Lab Manual

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & BUILT ENVIRONMENT

SUBJECT: EME3421 LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS 3
EXPERIMENT 3: OHMS LAW
1.0 OBJECTIVE
i.

The purpose of this lab experiment is to verify Ohm's Law using resistor in dc and ac
circuits.

ii.

To become familiar with series and parallel circuits

iii.

To become familiar with the application of kirchhoffs laws

2.0 THEORY/INTRODUCTION
Ohms law discovered by German physicist Simon Ohm (1787 1854) is an important law that
describes the relationship of voltage V to current I and resistance R. It is often referred to as the
foundation of circuit analysis and can be expressed by three different ways:

where V is the potential difference from one end of a resistance element to the other, in volt.
I is the current through the same resistance element in amperes.
R is the resistance of the same element, in ohms.

There are many circuits that are so complex that they cannot be solved by Ohms Law. These
circuits have many branches or many power sources, and Ohms Law would be either
impractical or impossible to use on them. Methods for solving complex circuits have been
developed, and are based on the experiments of a German physicist, Gustav Kirchhoff. About
1857, Kirchhoff developed two conclusions, known as Kirchhoffs Laws, can be stated as
follows:

i.

Kirchhoffs voltage law

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Kirchhoffs voltage law is also known as his first law. It is stated that the sum of the voltage drops
around any closed loop is equal to the sum of the emfs in that loop. It gives the relationship
between the voltage drops around any closed loop in a circuit and the voltage sources in that
loop. The totals of these two quantities are always equal. This can be given in equation form as:
E = IR, where the symbol , which is the Greek letter sigma, means the sum of.

ii.

Kirchhoffs current law

Kirchhoffs current law is called his second law. It is stated that the current arriving at any
junction point in a circuit is equal to the current leaving that point. Current cannot collect or
build up at a point. Thus, if 1A of current arrives at a junction that has two paths leading away
from it, the 1A will divide among the two paths, but the total 1A must leave the junction. This
can be given in equation form as: I in - Iout = 0 or Iin = Iout. Normally, Kirchhoffs current
law is not used by itself, but together with the voltage law in solving a circuit problem.
3.0 APPARATUS
Table 1 Apparatus Setting for Section 4.1
S.NO

COMPONENTS

RATING

QUANTITY

1.

Ammeter

Multimeter

2.

Voltmeter

Multimeter

1
0-30 V, DC

Resistance

R1=.. R2=..

5.

Breadboard

6.

Connecting Wires

Few

3.

Variable Power supply

4.

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Table 2 Apparatus Setting for Section 4.2

S.NO

COMPONENTS

RATING

QUANTITY

1.

Ammeter

Multimeter

2.

Voltmeter

Multimeter

3.

Variable Power supply

0-30 V, DC

4.

Resistance

R1=.. R2=..

5.

Breadboard

6.

Connecting Wires

Few

4.0

PROCEDURES
4.1 Experiment 1: Ohms Law
1. Using ohmmeter, measure and record the value of resistance R1 in table 3.
2. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1 Circuit Diagram 1

3. The voltmeter is connected across R1 resistor and an ammeter is connected in series with
the resistor R1.
4. Switch on the dc power supply and for different values of input voltage, E; find the
voltage (V) across R1 and current (I) through R1.
5. Record the readings in Table 3.
6. Repeat the same procedure using a different value of resistor.
Note: If the student is using multimeter instead of voltmeter or ammeter or ohmmeter, make sure
that the leads are correctly set for required measurement and rating.
The value of R1 is differs for different groups.
4.2 Experiment 2: Kirchhoffs Law
1. Using ohmmeter, measure and record the value of resistance R1 and R2 in table 4 .
2. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 3.

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Figure 3 Circuit Diagram 3

3. Switch on the dc power supply.
4. For a given value of R1 and R2, record the readings (VT, V1, V2 and I) in the table 4.
5. Check whether RT = R1 + R2 for a series circuit.
6. Check whether VT = V1 + V2 (Kirchhoffs voltage law verification).
7. Repeat the same procedure by setting a different value of resistor R2.
8. Using ohmmeter, measure and record the value of resistance R1 and R2 in table 5.
9. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 Circuit Diagram 4

10. Switch on the dc power supply.
11. For a given value of R1 and R2, record the readings (VT, V1, V2, I1, I2 and I) in the table 5.
R1 R2
12. Check whether RT = R1 R2 for a parallel circuit.

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13. Check whether IT = I1 + I2 (Kirchhoffs current law verification).

14. You can also check if voltage across parallel resistor is same.
15. Repeat the same procedure by setting a different value of resistor R2.
Note: If the student is using multimeter instead of voltmeter or ammeter or ohmmeter, make sure
that the leads are correctly set for required measurement and rating.
The value of R1 is differs for different groups.
5.0 RESULTS
Table 3 Data for Verification of Ohms Law for Circuit 1
i.

RESISTOR()

VOLTAGE(V)

R1 = ..

4V
8V
12V
15V
4V
8V
12V
15V

R2 = .

CURRENT(A)
Practical value
Theoretical value

t
u
d
e
n
t

s are expected to calculate the error for experimental values.

ii.

Prepare a graph with voltage vs. current.

Table 4 Study of Resistors in Series and Kirchhoffs Current Law

R1()

R2()

V1 (V)

V2(V)

I(A)

VT

RT=

VT
I

V1+V2
()

Table 5 Study of Resistors in Parallel and Kirchhoffs Voltage Law

R1()

R2()

V1 (V)

V2 (V)

VT

I1 (A)

I2 (A)

Students are expected to do the following calculations

From table 5, for series circuit,
RT = R1 + R2 = .. (Theoretical value)

I (A)

RT=

VT
I

I1+I2
()

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VT = V1 + V2 = .. V (Kirchhoffs voltage law verified)

or
VT = IR1 + IR2 = ..

V ( theoretical)

From table 6, for parallel circuit,

R1 R2
RT = R1 R2 =

(theoretical)

I = I1 + I2 = . A ( kirchhoffs current law verified)

or
VT V1 V2

RT R1 R2 = ..

A (theoretical)

6.0 DISCUSSION
i.

Compare the theoretical and practical values in Table 3,4 and 5.

ii.

From the plotted graph, establish the relationship between voltage and current with
explanation

iii.

Comment on the accuracy of the experiment and ways of improving it.

7.0 REFERENCES
i.

Thomas L Floyd, Principles of Electric circuits. (2010) Conventional current theory

ii.

Boylestad R. L, Introductory Circuit Analysis (2000) Prentice Hall.