Lab 10: Multiloop Circuits Kirchhoff's Rules

Intro to E&M
Dr. Udotong
Section 8
Date 4/10/2016
 1. Introduction:
In this lab we have a change to apply Kirchoff’s rules, which are the result of applying the
principles of conservation of energy and conservation of charge to a circuit, to circuits
containing more than one power supply and several possible current paths. The resulting
equations allow us to solve for the currents in various branches of a circuit. We also have chance
to look into Ohm’s law and Power in a circuits equations: P = I . V

2. Procedure:

There are 2 circuits board we had to conduct in this lab. After making our prediction we constructed
the circuit on the proto board and checked our predictions.

 Circuit one: This circuit may be constructed using two power supplies and three resistors. We
chose resistors in the range of 100-1000 Ohms. Used the 5V supply on the proto board and the
variable DC power supply for our two voltage sources.

 Circuit two: This circuit may be constructed using two power supplies and four resistors. We
chose resistors in the range of 100-1000 Ohms. We used the 5V supply on the proto board and
the variable DC power supply for our two voltage sources.

After constructing the two circuits, we went on the next few steps for both circuits:

 We made a sketch of our circuit and labelled all the power supplies and resistors with symbols
including subscripts. Next to the sketch we made a semi-table showing the values we are using
for power supplies and resistors. I used colored pencils to color-code the different currents in
my circuit.
 We traced the circuit and measure the voltage differences across the power supplies and
resistors.
 We recorded the voltage differences on our sketch. We indicated the direction we measured
with an arrow and the sign of the voltage.
 We determined that the sum of voltage differences around every loop add to zero.
 Below our sketch I wrote the appropriate voltage equations
 We used the ammeter to measure all the currents in our circuit.
 We recorded the currents on our sketch with arrows showing the direction.
 The currents into each node did add up to the currents coming out
 Calculated the power supplied or dissipated in the circuit.
 The power supplied ALMOST equal power dissipated.

3. Data sheets:
(attached papers)

4. Questions:
A)
1) The currents in each node add up to the currents coming out of the circuit.
2) The power supplied in the circuit was 10.1V and the power that was dissipated was 4.54V
3) The power supplied does not match the power that was dissipated.
B)
1) There are 6 individual loops in the circuits.
2) In this circuit you can find the currents and voltage values using Kirchhoff’s equations.
3) The current node equations are upheld in the circuit.
Using the currents that we have calculated we have found that the voltage loop equations are
also upheld. (Calculations are on the sketch)
4) We did find that the energy was not conserved in the circuit due to different power supplied
and dissipated. This was most likely due to error in the lab.

5. Conclusions:
Like the previous labs, this Multiloop Circuits lab was a success. Although we lost half an hour to
figure out what was wrong with the Ammeter, we were still be able to finish the lab in the given
time. As a result, we had a great chance to practice applying Kirchhoff's rules to circuits
containing more than one power supply and several possible current paths. Furthermore, we
are also more comfortable with the proto board as well as Ohm’s law associating with power.