Scientific Concepts:

A voltage divider (also known as a potential divider) is a passive linear circuit that produces an
output voltage (Vo) that is a fraction of its input voltage (Vi). Voltage division is the result of distributing
the input voltage among the components of the divider.
Resistor voltage dividers are commonly used to create reference voltages, or to reduce the
magnitude of a voltage so it can be measured, and may also be used as signal attenuators at low
frequencies. For direct current and relatively low frequencies, a voltage divider may be sufficiently
accurate if made only of resistors; where frequency response over a wide range is required (such as in
an oscilloscope probe), a voltage divider may have capacitive elements added to compensate load
capacitance.
Frequency analysis is used to determine the cut-off frequency for a certain circuit. By this we can
control the frequency that we should input in the circuit to avoid clamping of the output.
Materials:

Resistors(470k, 330k, 1.2k, 470, 2pcs 500)- a passive two-terminal electrical

component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element.

Capacitors(2pcs 1f)- (originally known as a condenser) is a passive two-terminal electrical

component used to store energy electrostatically in an electric field.

Function Generator- is usually a piece of electronic test equipment used to generate different

types of electrical waveforms over a wide range of frequencies.

Oscilloscope- is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly

varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional plot of one or more signals as a

function of time.

2N4401 transistor- (npn) is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic

signals and electrical power.

Multitester- is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several measurement

functions in one unit. Can measure current, voltage, resistance, and continuity.

Breadboard- is a construction base for prototyping of electronics.

Jumping wires- is used to connect part of a breadboard which is not connected.

Alligator clips- is used to connect the power supply to the circuit.

DC power supply- generates DC voltage which the amount of voltage can vary depending on the
user.

Procedure:
1. Set-up the designed Voltage divider circuit into a breadboard.
2. Measure the current(Ie) flowing thru Re, by measuring its voltage and applying Ohms law.
3. Calculate re by using this formula re=.
4. Connect the Oscilloscope channel 1 to Rb2 and to the ground.
5. Connect the Oscilloscope channel 2 to load(RL) to the ground.
6. Observe the graph displayed in the Oscilloscope.
7. Get the mid frequency, low cut-off frequency and high cut-off frequency by adjusting the input of
the function generator.
8. Compare the results on the experiment to the calculation.
9. Draw conclusions from the observations.
Calculations:

DC Analysis:
Rth= Rb1||Rb2 = 470k || 330k

Vth=

Rth= 193875

Vth= 3.7125V

Ib

Ie = ( + 1) Ib = ( + 1)(12.48 A)

Ib = 12.48 A

Ie = 1.26 mA
re =

re = 20.63

AC Analysis:
Vi= ( ib) ( ( + 1)(Re)+ ( re) )= ( ib) ( ( + 1)(470 )+ ()20.63 )
Vo= (Rc || Rl)ib= (1.2k || 500 )ib
Av=

Av= 0.7125
DATA Gathered:
Circuit:

Low cut-off frequency:

Mid frequency:

High cut-off frequency:

Table 1: Cut-off frequency

Low cut-off frequency

Mid frequency
High cut-off frequency

Frequency
62.97Hz
25.77kHz
1.92MHz

Vi
800mV
760mV
520mV

Vo
340mV
568mV
352mV

Analysis:
In a voltage divider circuit, if we change at least one of the values of the resistors then it will
have an effect to the result of the experiment. In most cases if we want to change the output to a
certain degree, like changing its Av, we change the value of Rc because as we observed it is the most
sensitive one.
Having a load(RL), would mean a lower value of Av based on the formula:
(with RL) and

(without RL). So as we can see, both have

the same input but have different output and from that we can say that (Rc||RL)ib ( Rc)ib so a voltage
divider with RL has a lesser Av compared to a one without.
In finding the value of the capacitor to be used, we were told to assume that the low cut-off
frequency is 100Hz.
By using this formula C=
Cc=

Ci=

we can get the value for each capacitor:

=1f
=

=1f

From our observation if we assumed the low cut-off frequency into another value, lets say
1kHz, the values of the capacitors would vary and eventually the measured low cut-off frequency of
our data will be closer to 1kHz.

Conclusion:
From this experiment I learned that cut-off frequency is dependent to the values of the
capacitors and resistors used. I also confirmed that our hypothesis was shown to be true which is that
the assumed low cut-off frequency is close to that of the result.
It is possible to have errors due to the materials being used. For example, malfunctioning
oscilloscope, malfunctioning function generator, malfunctioning DC power supply, or any other
possible deficiency which can affect the result of the experiment.