Ohm’s Law

Joshua Main-Smith and Joanna Mader

Lab Section 18

TA: Thomas Bersano

We were exploring the properties of Ohm’s Law by manipulating the resistance and measuring

the ampere’s while keeping voltage constant (5 V). Particularly, we were observing what

components follow ohmic behavior, and what components don’t. The ohmic resistance of

resistors were observed to be constant, whereas the ohmic resistance of a lightbulb was observed

to not be constant. Therefore, the resistors exhibit ohmic behavior, whereas the lightbulb doesn’t

exhibit ohmic behavior.

I. Introduction

In this experiment, we were exploring the properties of Ohm’s Law by measuring

amperes and resistance (of a rheostat), with a fixed voltage. The purpose was to see if

there were any circumstances that determined if a circuit was ohmic or not ohmic. By

measuring the ratio of volts per current, we can determine if the component is ohmic

by observing if the ratio is constant, and not ohmic by observing if the ratio is not

constant. If the component is ohmic (the volt per current ratio being a constant), then

we can determine the constant resistance. We accomplished this by keeping the

voltage constant, while measuring the amperes and manipulating the resistance of the

charges by adjusting the rheostat. There were two main experiments that we

performed. The first experiment involved measuring the current and adjusting the

resistance, where the charges had to pass through resistors. We performed the same

task with an incandescent lightbulb.

II. Experiment

The equipment contained within the experiment included a power supply, switch, 360

ohm rheostat, 22 ohm rheostat, an incandescent light bulb, resistors, an ammeter, and

a digital multimeter (DMM). As was mentioned in in the Introduction, we were

measuring the amount of amperes by changing the resistance on the rheostat, while

keeping the voltage constant. Before moving on to the results and discussion, we need

to define a few terms.

Current is the flow of charges through a conductor. Charge carriers are the charges

that move through a conductor, such as electrons. The equation given for current is
shown in Eq. (1) below, where I is the current (in amperes, A), Q is the total charge

(with each electron (e) being equal to e = 1.60 * 10-19 C) and time is in seconds.1

𝑄 (1)
𝐼=
∆𝑡

Potential difference is referring to the separation of electric charge between two

points. It’s also known as voltage. An equation expressing the relationship between

potential energy and a point charge with potential difference can be seen in Eq. (2)

below, where ∆𝑉 is the potential difference (in volts, V), potential energy (∆𝑈) is in

joules and the point charge (q) is equal to 1.60*10-19 C.2

∆𝑈 (2)
∆𝑉 =
𝑞

Resistance is how much electrical current is impeded from flowing through a

conductor. The amount that electrical current is “blocked” from flowing through a

conductor. The equation for resistance is shown in the equation below, in Eq. (3),
𝑉
where R is resistance (in ohms, Ω =𝐴).1
 ∆𝑉 (3)
𝑅=
𝐼

III. Results and Discussion

We measured the voltage to current ratio in the two experiments (when resistors were

implemented and an incandescent light), resulting in two different graphs. In Figure

1, we had measured the voltage to ampere ratio (with volts on the y-axis, and amperes

on the x-axis) by decreasing the resistance. A trendline was included in Figure 1, with

the equation of the line shown on the top-right corner. The slope of the line (100.12)

is the resistance of the circuit.

Resistance as a Function of
Current and Voltage y = 100.12x - 0.2265
6

4
Voltage (V)

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06
Ampere (A)

Fig. 1. Resistance as a Function of Current and Voltage

 Resistance Through a Lightbulb as a
Function
Fig. 2. Resistance through of Currentlightbulb
an incandescent and Voltage
as a function of current
and voltage.
6

4
Voltage (V)
3

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07
Ampere (A)

Fig. 2. Resistance Through a Lightbulb as a Function of Current and Voltage

Then, we changed the circuitry of the component by changing the connection of the

ammeter between the rheostat and the resistor to be connected between the power

supply and the rheostat and measured the voltage-to-ampere ratio. Following, we then

measured the ratio when the ammeter was connected between the power supply and

the switch. In both cases, we found that the ratio didn’t change.

For the second experiment, we switched the 360 ohm rheostat to a 22 ohm rheostat.

We also replaced the resistors with an incandescent light. We then performed the

same procedures as the first experiment, and recorded the results. The results from

this experimental setup can be seen in Figure 2. The slope of the line is exponential

(as opposed to linear), so an equation of the line wasn’t included.

We found that the bulb glows at the point where the voltage is equal to 1.39 and the

ampere is equal to 0.43. Before this ratio is met, the current doesn’t flow through the

lightbulb due to there not being enough power to light the bulb.
Discussion Section. As was apparent in Fig. 1, the graph was linear indicating that

the component of the first experiment was ohmic. This was determined by observing

that the voltage to current ratio was constant. Considering, this means that we are able

to determine the constant resistance by finding the slope to the graph, as was alluded

to earlier. The value of the resistance that we had measured was found to be 100.12

Ω. Compare this to the nominal 100 Ω value indicated on the color code painted on.

The lightbulb, on the other hand, is not ohmic. We have determined this due to the

ratio of volts to current not being constant, so we can’t find a constant resistance by

simply finding a linear equation for the graph (over several points).

The power dissipated by the lightbulb can be found using the equation:3

P = I∆V (4)

Where P is power dissipated, in watts (W).

The maximum power dissipated would be: P = I∆V = (0.60 A)(4.30 V) = 2.58 W.

The power dissipated by the lightbulb when it first starts glowing would be: P = I∆V

= (0.43 A)(1.39 V) = 0.59 W.

∆𝑉
In addition, using Eq. (3), we can find the minimum resistance to be: 𝑅 = =
𝐼

0.26 ∆𝑉 4.30
= 11.82 Ω. The maximum resistance of the lightbulb is: R = = 0.06 = 71.67
0.022 𝐼

Ω.
IV. Conclusion

Comparing the electrical activity of the resistor with the lightbulb, we can conclude

that current passing through resistors exhibits ohmic behavior, whereas current

passing through a lightbulb doesn’t exhibit ohmic behavior. Also, the highest

resistance from the lightbulb is less than the constant resistance from the resistors.

The reason that the light bulb has non-linear behavior is due to the filament in the

light bulb varying in temperature (from 20o C to 3000o C). As the power dissipated by

the light bulb increases, the temperature of the filament increases.4

V. References
1
Randall D. Knight, “Current and Resistance,” Chapter 30 in Physics for Scientists

and Engineers – A Strategic Approach, Third Edition (Addison Wesley, San

Francisco, 2013).
2
Randall D. Knight, “The Electric Potential,” Chapter 28 in Physics for Scientists and

Engineers – A Strategic Approach, Third Edition (Addison Wesley, San Francisco,

2013).
3
Randall D. Knight, “Fundamentals of Circuits,” Chapter 31 in Physics for Scientists

and Engineers – A Strategic Approach, Third Edition (Addison Wesley, San

Francisco, 2013).
4
University of Massachusetts Boston, “Physics 181 and 182 Laboratories,” (2015)

doi:http://www.physicslabs.umb.edu/Physics/sum13/182_Exp3_Sum13.pdf