ELECTRIC CIRCUIT ANALYSIS-1

Lab report: 12

SUBMITTED BY:

Malik Abdul Majeed

FA18-BEE-066-2B

SUBMITTED TO:

Sir.Adeel Iqbal
Experimental Validation of Superposition Theorem
In Lab
Objectives:
 In this lab we verify the superposition theorem experimentally for resistances
 Then we observe that superposition theorem does not apply to power (nonlinear quantity)

Equipment Required ;
Resistors, DMM, breadboard, DC power supply, and connecting wires.

Procedure;
 First of all connect the circuit according to following diagram.
 Measure the values of voltages for different resistors,
 Measure the values of current for different resistors’.
 Repeat this experiment and verify superposition principle.

100kΩ

R4
3.3kΩ 3.3kΩ
a b c
R1 R3
R2 10kΩ
10V 5V

Figure 9.1: Example circuit to test the validity of the superposition theorem

Measurement Tables 1
R2=10KΩ R4=100KΩ
Voltage /
Calculate Measured Simulatio Calculate Measured Simulation
Current
d results results n results d results results results
v1 = 4.29 4.35 5 10 10.1 10
v2 = 2.14 2.13 2.5 5 4.9 5
v = 6.43 6.48 7.5 15 15 15
i1 = 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.1 0.1 0.2
i2 = 0.21 0.21 0.23 0.05 0.04 0.05
i = 0.63 0.64 0.65 0.05 0.05 0.05
Post Lab
Questions:
1. The Superposition Theorem works nicely to calculate voltages and currents in resistor
circuits. But can it be used to calculate power dissipations as well? Why or why not?

ANS - Superposition theorem can be applied in linear circuits to find out the voltage or
current.

Using the net value of voltage, after considering all the sources you can use it to calculate the
power.

However if you try to calculate the power for each source separately and then add them,
there may rise condition where you'll get a wrong result. An example will make this more
clear.

2. What advantages and disadvantages are associated with Superposition Theorem?

ANS - Advantages - It is applicable to the elements of the network as well as to the

sources. It is very useful for circuit analysis. It is utilized to convert any circuit into its
Thevenin equivalent or Norton equivalent. Disadvantages - Superposition is
applicable to current and voltage but not to power
3. How are dependent voltage and current sources dealt with when using Superposition
Theorem?

ANS - In the context of superposition, dependent sources look more like resistors,
which simply relate various branch currents and node voltages. Their equations have no
nonzero independent source terms on the right-hand side of the equation, so they do not
effect superposition

4. What is power rating of resistor? A resistor sometimes becomes hot while connected in the
circuit. What can be the reason for this?

ANS - When an electrical current passes through a resistor due to the

presence of a voltage across it, electrical energy is lost by the resistor in the
form of heat and the greater this current flow the hotter the resistor will get.
This is known as the Resistor Power Rating.