Republic of the Philippines

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

BatStateU Alangilan
Alangilan, Batangas City
College of Engineering, Architecture and Fine Arts
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

EE419 - Basic Electrical Engineering

Laboratory Activity No. 1
Series and Parallel Circuits
Voltage Divider and Current Divider Rules

Members:
PetE – 2107 | Group 4
Hermidilla, Anne Gracielalein T.
Laroza, Princess Lyka D.
Lopez, John Arman A.
Mabiling, Joann L.
Macalalad, Katherine V.

Submitted to:

Engr. Dave Ian G. Catausan

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

 Laboratory Activity No. 1

Series and Parallel Circuits

Voltage Divider and Current Divider Rules

Introduction

There are two basic ways in which to connect more than two circuit components: series
and parallel.

Fig. 1 Series Circuit Fig. 2 Parallel circuit

For a series circuit shown in figure 1, the voltage across resistors R1, R2, and R3 can
be written as

This is the voltage divider rule (VDR).

For parallel circuit given in figure 2, the branch currents can be written in terms of the total
current as
 This is termed as the current divider rule (CDR).

Objectives

1. To study the voltage current relationships of series and parallel circuits.

2. To verify the voltage divider and current divider rules.

Materials
Multisim

Circuit Diagrams

24 V 24 V

Figure 3 Figure 4
Resistance Resistance
R2 = 100 ohms R2 = 62.5 ohms
R = 150 ohms R = 75 ohms
3 3
R = 220 ohms R = 265 ohms
4 4
R = 330 ohms R = 150 ohms
6 6
 Procedure:

Simulation

1. Build the circuit given in figure 3 on Multisim.

2. Connect voltmeters, ammeters (or multimeters) at appropriate positions to measure

voltages and currents shown in Table 1.

3. Disconnect the voltage source. Connect a multimeter and measure the total resistance
and record the value in Table 1. (Remember resistance is always measured without any
source connected to the circuit.)

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the circuit given in figure 4 and record the values in Table 2.

Table 1: Simulation and Experimental Result for Figure 3

Is I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Veq

Work 263. 103. 160 62. 222. 41. 10. 13. 13.655
Bench 45 45 mA 069 07 379 345 24V 655 0V V 24V
mA mA mA mA mA V V

Table 2: Simulation and Experimental Result for Figure 4

Is I2 I3 I4 I5 I6 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 Veq
-
Work 118. 99. 18 18. 22. 118. 6. 1. -4. 22.
Bench 35 97 .377 377 622 35 2481 3783 8698 622 17.752 24V
mA mA mA mA mA mA V V V V V
Questions:

Refer to figure 3 and the results obtained in Table 1 and answer the following questions:

1. Are R4 and R6 in parallel or in series? Why? Refer to voltage current measurements for
your answer to justify.
In the table of values, R4 and R6 have the same voltage measurement which is
13.655V that means they are in parallel.

2. Are R3 and R4 in parallel or in series? Why? Justify with solution.

R3 and R4 are in series because the current throughout is equal to the total
current from the source.
I2 + I3 = I3 + I4 + I6
103.45 mA + 160 mA = 160 mA + 62.069 mA + 41.379 mA
263.45 mA = 263.45 mA

3. Are Vs and R3 in parallel or in series? Why? Justify with solution.

Vs = 24 V Vs = V3
R3 = 150 ohms Vs = I3 R3
I3 = 160.0 mA or 0.16 A 24 V = 0.16 A (150 ohms)
24 V = 24 V

4. Are Vs and R6 in series or in parallel? Why? Justify with solution.

Vs and R6 are in series connection. The diagram shows that they are in series
connection since it pass through R2 before it reaches R6. The combination of R6
and R2 which is 10.345 + 13.655 is 24 which is the Vs, making it a series connection.
5. Are Vs and Req in parallel or in series? Why? Justify with solution.
Vs and Req are in Series connection. As shown in the diagram Vs and Req are in
one path making a series connection. If R234 and R6 are added together, it makes
a series connection making Vs and Req a series connection.

6. Is VDR applicable for R3 and R4? Why? Justify your answer on the basis of theory given
in the introduction.
The VDR or voltage divider rule is not applicable to R3 and R4, it is because VDR is
only applicable to series circuit. In this case R3 and R4 are in parallel connection.

𝐑𝟑
𝐑𝟒 𝑽𝟑 = 𝐕𝐬
𝑽𝟒 = 𝐑𝟑+𝐑𝟒 𝐕𝐬 𝐑𝟑 + 𝐑𝟒
𝟐𝟐𝟎 𝟏𝟓𝟎
𝑽𝟒 = 𝟐𝟒 𝑽𝟑 = 𝟐𝟒
𝟏𝟓𝟎 + 𝟐𝟐𝟎 𝟏𝟓𝟎 + 𝟐𝟐𝟎
𝟏𝟑. 𝟔𝟓𝟓 ≠ 14.27
𝟐𝟒 ≠ 9.72

7. Is CDR applicable for R4 and R6? Why? Justify your answer on the basis of theory given
in the introduction.
The Current Divider Rule or CDR is applicable to R4 and R6, it is because CDR is
applicable to a parallel circuit. In this case R4 and R6 are in parallel connection.

𝐑𝟔 𝐑𝟒
𝑰𝟒 = 𝐈𝟐 𝑰𝟔 = 𝐈𝟐
𝐑𝟒 + 𝐑𝟔 𝐑𝟒 + 𝐑𝟔
𝟑𝟑𝟎 𝟐𝟐𝟎
𝑰𝟒 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝑰𝟒 = 𝟎. 𝟏𝟎𝟑
𝟐𝟐𝟎 + 𝟑𝟑𝟎 𝟐𝟐𝟎 + 𝟑𝟑𝟎
𝟎. 𝟎𝟔𝟐 = 0.062 𝟎. 𝟒𝟏 = 0.41
8. Is the parallel combination of R4 and R6 in series or in parallel with R2? Why? Justify.
The parallel combination of R4 and R6 has the same current as R2
which means the parallel combination of R4 and R6 is in series with R2.

I4 = 62.069 mA I6 = 41.379 mA I2 = 103.45 mA

I2 = I4 + I6
103.45 mA = 62.069 + 41.379 mA
103.45 mA = 103.45 mA

Refer to figure 4 and the results obtained in Table 2 and answer the following questions:
9. Are R4 and R6 in parallel or in series? Why? Refer to voltage current measurements for
your answer to justify.

R4 and R6 are in series connection at which when I2 is being added to I4, it

equates to the current of I6. In this case, series circuit states that when the current is
the same, it is always series.

10. Are R3 and R4 in parallel or in series? Why? Justify with solution.

𝐼3 = 𝐼4
𝑉3 𝑉4
𝑉 3 = 1.3783 𝑉 =
𝑅3 𝑅4
1.3783 4.8698
𝑉 4 = 4.8698 𝑉 =
75 265
0.018377 = 0.018377
R3 and R4 are in SERIES. Since, 𝐼 3 = 𝐼 4, hence, R3 and R4 are in series
circuit considering that they have the very same current.
11. Are Vs and R3 in parallel or in series? Why? Justify with solution.
𝑉 𝑠 = 24 𝑉 𝑉 𝑠 = 𝑉 6 + (𝑉 3 + 𝑉 4)
𝑉 3 = 1.3783 𝑉 24𝑉 = 17.752 + (1.3783 + 4.8698)

𝑉 4 = 4.8698 𝑉 24𝑉 = 24𝑉

𝑉 6 = 17.752
V𝑠 = V6 + (V3 + V4), Thus, V𝑠 is series to R3 since the total voltage flowing
from the supply is equivalent to the sum of the voltages flowing with each path. The
total of the individual voltage drops is the voltage delivered to a series circuit.

12. Are Vs and R6 in series or in parallel? Why? Justify with solution.

𝐼𝑠 = 𝐼6
𝑉6
118.35 =
𝑅6
17.752
118.35 =
150
118.35 = 118.35
V𝑠 and R6 are in SERIES such as that they have equal currents. That being so, V𝑠
and R6 are in series connection.

13. Are Vs and Req in parallel or in series? Why? Justify with solution.
(𝑅3 + 𝑅4 ) 𝑅2
𝑅𝑒𝑞 = [ ] + 𝑅6
𝑅2 + 𝑅3 + 𝑅4
(75 + 265) 62.5
𝑅𝑒𝑞 = [ ] + 150
62.5 + 75 + 265
𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 202.7950311 Ω
 𝑉 24 𝑉
𝐼𝑒𝑞 = =
𝑅 202.7950311𝐴
1000𝑚𝐴
𝐼𝑒𝑞 = 0.1182460949𝐴 ( )
1𝐴
𝐼𝑠 = 118.3460949𝑚𝐴
𝐼𝑒𝑞 = 118.3460949𝑚𝐴

V𝑠 and Req are in SERIES as they have the similar current. So then, V𝑠 and
Req are in series connection

14. Is VDR applicable for R3 and R4? Why? Justify your answer on the basis of theory given
in the introduction.
VDR is applicable to R3 and R4 as they're in a series circuit. A series connection
based on the idea provided in the introduction has a constant current of its components.
The VDR may be used to discover the voltages for every variable since the total of the
voltages flowing throughout every path equals the total voltage coming from the source.

15. Is CDR applicable for R4 and R6? Why? Justify your answer on the basis of theory given
in the introduction.
Since R4 is in parallel with R6, whereas their equal resistance is in series with

R6, CDR is not applicable. According to the idea presented in the introduction, CDR
doesn't quite apply to a parallel circuit.
16. Is the parallel combination of R4 and R6 in series or in parallel with R2? Why? Justify
with solution.

I6 = 41.379 𝑚𝐴
I2 = 103.45 𝑚𝐴
I4 = 62.069 𝑚𝐴
𝐼2 = 𝐼4 + 𝐼6
103.45 = 62.069 + 41.379
103.45 = 103.45

R4 and R6 are in SERIES with R2. the sum of parallel combination of 𝑅4 and 𝑅6
have the same value of current with 𝑅2. Therefore, the parallel combination of 𝑅4 and 𝑅6
is in series with 𝑅2.

Any other observations or comments:

 The circuit won’t work without the ground.

 SIMULATION

Figure 3: Simulation of Current

Figure 3: Simulation of Voltage

Figure 4: Simulation of Current

Figure 4: Simulation of Voltage