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ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING Department

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

EXPERIMENT ONE

OHM’S LAW

Reference: Alexander, Charles K. and Matthew Sadiku, Fundamentals of Electric Circuits,

6th Edition, McGraw Hill 2017

Objective:
The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to verify Ohm’s law and to become familiar with the
use of the laboratory equipment, particularly the Analog Discovery, breadboard, and simulation
software LTSpice.

Equipment:
 Analog Discovery
 Breadboard
 Resistors (1 k,)
 LTSpice simulation software

THEOTY: OHM’S LAW

Ohm’s law states that the voltage v across a resistor is directly proportional
to the current i flowing through the resistor.

That is,
v ∝I (1)
Ohm defined the constant of proportionality for a resistor to be the resistance,
R. (The resistance is a material property which can change if the internal or external conditions
of the element are altered, e.g., if there are changes in the temperature.) Thus, Eq. (1) becomes

v = iR Ohms Law (2)

CIRCUIT:

Figure 1. Circuit for Ohm’s Law Verification

PROCEDURE A: LTSPICE-BASED SIMULATION
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1. Buid and simulate the circuit in Figure 1 using LTSpice. Follow Table 1 to adjust the
voltage value as given in Table 1 and measure the current I for each setup of voltage
while keeping the R value unchanged (1k). Fill out the Table 1 with all measured
currents along with your calculated values of current, I. Plot the I vs. V using excel
and verify the Ohm’s law.

2. With the same circuit in Figure 1, using the LTSpice, follow the Table 2 to adjust the
values of currents as given in Table 2 column 1 by varying the voltage values again
keeping the R value unchanged (1k). Fill out the Table 2 with all measured voltages
along with your calculated values of the voltages, V. Plot V vs. I using excel and
verify the Ohm’s law.

PROCEDURE B: ANALOG DISCOVERY-BASED MEASUREMENT

1. Build the circuit in Figure 1 on breadboard. Follow Table 1 to adjust the voltage value
as given in Table 1 using Analog Discovery and measure the current I for each setup
of voltage while keeping the R value unchanged (1k, pick up from your component
box). Fill out the Table 3 with all measured currents along with your calculated
values of current, I. Plot the I vs. V using excel. and verify the Ohm’s law.

2. With the same circuit in Figure 1, using the Analog Discovery, follow the Table 2 to
adjust the values of currents as given in Table 2 column 1 by varying the voltage
values again keeping the R value unchanged (1k). Fill out the Table 4 with all
measured voltages along with your calculated values of the voltages, V. Plot V vs. I
using excel and verify the Ohm’s law.

During the laboratory experiment, the calculated data will be compared to the measured data. A
key part of your laboratory report will include an error analysis of the calculated values versus
the measured values.

The formula for percent error is,

theoretical  measured
x100
theoretical

Your laboratory report should discuss the results found in detail including possible sources of
error.

Table 1
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Ohm’s Law (current) Using LTSpice

V (V) R (kΩ) I (mA) I (mA) I
(calculation) (measured) % error
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 1
5 1

Table 2
Ohm’s Law (voltage) Using LTSpice
I (mA) R (kΩ) V (V) V (V) V
(calculation) (measured) % error
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 1
5 1

Table 3
Ohm’s Law (current) Using Analog Discovery
V (V) R (kΩ) I (mA) I (mA) I
(calculation) (measured) % error
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 1
5 1

Table 4
Ohm’s Law (voltage) Using Analog Discovery
I (mA) R (kΩ) V (V) V (V) V
(calculation) (measured) % error
1 1
2 1
3 1
4 1
5 1

Post-Lab Assignment:
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(a) Write your lab report following the report writing guidelines and sample lab report.
(b) Compare the measured values and the calculated values obtained from the experiment.
Compute the percentage error for all voltages and currents.
(c) In the discussion and conclusion section of your laboratory report, discuss any
difficulties encountered in the lab, any possible sources or error and what you learned
from this experiment.

Use of Analog Discovery

First, plug the Analog Discovery device into the PC using USB. Double click on the

Waveforms icon that is located on the PC’s desktop.

1. The Digilent Waveform software displays the instrument panel (labeled Digilent
Waveform). We will be using the WaveGen and Scope tools from the software.
2. Click on the WaveGen button to generate the waveform signal and select a square wave
as your option.
3. Set the Amplitude to 2.5 V, and Offset to 2.5 V. Doing this should generate 5 Volts.
4. Connect the yellow and black wire of the device to the input of the circuit. These wires
are labeled W1 and on the device.
5. Use the Scope of the Analog Discovery device to measure the voltage across the resistor,
click Scope on the instrument panel.
6. Set the Base 2ms/div. Now set C1 (Channel One ) with Offset 0V and Range 2V/div.