Ateneo de Naga University

College of Science and Engineering

Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering

QECA322 - GE21

Circuits Laboratory Experiment no. 1

Measurement of A-C Voltage with an Oscilloscope

Submitted by:
Mallapre, James Lemuel R.
Moral, Carlos Joczar H.

Date of Experiment:
January 8, 2020
Date of Submission:
January 15, 2020
OBJECTIVE:
The oscilloscope is a device which is used to view the shape of varying voltages. If the wave shape,
duration, and amplitude of a varying potential are known, the r.m.s. and the average value of the voltage
can be computed. This experiment will deal with the use of the oscilloscope to measure sinusoidal
voltages.

THEORY:
By measuring the AC voltage, voltage (Vp) of one peak and the peak-to-peak voltage (Vp-p) which is
usually twice Vp, must be considered. To calculate the power of an AC signal, use the RMS (root-mean-
square) or VRMS. To take the voltage measurement, count the number of divisions a waveform spans on
the oscilloscope’s vertical scale. In order to acquire an accurate measurement of the voltage, adjusting the
signal to cover most of the screen vertically and then taking the measurement along the center vertical
graticule line having the smaller divisions must be done. Accuracy of the measurement depends on a good
large scale or screen area of the oscilloscope.

MATERIALS:
Oscilloscope
VOM
Variac
1000-ohm resistor
680-ohm resistor
470-ohm resistor
330-ohm resistor
220-ohm resistor

PROCEDURE:
1. Set the oscilloscope for single-trace operation.
2. Use the corresponding vertical POSITION to set the trace near mid screen.
3. Connect the signal to the corresponding IN connector and adjust the corresponding VOLT/DIV switch
so the displayed signal is totally on screen.
4. Set the TIME/DIV switch so the desired number of signal cycles are displayed. Adjust the Trigger
LEVEL control if necessary for a stable display.
5. Setup the circuit shown in the figure.
6. Using the VOM, set the voltage across the whole network to 50 volts rms.
7. Using the oscilloscope, measure and record in Table 1 the peak-to-peak voltage across each of the
following points:

E1 A to B
E2 A to C
E3 A to D
E4 A to E
E5 B to C
E6 B to D
 E7 B to E
E8 B to F
E9 C to D
E10 D to E
8. Using the VOM, measure and record the rms voltage across each of the points in step 7.
9. Compute the peak value for each of the points in step 7 using
𝐸𝑝 − 𝑝
𝐸𝑚 =
2
10. Compute the rms value for each of the points in step 7.
11. Compute the percent difference between each of the rms values found from step 7 and the
corresponding value measured with the VOM.
Data table 1

Ep-p EM ERMS ERMS Percent

(scope) (comp) (comp) (VOM) Diff
E1 52 26 18.33 18.10 0.28
E2 62 31 21.92 22.19 0.27
E3 84 42 29.69 38.60 0.91
E4 104 52 37.679 36.46 0.31
E5 12.7 6.35 4.49 4.01 0.48
E6 35.9 17.95 12.69 12.51 0.18
E7 52.2 26.1 18.46 18.40 0.06
E8 95.5 47.75 33.76 33.75 0.01
E9 24.8 12.4 8.77 8.54 0.23
E10 17.7 8.85 6.26 5.96 0.3

PROBLEMS:
1. For each value of voltage measured with the oscilloscope, compute the average value.
2. For each value of voltage measured with the VOM, compute the average value.
3. Compute the percent difference between each pair of average values.
4. How do these differences compare with the differences in the rms values?
5. Compute the instantaneous value of
𝑒 = 168 𝑠𝑖𝑛377𝑡
at t = 0, t = 16.6 msec, t = 8.3 msec, t = 4.15 msec, t = 12.45 msec.

6. Plot the curve of the values computed in Problem 5.

ANALYSIS / CONCLUSION:

James Lemuel Mallapre

Voltage, electric potential difference, electric pressure or electric tension is the difference in electric
potential between two points. The difference in electric potential between two points in a static electric field
is defined as the work needed per unit of charge to move a test charge between the two points. Voltages
can also be measured from peak-to-peak - from the maximum point of a signal to its minimum point. You
must be careful to specify which voltage you mean.
The oscilloscope is primarily a voltage-measuring device. One of the important functions of
oscilloscope is to get the measurement of the voltage in a given circuit. In order to properly acquire a voltage
reading, voltage is determined by using vertical grids on the oscilloscope’s monitor display. Each square
on the grid is called a division. Range switch plays an important role in reading the voltage in an
oscilloscope. This switch selects volts per division. For example, at the 2 VOLTS/DIV position, one vertical
division or grid is equal to two volts. Also, to begin with, since we are dealing with AC measurement, the
coupling switch located below the oscilloscope (depending on the model) can be placed in either the AC or
DC position. In our case, we are to know the measurement of AC voltage.
The objective of this experiment is to help the students be familiar with the use of oscilloscope. In
our recent experiments in the first semester, we were able to make use of the oscilloscope to measure DC
voltage. Now that we are focusing on AC voltages, we are to learn the basic things of the operation of the
oscilloscope in order to properly measure sinusoidal waves.
Starting with the basic, the coupling switch must be moved to the GRND position. Then, we must
move the trace to the horizontal center line on the grid by adjusting the vertical position knob. Of course,
the setup will not be complete without the oscilloscope probes, the voltmeter, and other circuit components
such as the resistors. Next, the oscilloscope probe must be connected to a circuit that has a 50 peak-to-peak
AC. The ground must be connected to a reference point of the circuit. Setting the probe to 10x position will
display a better magnification of the wave. In order to measure the AC voltage, the coupling switch, on its
GND switch, must be switched to AC position.
Based on our experiment, the computed ERMS is precisely equal to the ERMS value from the
voltmeter. The percent difference of each measurement are relatively small, indicating a similarities of the
values.