EEB 231: ELECTRICAL

FUNDAMENTALS
Verification of Voltage Divider Rule

Barona Prince Otlhomile

ID NO:201901334
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ 2
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 3
Definition of terms
Objectives
Theory of the experiment
PROCEDURE…………..…………………………………………………….. 6
Equipment Used
Method
RESULTS…………...………………………………………………………… 7
Sample calculations
DISCUSSION……………………………………………………………..….. 9
CONCLUSION.……………………………………………………………… 9
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………… 10

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ABSTRACT
This experiment was conducted to verify voltage divider rule by using a simple
direct current circuit. A series circuit current and voltage across resistor 1 and
voltage across resistor 2 were noted from a multimeter, the measured voltages
across R1 and R2 and the voltages found by calculation across R1 and R2 were
found to be the same. A graph constructed, showed that the larger the resistance
in a resistor the larger the voltage across that resistor. All in all the experiment
proved the voltage divider rule.

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INTRODUCTION
A voltage divider (also known as a potential divider) is a passive linear circuit
that produces an output voltage (Vout) that is a fraction of its input voltage (Vin).
Voltage division is the result of distributing the input voltage among the
components of the divider (Esposito, 1969). A simple example of a voltage
divider is two resistors connected in series, with the input voltage applied across
the resistor pair and the output voltage emerging from the connection between
them.

A voltage divider is a simple circuit which turns a large voltage into a smaller
one. Using just two series resistors and an input voltage, the rule creates an output
voltage that is a fraction of the input. Voltage dividers are one of the most
fundamental circuits in electronics. It is based on the application of ohms law
(Bordeau, 1982). For an unloaded potential divider, the current through each
resistor is the same so the voltage is proportional to the resistance. This means
that the pd across the pair of resistors is divided in the same ratio as the resistors
themselves:
i.e. V1 / V2 = I R1 / I R2 or V1 / V2 = R1 / R2

Figure 1.0 showing potential drop across a resistor

It is worth emphasising the practical implication of this - if R1 >> R2 then V1 is

more or less the supply voltage and if R1 << R2 then V1 is close to 0 V. V S is
seen as an input to the potential divider and V1 as an output. The circuit itself
provides a way to tap off a voltage between 0 V and VS
Derivation of voltage divider rule

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RT = R1 + R2
𝐸
RT=
𝐼
𝐸 𝐸𝑅1
V1= (R1) =
𝑅𝑇 𝑅𝑇

𝐸 𝐸𝑅2
V2= (R2) =
𝑅𝑇 𝑅𝑇

𝐸 𝐸𝑅𝑛
Voltage divider rule= Vn= (Rn) = RT = R1+R2………+Rn
𝑅𝑇 𝑅𝑇

Definition of terms by (Stein, 1997)

Voltage: is the difference in electric potential between two points, which (in a
static electric field) is defined as the work needed per unit of charge to move a
test charge between the two points. In addition, it is defined so that negatively
charged objects are pulled towards higher voltages, while positively charged
objects are pulled towards lower voltages. Therefore, the conventional current
in a wire or resistor always flows from higher voltage to lower voltage
Current: An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or
ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space. It is measured as the net
rate of flow of electric charge past a region.
Resistance: is a measure of the opposition to current flow in an electrical circuit.
Objectives
The objective of this experiment was to verify voltage divider rule.
Theory of the Experiment
Voltage divider rule states that the the voltage is divided between two resistors
which are connected in series in direct proportion to their resistance

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 𝐸 𝐸𝑅𝑛
Vn= (Rn) = where; Vn is the voltage drop across the resistor n
𝑅𝑇 𝑅𝑇
E is the emf of the source, the voltage of the
source
Rn is the resistance of the resistor n.

Voltage dividers are used for adjusting the level of a signal, for bias of active
devices in amplifiers, and for measurement of voltages. A Wheatstone bridge
and a multimeter both include voltage dividers. A potentiometer is used as a
variable voltage divider in the volume control of many radios. Another use
includes measuring the resistance of a sensor through microcontrollers (Purcell,
1985). The sensor is wired in series with a known resistance to form a voltage
divider and a known voltage is applied across the divider, then the
microcontroller's analog-to-digital converter is connected to the center tap of the
divider so that it can measure the tap voltage and, by using the measured
voltage and the known resistance and voltage, compute the sensor resistance
(Hughes, 1969). All in all the main focus is to reduce a large voltage circuit to a
simple low voltage circuit.

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PROCEDURE
Equipment used
• Two resistors of more 2kΩ
• Variable voltage source
• Digital multimeter
• Connecting wires
• Breadboard
METHOD/PROCEDURE
A simple direct current circuit was built with two resistors in series, with the
equivalent resistance greater than 2kΩ. The circuit was energised from a
variable voltage source of up to 30Volts. A Digital multimeter was then used to
measure voltage and current from 6 different measurement points.

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RESULTS
R1 = 2.18kΩ
R2 = 3.59kΩ
Table 1: Showing values of applied voltage, measured current, measured, and
calculated voltage

Applied Measured Measured PD Calculated pd

n/n (V) (V)
Voltage Current Vr1 Vr2 Vr1 Vr2
(V) (mA)
1 5.00 0.87 1.90 3.12 1.89 3.11
2 10.0 1.72 3.79 6.28 3.77 6.22
3 15.0 2.57 5.68 9.39 5.67 9.33
4 20.0 3.42 7.59 12.6 7.56 12.4
5 25.0 4.27 9.47 15.6 9.45 15.6
6 30.0 5.20 11.4 18.7 11.3 18.7

SAMPLE CALCULATIONS
Sample Calculations for Table 1
Calculated pd voltage divider rule:
Applied Voltage x Resistance of resistor n
Total Resistance

Total Resistance= 2.18kΩ+ 3.59kΩ= 5.77kΩ

5.00𝑉 𝑥 2.18
For Vr1 : =1.89V
5.77𝑘Ω
5.00𝑣 𝑥 3.59𝑘Ω
For Vr2= = 3.11V
5.77𝑘Ω

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 Potential difference Of Vr1 and Vr2 Against Measured
Current
20
18
16
Measured Voltage

14
12
(V)

10
8
6
4
2
0
0.87 1.72 2.57 3.42 4.27 5.2
Measured Current
(mA)

Vr1 Vr2

Figure 2; Vr2 has a higher constant of proportionality than Vr1

R1=2.18kΩ
R2=3.59kΩ

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DISCUSSION
In table 1 the values of Vr1 and Vr2 when summed give a voltage which is
discreetly different from the applied voltage from the source, this is a problem
since they should be giving the same value, that is no voltage is lost or gained
rather it is divided in the ratio of the two resistors as the rule postulates (Stein,
1997). These subtle differences could be due to fluctuating readings of current
and voltage taken from the ammeter and voltmeter respectively, resulting in
readings that are inaccurate being taken. The other factor that could have
resulted in these differences is the differences in lengths and thickness of thin
wires that were used to insert into the breadboard. Theoretically length and
cross-sectional area do affect resistance which could have been the case in this
experiment.
Figure 2 shows that Vr2 has a greater voltage going across and this is a result of
R2 being greater than R1, a higher resistance leads to higher applied voltage
(Bartlett, 1997). The gradient of the 2 plotted lines gives the resistance of the
two individuals.
CONCLUSION
It was verified that when two resistors are connected in series, the total voltage
in the circuit will simply divide into the ratio of the two resistors, with the
higher ratio voltage corresponding to a large resistance resistor.

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References
Bartlett, J. (1997). , Physics for scientists and engineers. Lerner L.
Bordeau, S. P. ( 1982). The rise of electricity. In Volts to Hertz (pp. 86–107).
Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing Company.
Esposito. (1969). A Simplified Method for Analyzing Circuits by Analogy. In
Machine Design (pp. 173–177).
Hughes. (1969). Electrical Technology. Longmans.
Purcell, E. M. (1985). Electricity and magnetism. In Berkeley Physics Course (2
ed., pp. 129-131). McGraw-Hill.
Stein, B. (1997). Building technology. p. 169.

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