Aditya Badve

2/21/15
Ohms Law and Electrical Currents
Abstract
In the Ohms Law and Electrical Currents lab, we explore the
current-voltage characteristics of a resistor and light bulb to
understand how they relate to the Ohms law. To do this, we use a
digital multimeter to measure voltage, current, and resistance. To
satisfy Ohms law, we must measure both the potential difference, V,
and the current, I, and find the relationship between them. According
to Ohms law, V=IR, the relationship must be linear and the value for
the resistance, R, must be a constant. For resistors, this fact is true,
however, for non-ohmic devices, such as light bulbs, whose resistance
goes up as the temperature of the filament increases, this is not true.
Furthermore, it is also important to consider that even in circuits that
do not have a resistor, wires still cause resistance. However, this
resistance is negligible.
Out first task was to create a circuit where we could measure
both current and voltage simultaneously. By doing so, we could use the
data to graph the voltage versus the current and determine whether
the relationship was linear. After completing our first task, we then
created a new circuit to test Kirchoffs rules. To check if our circuit
adhered the loops and junctions rules, we used the formula I1 = I2 + I3.
We then proceeded to check if the sum of the voltages equaled zero.
Finally, we compared our calculated resistor values to our observed
resistor values, keeping in mind the uncertainties of our
measurements.