Australia, 2008
Interpretation of Results:
Graph 1 - Ohmic Resistance
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Potential Difference (V)
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 Current (I) 0.8 1 1.2
y = 11.5x V= RxI R = 11.5
A straight line graph was drawn from the data collected from the experiment, whi
ch was expected. y mx
Graph 1 - – Calculating Resistance Graph 2 Ohmic Resistance
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Potential Difference (V)
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 Current (I) 0.8 1 1.2
Points taken
(0.7,8)
y = 11.5x from line of V= RxI best fit R = 11.5
rise m run 8 m 0.7 11.4 m
y 11.4 x V const. I const. 11.4 V 11.4 I
V . I Therefore, the resistance could be found from the gradient of the graph.
According to Ohm’s law, R
The point (0,0) is a legitimate point on the graph because, according to the dat
a gained from the experiment, when there was no potential difference, there was
no current. Ohm’s law states that voltage is directly proportional to current: The
refore V was plotted against I so the resistance could be V I found by calculatin
g the gradient. V R I V R I V R I y m x
Graph 2 - Prediction of graph for a higher value of resistance
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Graph 3 - Prediction of graph for a lower value of resistance
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Potential Difference (V)
Potential Difference (V)
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 Current (I) 0.8 1 1.2
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 Current (I) 0.8 1 1.2
A higher resistance would result in a straight line graph with a higher gradient
when potential difference is graphed against current. Therefore a lower resista
nce would result in a straight line graph with a lower gradient. V Resistance is
measured in ohms (Ω). However, from the formula R , the I -1 equivalent units in
terms of volts and amps was found to be VA (volts per amp).
Conclusion: Ohm’s law states that voltage is directly proportional to current, pro
vided that the temperature remains constant. The straight line graph that could
be drawn from the data showed the mathematical relationship ( V R I ) that exist
s between potential difference and current. Therefore Ohm’s law was verified.
Limitations: Ohm’s law is only valid as long as the temperature of the circuit rem
ains constant. Resistance means friction, which causes heat, particularly with a
resistor with such a low resistance as 10Ω. There was a high current travelling t
hrough the resistor, so there would have been some temperature increase with eac
h voltage interval that was tested. As a straight line graph was obtained from t
he data, no significant increase in temperature was noticeable (otherwise the gr
aph would have been curved). However, if this experiment was to be repeated, a r
esistor with a higher value for resistance (~200Ω–300Ω) would be used instead to minim
ise the increase in temperature as a result of resistance. Before each reading w
as taken from either the ammeter or volt meter, the meter was inspected to make
sure that the arrow was sitting exactly on the “0” mark. Each of the meters also car
ried a percentage error of half a scale division. The volt meter measured up to
15V with one line for every half volt. So, the volt readings could have been 0.25
V out. The ammeter measured up to 3Amps with one line for every 0.2V. So, the re
adings could have been 0.1Amps out. For the first few readings the current was so
small on the ammeter that 0.1Amps error made quite a large difference so a milli
ammeter was used to give a more accurate reading. Resistors come with a percenta
ge tolerance value. The 10Ω resistor that was used in the experiment had a 5% toler
ance value. This means that it could have deviated 0.5Ω from the 10Ω it claimed to be
. From the experiment, the resistance of the resistor was found to be 11.4Ω – 0.9Ω out
side of the percent tolerance range. This could have been due to any of the issu
es discussed above.