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PHYS 2202 LAB: Physics II

Week 09

Ohm’s Law

by

Naeamah Rabeea

Due Date: 07/04/2021

Submission’s Date: 07/04/2021

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Objective

The main objective of this lab is to verify Ohm's Law and to study series and parallel resistor
combinations.

Equipment Used

Resistance board, battery box, voltmeter, ammeter and electrical connectors.

Theory

Any device can be called an electrical conductor if current flows when a voltage is applied
across it. If the current-voltage relationship is linear the device is said to be ohmic i.e., it
obeys Ohm's Law,

V =IR … ..(1)

where the proportionality constant, R, is the resistance of the device and depends upon the
composition and the geometry of the conductor. If V and I are measured in volts and amperes
respectively then R will be in ohms.

If an electrical circuit contains several ohmic devices, eq (1) will apply separately to each
component in the circuit where V must be interpreted as the voltage across that component
and I as the current through that component. Alternately, V refers to the voltage across the
entire combination, I to the total current and R to the total resistance of the combination of
devices.

A common technique for analyzing circuits with several resistors is to replace combinations
by effective resistors which have the same I-V characteristics as the combination as shown
below in Figure 1. For example, for two resistors in series, the voltage across the combination
is

V =V 1+V 2 =I 1 R1+ I 2 R2=I ( R 1+ R 2) =I R eff …..( 2)

Figure 1: Two resistors in series combination

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For any number of resistors in series, the effective resistance is simply the sum of the
resistors.

For parallel resistors, the total current is split among several paths so the effective resistance
is determined by noting that the voltage differences across several devices connected in
parallel must all be equal as shown in Figure 2 below. So, the total current is

( )
V1 V2 1 1
I =I 1+ I 2= + =V + =VR eff …..( 3)
R1 R 2 R 1 R2

Figure 2: Two resistors in parallel combination

1
For any number of resistors in parallel, the effective resistance is simply the sum of the
Rn
resistors.

Power dissipated in a resistor is calculated from the formula shown below.

2
2 V
P=VI =I R=
R

Procedure

We will use the experimental setup in the lab to perform this lab. We will determine the
nominal value of each resistor on the circuit board and record using the resistor color code.
We will set switches s1, s2 and s3 to the open position. Then, we will connect the power
supply and meters into the circuit and turn on the power supply. We will set the meters to
lower ranges where appropriate. Then, we will record the currents I and voltages V and will
plot a graph of V vs. I and from the slope of the curve determine the resistance of R 4. Then,
we will set power supply voltage to 4V and make one measurement of the current when R1
alone is connected to the power supply to calculate the resistance of R 1. Then, we will repeat
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the above process for R2 and R3 and will record the values. Then, we will alternately close
switches s1, s2 and s3 to produce resistance combinations R4 + R 1, R4 + R 2 and R4 + R 3 using a
fixed value of voltage to verify the expression of R eff in series combination by measuring
current I for each combination and calculating Reff for each of the three resistor combinations.
Then, we will repeat the above process for parallel combination of resistors and series +
parallel combination of resistors by closing different pairs of switches and record the results.

Data Analysis

Part Resistor Voltage V Current I Resistance Resistance Nominal Percent

(volts) (amps) determined determined Resistance Error
from graph from Ohm’s determined
(ohms) law R=V/I from color code
(ohms) and uncertainty
B R4 2 0.004 500 470 ohms ± 5% 6.38%
4 0.00825
6 0.012
8 0.01625
10 0.02
C R1 4 0.033 121 120 ohms ± 5% 0.83%
R2 4 0.0045 891 820 ohms ± 5% 8.65%
R3 4 0.004 1000 1000 ohms ± 5% 0.00%
Table 1
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Figure 3: Graph of Voltage vs. Current

Part Resistors and Voltage Current I Effective Resistance Nominal

Connections V (amps) Experimentally Theoretical Resistance
(volts) measured value Value determined
using Reff=V/I Reff =Ri + R j from color code
(ohms) (ohms) and uncertainty
D Series

R4 & R 1 6 0.01 600 580 3%

R4 & R 2 6 0.004 1500 1280 17%

R4 & R 3 6 0.004 1500 1460 3%

E Parallel
R1 & R 2 6 0.054 111.11 104.68 6%
R1 & R3 6 0.052 115.38 107.14 8%
R2 & R3 6 0.014 438.57 450.85 5%
R 1 & R2 & R 3 6 0.060 100 94.76 6%
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F Series -
Parallel
R 1 & R2 & R 3 6 0.01 600 554.76 8%
& R4
Table 2

Questions

1. Each of the resistors on the board is rated at 2 watts (that is, the power dissipated
should be less than 2 watts). Calculate the power dissipated in R4 in Part B of
procedure. (At 6 volts)

The resistance of R4 is 470 ohms and the voltage is 9 volts.

I = V / R = (9 volts) / (470 ohms) = 0.019 amps

P = I ｘ V = (0.019 amps) ｘ (9 volts) = 0.171 Watts

So, 0.171 Watts are dissipated.

2. Are house lights in series or parallel to the main switch? Why?

House lights are in parallel to each other so that each light does not depend on another light to
turn on or off.

3. Light Bulbs are rated by two numbers, power and voltage, e.g., 110 watt, 110 Volts.

(a) What is the resistance of a 110 W, 110 V bulb when on?

R = (V2 / POWER) = ((110 volts)2 / (110 Watts)) = 110 ohms

(b) When off the bulb has a resistance of 5 ohms. Explain the difference.

When the bulb is on, it has a resistance of 110 ohms and when it is off, the bulb has a
resistance of 5 ohms. The difference is much less because the resistance is directly
proportional to potential difference according to Ohm’s Law. The current will not flow when
the bulb is off so there will be a low potential difference.

4. What is the resistance of each of the following resistors?

The resistance of the first resistor is 50 ohms. The resistance of the second resistor is 188

ohms and the resistance of third resistor is 44 ohms.

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Conclusion

We performed this lab to verify Ohm's Law and to study series and parallel resistor

combinations. The formulas used in the lab were V =IR , V =I ( R1 + R2 ), I =V ( R1 + R1 ) and

1 2

V2
P=VI =I 2 R= . All the theoretical and experimental results and obtained graphs are listed
R
in the tabular form in the data analysis section of the report. The percentage difference
between the theoretical and experimental results are also included in the report.