Experiment 0: Basic Measurements

Jarren Macaranas, Rennuel Salvador

Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute

University of the Philippines Diliman
Quezon City, Philippines

Abstract -- The main goal of this experiment is to familiarize counter-clockwise depending on where the zero is on the scale.
ourselves with the most common and basic tools that are used in After all of these have been done, you can now start measuring
measuring voltages, currents, etc. This experiment involves the resistance values through resistors. In Table I, the students
learning how to use the power supply provided, setting up will show you the resistance values of the resistors provided to
breadboards, and learning how to use the analog multimeters
us based on its color code, alongside the readings the meter
properly.
gave us.
I. INTRODUCTION
TABLE I
Multimeters are measuring devices that are widely-used by RESITANCE OF DIFFERENT RESISTORS
people from electrical engineers to the normal citizen. These
are used to measure the voltage of a certain terminal, the Resistance Resistance
Color Code (indicate based on Color based on
resistance of a resistor, or the current going through a certain colors) Code (Ω) AMM (Ω)
component.
There are two types of multimeters. There are analog Ra Green, Blue, Orange 56,000 Ω 60,000 Ω
multimeters, and the more advanced type, digital multimeters.
Analog multimeters use needles and the concept of d’Arsonval Rb White, Brown, Yellow 910,000 Ω 973,000 Ω
movement to indicate values while digital multimeters shows
the signals on a screen at discrete points in time. Rc Orange, White, Brown 390 Ω 400 Ω
In this experiment, the students will be learning how to do
basic measurements using these tools. Though these may look As shown in Table I, the color code does not always give
very advanced, they are just machines and they are prone in the exact resistance in a resistor. It only gives you an idea on
generating their errors, so they will mostly be used for a rough how much a resistance is in a resistor.
basis on what is exactly happening on the measured object. This
experiment aims to familiarize us on the techniques required to B. Measuring Voltage Using Voltmeter
operate the tools and to record the readings correctly. To do
this, the readings of this experiment will be compared to the In measuring voltage using a voltmeter, it is important that
values obtained computationally and from there, used theories you put the correct jacks into their respective polarities. Your
to further support the manual computations recorded. readings will be incorrect if these are not in their correct
polarities.
II. EXPERIMENT, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In this part of the experiment, the students were to measure
the maximum voltage our power supply can supply, and also
The experiment is divided into five parts, each exploring the minimum voltage it can supply. Our readings will be in
the different functions of the multimeter. In this experiment, an Table II, which will be shown below.
analog meter (AMM) was used. Therefore, the findings and
interpretations of this experiment are only limited to the scope TABLE II
of the analog multimeter. POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGES

A. Measuring Resistance Using Ohmmeter

Minimum Voltage Maximum Voltage
Before you can start measuring resistance through (in mV) (in V)
resistors, the meter must first be zeroed. You start off by
PS1 10 32
choosing a resistance range, 10k is preferred. After, you short
the two meter leads by touching both of its points together. PS2 10 5.3
While they are shorted, you turn the knob either clockwise or
 C. Determining Resistance Using Voltage and Current the voltage and current recorded in the past section, the students
Measurements solved for the resistance in the new R2 using Ohm’s law. After,
they recorded the measured values as well as the computed
To measure the resistance using voltage and current values in the table below named Table III.
measurements, the students set up a circuit wherein there is a
10V power supply, two resistors, R1 and R2, in series. The TABLE III
resistance in each resistors are as follows: : R1 = 1kΩ and R2 = USING OHM’S LAW TO MEASURE RESISTANCE
5.1kΩ.
In measuring the voltage across a resistor, the meter must
be put in parallel with the resistor. This is shown in Fig. 1. Resistance:
VR2 (V) IR2 (A) Ohm’s Law (Ω)

Ra 9.83 V 0.0002 A 49,150 Ω

Rb 9.99 V 0.000161 A 908,181 Ω

Rc 2.9 V 0.0075 386.67 Ω

To compute for the percentage error, the students assumed

Fig 1. Circuit representation of measuring voltage across R2.
In measuring the current across a resistor, the meter must
be put in series with the resistor. This is showin in Fig. 2.
that the resistance value determined using the ohmmeter in the
first part of the experiment is the actual value of R2. For the
other part of error calculation, the other true value used was the
computed resistance by Ohm’s Law was used. With the
following equation, the students computed for the error
between the measured and the true value.

The calculated percent error was tabulated by the students

in the table shown below, named Table IV.

Fig 2. Circuit representation of measuring current across R2. TABLE IV

ERROR CALCULATIONS
When the students measured the voltage on R2, it showed
up that it had 8.35V across the resistor. The calculated voltage Resistance Resistance Resistance
based in based on eAMM based on eOL
of the students was 8.36V. As with the current, the students’ Color Code AMM (in Ohm's Law
(%) (%)
reading of the current through R2 was 1.68mA. With these (in ohms) ohms) (in ohms)
values in hand, the students computed for the power dissipated
by the resistor R2. The computed power was 0.014W. The R1 56,000 60,000 6.67 49,150 12.27
solution is shown below.
R2 910,000 973,000 6.92 908,181 0.2

R3 390 400 2.56 386.67 0.83

D. Computing Resistance and Error
In this section of the experiment, the students computed the
actual resistance using Ohm’s law and they compared the
results. In the first part, R2 was replaced with each resistor that
were used in Part A one at a time. With the measured values of
The students were most of the time far away and had a big
percentage error in their recorded resistances. This could be
from the multimeter not being perfect in measuring voltages,
currents, and resistances. It may not be the perfect measuring
tool, but it will give you the best idea on what the values are on
whatever component. This emphasizes the point of knowing the
proper techniques of handling the equipment for a more
accurate reading.

E. Power Ratings
To calculate for the power, the students used the same
circuit shown in part C, with R1 = 100Ω and R2 = 50 Ω. The
voltage, current and power dissipated by each resistor were
computed as shown by the equations below.

Replacing R1 with a 1kΩ resistor, the students also

calculated for the voltage, current, and power dissipated by
each resistor.
It shows that the recordings showed that the powers
dissipated by the resistors were equal to the power delivered by
the source. The higher valued resistor hindered the current
through it resulting to a smaller power dissipation.

III. CONCLUSION
In the experiment performed, the students recorded
numerous values using the analog multimeter, and the digital
multimeter to countercheck. Different methods and different
circumstances were faced to ensure proper recording and
proper learning of the techniques. These resulted in a high
percentage error, concluding that even though multimeters are
helpful, they will not always give you the exact measurement
at a given time.

REFERENCES
1. J. W. Nilsson and S. A. Riedel, Electric Circuits, 9th ed., One Lake Street,
New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2011.