Lab # 1

Date: November 9, 2021

Title: I-V relationship

Theory:The current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to

the potential difference provided that there is no physical change in the
condition of the conductor. This is known as ohm's law. Physical change in
the conductor refers to the length of the material, the cross-sectional area of
the material and the temperature of the material which could all affect the
resistance of the conductor. If the resistance of the material is not constant it
will affect the current flowing through it and hence will not make the current
directly proportional to the potential difference. Material that do not obey
ohm's law are said to be non-ohmic.

Aim: To determine the I-V characteristics for a resistor, filament lamp and a
diode

Apparatus: Fixed resistor, rheostat, filament lamp, diode, crocodile clips,

connecting wires, power supply, ammeter, voltmeter

Diagram:

DIAGRAM OF SHOWING THE SETUP OF APPARATUS

 
 Procedure:

1.  The apparatus was set up as shown in the diagram above

2.  The corresponding voltage and current readings were recorded
3. The rheostat was varied so as to obtain 6-8 readings
4.  The procedure 1-3 was repeated replacing the filament lamp with a resistor
and then a diode
5.  Readings were recorded in a suitable table.
6.  A graph of Current(I) against Voltage(V) was plotted for all three
compounds
 Results:
TABLE SHOWING THE CURRENT AND VOLTAGE OBTAINED FROM A
FILAMENT LAMP

Voltage (V) Current (µA)

0.0 0 

0.4 1.0 

0.5 2.0 

1.0 4.0 

1.3 6.0 

2.5 9.0 

3.8 12.0 

5.0 14.0 

6.2 15.0

8.0 15.5
 TABLE SHOWING THE CURRENT AND VOLTAGE
OBTAINED FROM A RESISTOR

Voltage (V) Current (µA)

0.0 0

2.3 10

3.0 14

3.5 16

4.0 18

4.5 20

5.0 22

5.5 24

6.0 26

TABLE SHOWING THE CURRENT AND VOLTAGE OBTAINED FROM A

DIODE

Voltage (V) Current (µA)

0.00 0.00 

0.30 0.00 

0.60 0.00
 0.65 0.04

0.70 0.12

0.75 0.24 

0.80 0.42 

0.84 0.70

Discussion:

Ohm's law states that the current flowing through a conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference provided that there is no physical change
in the condition of the conductor.

     Three current vs voltage graphs were plotted from the information in the
tables above. The first graph was for the filament lamp, from this graph it can
be seen that as current was increasing voltage also increased in a  relatively
uniform manner  until the graph started to curve, this is due to fact that as more
current flows through the lamp the temperature of the filament increases which
increases the resistance which causes the flow of electrons to be restricted.

      For the second graph which was plotted for a fixed resistor, it can be seen
that as current increases so does the voltage therefore can be said to be directly
proportional. Since current and voltage are directly proportional the resistor
obeys ohm's law and is considered ohmic.

    For the third graph which was plotted for a diode, it can be seen that as
voltage increases there was no increase in the current until the voltage reached
0.65V(this 0.65V is referred to as the threshold voltage).This is because within
the diode there is a depletion region which voltages below 0.65V will not be
able get current across but when the voltage reaches 0.65V the region closes and
electrons are free to move. When the electron became free to move it can be
seen on the graph that a relatively small amount of voltage from the threshold
voltage was used to raise the current to a relatively high value.

Sources of Error: 
  Power source was not calibrated correctly.
  Loose connections in the circuit.
 Incorrect polarities

Precaution:

 Ensure that the components of the circuit are connected correctly.

 Ensure the voltmeter was connected parallel to the element in the circuit
been tested.

Limitation:

 Resistance in the wires.

 Heat loss in the wires.

Conclusion: Based on the shape of the graphs plotted it can be concluded that
the fixed resistor obeys ohm's law however, the filament lamp and the diode did
not obey ohm's law because the graphs that were drawn shows that they were
not directly proportional hence, the filament lamp and diode are non ohmic.