Christina Jean-Francois 111569694

Lab Section 13

LAB 4: OHM’S LAW

Introduction:

According to Ohm’s law, there is a linear relationship between the voltage drop across a circuit

element and the current flowing through it. Therefore the resistance R is viewed as a constant

independent of the voltage and the current. A current vs. voltage plot is called the I-V

characteristic of the device and is satisfied when the I-V characteristic is a straight line.

In equation form, Ohm’s law is:

V = IR.

Procedure:

In Part I of the lab, Voltages and corresponding currents are measured by meters. We connected

the circuit with a resistor 3 as the device under test. We started with a low voltage and slowly worked

our way up careful to not exceed 10 Volts and 250 mA. We measured at least 5 values of the current

read by the ammeter of voltage between 0 and 10 Volts. After we gathered the data, we reversed

the polarity of the power supply and the meters and repeat these measurements for negative

voltages and currents. For Part II of the lab, we repeated the same procedure as in Part I but with

the light bulb as a resistor. However, we used small voltages that are below the voltage needed to

make the bulb glow brightly for our measurements. In Part III of the lab, we did the same procedure

as in Part I and II but with the silicone diode, however we took into fact the polarity and took a series

of data for one end of the diode “positive”, and another series of data for the other end of the diode

“negative”
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Lab Section 13

Data

Part I: REsistor

Volt (v) Current

1.5 0.1
-1.5 -0.1
3.8 0.2
-3.8 -0.2
5.6 0.3
-5.6 -0.3
7.5 0.4
-7.5 -0.4
9.4 0.5
-9.4 -0.5

Part II: Lightbulb

Volt (V) Current

(mA)

1 0.5
-1 -0.5
2 0.7
-2 -0.7
3 0.8
-3 -0.9
4 0.1
-4 -0.1
5 1.1
-5 -1.1

Part III: Silicone DIode

Volt Current

(V) (mA)
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Lab Section 13

2 1
-2 -1
4 2
-4 -2
6 3
-6 -3
8 4
-8 -4
9 5
-9 -5

Analysis/Discussion

The voltage across each device to be studied is varied by changing the output of a power supply The

current that passes through the voltmeter is not significant because when we attach just the voltmeter

and the ammeter in a series circuit to the power supply, there is no significant readings that appear. A

power supply provides current at whatever voltage is needed to drive that current through the circuit

connected to its two output terminals. The resistance of the ammeter is “small” so to accurately read

the current that will pass through the resistor. The voltmeter measures the voltage drop across the

resistor. The resistance of the voltmeter is large so that it doesn't draw current through it. With both the

current and voltage, we can find the resistance of the resistor using Ohm’s Law which states:

𝑉
𝑅=
𝐼

Which we will use to find the resistance of the resistor by plotting V vs I. Based on the color bands of

resistor 3, the resistance is 10 ohms. We calculated 18.8 ohms for the resistance, leaving us with a

percent error of 80% . For Part II, the resistance of the lightbulb was measured as 4 ohms. The lightbulb

does obeys Ohm’s Law for because the relationship between its I-V characteristic is a straight line. With

the first data points, the relationship between the voltage and current is direct, however, when higher

voltages are achieved, the bulb is beginning to glow which changes the resistance drastically as light and
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Lab Section 13

heat are being generated. In Part III of the lab, the silicone Diode also obeys Ohm’s Law as the

relationships between is Current and Voltage maintain a straight line, and we calculated it to be 5.3

ohms.

Conclusion:

All the experimental objects have passed the concept of Ohm’s Law, however, in finding their actual

resistance value, we were presented with a systematic error in our meters. During the lab, we had a lot

of trouble in finding both an ammeter and voltmeter that would work. At first we were getting values

much different from what is presented on this lab, but mid lab the ammeter stopped working and we

had to get a new ammeter, which is what gave us current data. WE had to repeat the lab once again due

to the difference in readings. The flow of the current has not stopped, simply the meter that was

reading it which explains the high percent error in the resistor, but allowed for all the objects to have

obeyed ohms law by having a direct relationship between the voltage and current.
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Lab Section 13

Part I: Resistor

Part II: Lightbulb

Part III: Silicone diode