AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY–BANGLADESH

(AIUB)

FACULTY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

PHYSICS 1 - LAB

Summer: 2022-2023

LAB REPORT ON

Study of Ohm’s law using unknown resistances and determination of the equivalent resistances for
series and parallel combinations of resistors.

Supervised By

DR. FARZANA SABETH

Submitted By
Name ID Contribution
Tiash Md. Tarek Bin Jamal 23-50535-1 Procedure, References
Ahmed Sheikh Redowan 23-50526-1 Theory, Apparatus
Mahtab Hasin 23-50561-1 Analysis and Calculation, Result
Abdur Rahman Pobon 23-50564-1 Experiment data
Hadi Md. Fazley Rabbi 23-50549-1 Discussion

Date of Submission: March 27, 2023

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPICS
I. Title Page
II. Table of Content
1. Theory
2. Apparatus
3. Procedure
4. Experimental Data
5. Analysis and Calculation
6. Result
7. Discussion
8. Resources
Theory:

Ohm's law states that at a constant temperature the current through a conductor between two points is
directly proportional to the voltage across those two points. Introducing the constant of proportionality,
the resistance, one arrives at the usual mathematical equation that describes this relationship:
𝑽 = 𝑰𝑹
Where I is the current and V is the potential difference across the resistance R.

Figure 6.1: (a) Simple circuit to determine unknown resistance, Rx by using Ohm’s law,
ammeter (A) and voltmeter (V) are used to measure the current and potential drop in the circuit,
variable resistor, Rh is used to change the current flow in the circuit (b) Slope of the V vs. I
graph gives the value of R.

When N number of resistors are connected in series and parallel connections their equivalent
resistances Rs and Rp are calculated by the following two equations:

Apparatus:
Power supply, variable resistor, ammeter, voltmeter, unknown resistors and connecting wires.
Procedure:

• At first we have constructed above circuits with 2 unknown resistances (R1 & R2).
• Using rheostat Rh we have chosen current not more than 1 A. Then we Vary Rh to select 10
different currents through the circuit as measured by the ammeter A.
• Lastly we measured the corresponding potential differences (V) in the voltmeter.

Experimental Data:

Table 6.1: Voltage current records for R1 and R2

Resistor Current Voltage

0.05 0.098
0.10 0.205
0.15 0.295
R1
0.20 0.404
0.25 0.495
0.30 0.595

Resistor Current Voltage

0.05 0.087

0.10 0.174
R2 0.15 0.253
0.20 0.344
0.25 0.423
0.30 0.509
 Table 6.2: Voltage current records for series and parallel connections.

Combination of R1 and R2 Current Voltage

0.05 0.186

0.10 0.395
Series Combination 0.15 0.556
0.20 0.761
0.25 0.932
0.30 1.129

Combination of R1 and R2 Current Voltage

0.05 0.049

0.10 0.094
Parallel Combination 0.15 0.134
0.20 0.183
0.25 0.225

Analysis and Calculation:

• We have used EXCEL to plot V versus I graphs. We have to plot 4 graphs for R1, R2, R1 and R2
in series and parallel connections.
• We found the best fitted lines and determined the slope of the best fitted lines to get the values of
R1, R2, Rs and Rp.
• Lastly we calculated the values of Rs and Rp by using the values of R1 and R2 according to the laws
of series and parallel combinations of resistors.
Result:

Resistances from the graphs Calculated Values of Rs Comments

and Rp in Ohms
Resistors Values in Ohms

R1 1.98 So, The laws of ohm’s are

verified in our
R2 1.68 experiment because the
Rs 3.73 3.0148 percentage difference is
very low.
Rp 0.88 0.6703

Discussion:

• We observed that when voltage V=0 then the reading of ammeter is zero. That means current
through the wire is zero. Now, one cannot calculate the resistance for this data because one
cannot measure the opposition faced by the current until the current flows .
• While taking data we can see that for last two data current have not increased as much as
first three observations. This is because of increase in resistance of the wire due to heating.
• Here current flow through the wire causes Joule’s heating. Although voltage and current
was measured using digital multi-meter, reading was fluctuating and it was difficult to take
exact reading. The connecting wires that are used were thick copper wire. To avoid the
introduction of external resistance, the connections were tightened. For making connections,
we used the circuit diagram.
• For making the current entry from the positive terminal and exit from the negative terminal,
the ammeter was connected in series. For avoiding heat and change in the resistance value
of the resistor, we make the current flow while taking the readings.
• The total experiment is done with great accuracy and under the instruction of our respected
teacher.

Resource:
For further understanding students may go through the following resources:
• Fundamental of Physics (10th Edition): Ohm's Law (Chapter 26, page 756-759)
• Video Links:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh3XGz7hgU4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxYn74Yhkpk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c1z4pLsl