PHY400

( EXPERIMENT 5 )

ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE & OHM’S LAW

NAME: SYAFAWANI BINTI CAROL

STUDENT ID: 2019672332

GROUP: AS2533D

LECTURER NAME: DR. ZAKIAH BINTI MOHAMED

THEORY

 Batteries use a chemical reaction to do work on charge and produce a voltage

between their output terminals. The basic element is called an electrochemical
cell and makes use of an oxidation/reduction reaction. An electrochemical cell
which produces an external current is called a voltaic cell. Voltages generated
by such cells have historically been referred to as emf (electromotive force).

 Resistors are the most commonly used electronic components in the circuits. A
resistor is an electronic component that reduces or restricts the flow of electrons
or electric current to certain level. How much electric current does a resistor
blocks is depends on the resistance of a resistor. The resistors with more
resistance will block large amount of electric current and allows very small
amount of electric current. The resistors with less resistance will block very
small amount of electric current and allows large amount of electric current. The
electric current blocked by the resistor is wasted in the form of heat. Resistors
are the passive components. Hence, they cannot control the flow of electrons
or electric current through them. However, they can restrict the electric current
to certain level.

 The measure of a conductor’s opposition to current flow is known as the

resistance of the conductor. Different conductors have different resistance to
current flow. The resistance, R of a conductor is defined as the ratio of potential
differences, V across the conductor to the current, I flowing through it. Thus:

𝑉
= R or V = IR
𝐼

The SI units of resistance is ohm (Ω). One ohm is the resistance of a conductor
when a potential difference of 1 volt applied across its ends causes a current of
1 ampere to flow through it.
 If the charged metal dome is connected to the earth via a galvanometer, the
pointer deflects, indicating that there is a flow of charges. This flow of electrical
charges is known as electric current. Electric current is made up of flowing
electrons. Each electron carries a negative charge of 1.6 × 10 -19 C. Electric
current is defined as the rate at which electric charges flow through a conductor.
𝑄
In symbols, it is given as: I = where, I = electric current, Q = charge, t = time.
𝑡
The SI unit for current is ampere (A), where 1 A = 1 C s-1. The current that flows
through a conductor is said to be one ampere if one coulomb of charge flows
past the conductor in one second.

 The proportional relationship of the potential difference between the ends of an

ideal conductor and the current passing through it is known as Ohm’s law.
Ohm’s law states that the current passing through an ideal conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference between its ends, provided that the
temperature and other physical factors of the conductor are kept constant. If
the applied potential difference is V volts and the current in the conductor is I
𝑉
ampere, then: = Constant
𝐼

 An ideal circuits should have three characteristics which is they are powered by
ideal batteries. An ideal battery “maintains a constant potential difference
(voltage) across its terminals”. Next, All circuit elements, other than the battery
and the connecting wires, are ohmic devices having a significant resistance. An
ohmic device has a constant value of R that is not a function of current passing
through it. Lastly, Ideal connecting wires connect the battery to circuit elements.
We assume there is no potential drop across connecting wires. i.e. the
resistance of the connecting wire is negligible compared to the whole resistance
of the circuit.
OBJECTIVE

 To determine the resistance of a given resistor

APPARATUS

 Power Supply
 Ammeter
 Voltmeter
 Rheostat
 Resistor
 Multimetre
 Connecting Wires

PROCEDURES

1. A circuit was arranged as shown in Figure 1. Note that the voltmeter reads the
voltage across R, and the ammeter reads the current through R. If change the
rheostat setting, the total resistance will change, and with a relatively fixed
voltage (supplied by the battery), the current I will change. The change in the
current I through R causes the voltage across R to change; however, it will be
observe that the V/I ratio remains constant.

FIGURE 1
 2. The rheostat slider was moved to eight different positions, and at each position,
the voltage across and current through R from the meters was measured and
their values was recorded in the following table.

3. The results on a V versus I graph was plotted.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Table 1: Values of voltage and current for different positions of the rheostat

Position of V(V) I(A)

rheostat 0.01 0.05
1 0.44 0.20
2 0.66 0.30
3 0.90 0.40
4 1.12 0.50
5 1.28 0.60
6 1.52 0.70
7 1.72 0.80
8 1.87 0.90
Table 2: Values of voltage, current, and resistance for different positions of the
rheostat

Position of V(V) I(A) R = V/I

rheostat 0.01 0.05 (Ω)
1 0.44 0.20 2.20
2 0.66 0.30 2.20
3 0.90 0.40 2.25
4 1.12 0.50 2.24
5 1.28 0.60 2.13
6 1.52 0.70 2.17
7 1.72 0.80 2.15
8 1.87 0.90 2.08

Graph of V against I

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
As more charges carrying electrical energy passes through the conductor per unit
time, more electrical energy is dissipated. Hence, the potential difference, V across
the conductor increases with the current, I that flows through it. The graph of V against
I is a straight line graph that passes through the origin showing that the potential
𝑉
difference, V is directly proportional to the current, I. The gradient or the ratio of is
𝐼
constant as current increases. A small current ( less than 1 A ) is used throughout the
experiment so that the conductor is not heated up and its temperature can be assumed
constant.

The following precautions need to be considered during the experiment:

1) All wire connections must be tightly fixed and the length of the wire should not
be too long

2) The zero error of the ammeter and voltmeter must be checked and adjusted

3) While taking the readings off the meters, make sure that the pointer is always
vertically above its image in the mirror to avoid parallax error.

4) The switch must always be turned off when not taking any reading. This is to
ensure that the temperature of the conductor is kept constant throughout the
experiment.

CONCLUSION

The objective of the experiment was achieved. The resistance of a given resistor was
determined and the results on a V versus I graph was plotted. The potential difference,
V across a conductor increases when the current, I passing through it increases.
POST-LABORATORY QUESTIONS

1) Does the resistor obey Ohm’s law? State your reason.

 Resistors are said to obey ohm's law because the current flowing through
them is proportional to the potential difference across its end at constant
physical conditions.

2) Describe the energy transformation that took place in the circuit once all the
connections are complete and the current is flowing in the circuit.

 Chemical energy is stored in a battery, and when this battery is attached to

a circuit, the chemicals within it react. This process happens only when there
is a circuit and when the electrons begin to flow. The charged electrons start
out from the negative terminal and flow into the wire towards the light bulb
and out because they are attracted to the positive terminal. A current is
produced as the electrons make their way through the circuit. The
continuous flow of electrons into the light bulb cause it to produce light and
heat. On the way to the positive terminal the electrons lose electric voltage.
Once the electrons not as charged as they once were complete the circuit
and reach the positive terminal they are once again recharged. The
electrons travel back to the negative terminal where their electric potential
and goes back to how it was normally. The electrons will then complete the
circuit again and again in the same process.
3) Calculate the voltage that is needed across a 1000 Ω resistor so that the current
reaches a fatal level? Refer Table 1.

 From Table 1, current, I reaches a fatal level = 0.070 A

 From the formula V = IR

V = 0.070 (1000)
= 70 V

4) What is the common effect on resistance when the temperature of a resistor is

increased?

 Resistance increases, in case of conductor, with increase in temperature

and decreases, in case of insulator, due to increase in temperature. In case
of conductor, the valance band and conduction band overlap with each
other. So, there are excess electrons in the conduction band of a conductor.
When you increase the temperature, more electrons will go to the
conduction band from valance band by absorbing the energy. So, the
conduction band becomes crowded and there will be more collision between
the electrons which increases the resistance. So, with increase in
temperature, the resistance of conductor increases.
5) Why does the value of R in an electric circuit changes when the circuit is left on
for a long time?

 When the circuit is left on for a long time, the temperature of the conductor
increases. The valance band and conduction band overlap with each other.
So, there are excess electrons in the conduction band of a conductor. When
you increase the temperature, more electrons will go to the conduction band
from valance band by absorbing the energy. So, the conduction band
becomes crowded and there will be more collision between the electrons
which increases the resistance. So, with increase in temperature, the
resistance of conductor increases and the value of R in an electric circuit
changes.

6) Why does an ammeter have a low resistance while a voltmeter has high
resistance?

 Ammeter has low resistance because it is instrument which measures the

electric current in amperes in a branch of a circuit. It must be placed in series
with the measured branch, and must have very low resistance to avoid
significant alternation of the current it is to measure .Voltmeter has high
resistance because it measures the voltage difference between two different
points, but it should not change the amount of current going through the
element between those two points .So, it should have high resistance.