Experiment 15: introduction to Circuits and Ohm's Law

Introduction: While dealing with electrical fields in the previous lab and determining the two dimensional relationship of the electric potential between a positive and negative source provided further understanding of electric properties, it does not address the property of an electrical circuit. A Circuit, in terms of electricity, is a system in which a source of electrical difference is applied to a network of wires (or any type of conducting material) that allow electrons to flow through. The amount of "flow" is termed current, and it depends directly on the voltage difference applied to the wire and is inversely related to the amount of "resistance" of that wire. The resistance is an electronic measure which is related to the amount of opposition a particular wire applies to electrons flowing through them. The relationship of a current is also called Ohm's Law, which is that I (current) = V (voltage difference)/R (Resistance). Applications of this law can be used to acquire a particular resistance, voltage, or current. Most importantly is the use of electric current in modern society, as the current is a source of energy. A circuit can have multiple configurations and also have a variety of resistors, as well as multiple resistors. When multiple resistors are in a circuit in a series (one after another), they will change the voltage of the circuit following a resistor. This can be observed by using Kirchoff's current law, which states that V total= IR1 +IR2, where each resistor is important. One very important application of this law is that one power source can be used and then voltage can be changed through resistors (rather than using many different power sources with the desired voltage). The application of Ohm's law and Kirchoff's current law to determine a particular voltage is known as voltage dividers. Another property used often in electrical circuits is the Wheatstone bridge, which is a method to measure the resistance of an unknown conductor using known resistor values. This is done through manipulating the resistance of two known resistors, generally through a device known as a fader, allowing the known resistor and fader to be equal. This is also known as a doubler divider. With all of these laws, electric circuits can be manipulated to find resistor values, and then use the resistor value to change the voltage, and determine current, voltage, or resistance by ohm's law. In this lab, there are several objectives regarding the electrical circuit. First, we will see if Ohm's Law actually holds true for various resistors/devices that use electricity. Then, in Goal 2, the voltage divider relationship will be tested regarding two resistors in series. The final objective, Goal 3, will test the doubler divider relationship. Setup and design: Goal 1, determining if a particular electrical device is ohmic, can be done by looking at the equation (I=V/R) and measuring the values of V and R, where multiple V values can be measured (changing the voltage of the system) as well as I values. Because R= V/I, the slope of R should be linear if the relationship is in fact ohmic. A deviation from this linear line would result in a non-ohmic relationship, which can be due to other factors of a resistor changing its properties due to high voltage and current.

The materials needed are: Voltage source, two probes (one to measure V, and another I), wires necessary to connect a system (three should be enough), and then the provided resistors: 1 Kohm resistor, 1 light bulb, 1 mystery object, 1 LED light. The setup: Hook everything up to make a circuit, with one probe to measure the voltage difference across the provided resistor, while another probe is in the circuit to measure current. Multiple trials, which then are graphed, will make the slope correspond to the Resistance value. Figure 1: Goal 1

Goal 2, verifying the voltage divider equation, can be done by using both Ohm's law and Kirshoff's law, and then substituting one into the other. First, the sum of all voltages in a closed circuit is zero. Second, the current in a given circuit is constant: Voltage in= IR1+IR2, where I= (Voltage in)/(R1+R2) Therefore, Voltage out = I R2 = Voltage in (R2/(R1 + R2)) Figure 2:

This can be measured by using two resistors, a voltage source, and two probes which measure the Voltage out value and Voltage in Value. The materials needed are: Voltage source, two probes, wires necessary to connect a system (three should be enough), and two resistors. Using known resistors, the equation can be verified by seeing what the calculated value for Voltage out is versus the actual measured value.

Figure 3: Goal 2:

Goal 3, verifying the value of an "unknown" resistor by using the double divider method, can be verified by measuring the "unknown" resistor and then calculating it. the calculation, when the voltage between the two resistors is equal then these relationships are also equal: I1R?=I2R2 and I1RF=I1R1. This can then be used to solve for the unknown resistor by the equation: R?=R2/R1*R-F. The setup for this Goal requires the use of a fader for R1 and R2. A fader is a device which lets the resistance values be actively changed by sliding a bar from one side of the connection to another. Picture:

The voltage across the first R1 value therefore can be made zero by altering the fader. The other resistor must be known, and the unknown resistor can also be measured. Comparing the calculated to the experimental value will show if the law is applicable. The materials needed are: Voltage source, one probe, wires necessary to connect a system (three should be enough), two resistors (minimum), and a fader. Probe can measure both the voltage and the resistance values. Figure 4: Goal 3

NOTE: the power system must be in the correct circuit- make sure that all materials are compatible with either AC or DC. Data: Goal1: K-ohms resistor
I (mA) +/- .1 1 2.6 5.1 7.7 9.4 10.2 Volts +/-.01 1.01 2.64 5.09 7.72 9.39 10.1

Mystery object
I (Amps) +/- .1 0.1 0.3 0.8 3.3 9.1 17 33.6 41.9 81.6 Volts +/-.01 0.0109 0.0256 0.0645 0.251 0.689 1.288 2.54 3.17 6.18

Light bulb
I (mA) +/- .1 0.8 4.1 25.4 103.6 148.9 167.7 191 191.8 Volts +/-.01 0.012 0.064 0.0406 0.306 0.927 1.194 1.561 1.596

LED (light-emitting diode)

I (Amps) +/- .1 6.2 3.3 13.7 21.4 27.7 42.4 54 Volts +/-.01 1.787 1.94 2.14 2.26 2.35 2.53 2.68

Goal2: Trial1: R1=R2= 3.92V/96.5 microA

V-in (Volts) +/- .01 6.83 4.88 2.49 10.12 0.66 2.16 V-out (Volts) +/- .01 2.4 2.43 1.24 5.04 0.33 1.07

Trial2: R2= 6.73V/31.4 milliA R1= 1.13V/31.4 milliA

V-in (Votls) +/- .01 7.88 4.85 2.17 9.25 7.34 V-out (Volts) +/- .01 1.13 0.7 0.31 1.33 1.06

Goal3: Fader 1 (k-ohms) +/.01

Fader 2 (k-ohms) +/.01

R1 (k-ohms) +/- .01 21 21.1 21.1

R? (k-ohms) +/- .01 40.1 73.6 81.9

3.21 2.05 1.90

6.06 7.23 7.37

Observations: The light bulb became bright very quickly, suggesting that it may also burn out if it is kept at the full power source for too long. The LED light also did this, with the color changing from a green to an orange light. There was a little issue with measuring the Voltage/current/resistance using the probe, which is that it would sometimes fluctuate between numbers, not providing much confidence. To avoid systematic error, the electrodes of the probe where always touched to the circuit on the tip.

Analysis:

Goal 1:
The data points where graphed, with Volts as the y-axis, and the Amps (or milli amps) as the x-axis. A line of best fit was added to compare a linear relationship when possible. Error bars are also added. K-ohms resistor
K Ohm resistor
12 10 8 Volts 6 4 2 0 0 2 4 6 I (mA) 8 10 12 V Linear (V)

Light bulb
Light Bulb 2 1.5 Volts 1 0.5 0 0 50 100 I (m A) 150 200 250 V

Mystery object
Mystery object
7 6 5 Volts 4 3 2 1 0 0 20 40 I (Amps) 60 80 100 V Linear (V)

LED (light-emitting diode)

LED
3 2.5 2 Volts 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 10 20 30 I (Amps) 40 50 60 V Linear (V)

Looking at the Graphs it can be seen that clearly the ohm resistor has an ohmic relationship, as does the Mystery box. The light bulb clearly did not follow ohms law overall, but at smaller increments may have, but that cannot be clearly seen. The LED light needs more data points to give a better idea of the results.

Goal 2:
Given the data, V-out was calculated for every trial and then compared to the measured value. Equation: V-I N (R2/(R1 + R2)) TRIAL 1: R1=R2= 3.92V/96.5 microA 3.92 / (96.5 * (10^(-6))) = 40 621.7617 Ohm's of the resistor value Example calculation: 40 621.7617 * (1 / (2 * 40 621.7617)) = 0.5 V-I N (R2/(R1 + R2)) 6.83 * .5 = 3.41500 Percent error: (results-actual)/actual * 100 = % error Error analysis: Calculated V-out: 3.4 +/- .1 2.4 +/- .1 1.2 +/- .1 5.1 +/- .1 .3 +/- .1 1.1 +/- .1 TRIAL 2: R2= 6.73V/31.4 milliA = 6.73 / (31.4 * (10^(-3))) = 214.33121 Ohms R1= 1.13V/31.4 milliA = 1.13 / (31.4 * (10^(-3))) = 35.9872611 Ohms 214.33121 / (214.33121 + 35.9872611) = 0.856234097 Percent error 42 1 1 1 1 1

ERROR with this data, cannot be used- Void. I believe there is an issue with the power being in the wrong setting- making data invalid. -More tests could not be done due to time constraints. What this data shows is that for the two equal resistors, the equation did hold true (when disregarding the first data point) and gave a calculated voltage value that was within one percent.

Goal 3:
Equation applied: R?=R2/R1*R-F (21 * 6.06) / 3.21 = 39.6448598 +/- .1 -> 40 +/- 1 K-Ohms (7.23 / 2.05) * 21 = 74.0634146 +/- .1 -> 74 +/- 1 K-Ohms (21 * 7.37) / 1.9 = 81.4578947 +/- .1 -> 81 +/-1 K-Ohms All of these values are also within 1% error, showing that the equation for Goal 3 (R? =R2/R1*R-F) does in fact hold true. Conclusion: By applying these electrical laws to systems and seeing what occurs, out understanding of electricity increases and can give us insights in to how also manipulate an electrical system for a particular purpose. For example, using resistors to change the Voltage, or knowing which devices behave in an ohmic manner and how that affects the circuit. While the applications of Ohm's law (that I (current) = V (voltage difference)/R (Resistance)), Kirshoff's law (Voltage in= IR1+IR2), and the divider method have not been tested in this lab, the validity of these laws has been tested. By looking at various devices and seeing what the relationship is between V and I, it can be seen that there are multiple factors which determine if the relationship is ohmic, such as the light bulb clearly not being. The law of determining voltage in a series of resistors was also tested, and is seen to be correct. The value of an unknown resistor also was correctly calculated using the relationships between parallel resistors having the same ratio. My confidence in this data is very high. The percent errors where very low showing that the error which existed was constant suggesting a systematic error in either the measuring devices or the circuit. The Trail 2 data however was clearly incorrect, as the power supply must have been switched into the wrong current and so the measurements were inaccurate. In the future, Goal 2 would be redone- it was only done twice due to time constraints of the class, which is unfortunate as Trial 2 had human error in setting up the design. I also would liked to have explored more the relationship between ohm's law and heat, as it changes regarding to the change of the heat of the conducting material. This lab setup would however be beyond the objective in these experiments.