Temple University

College of Engineering

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Lab Report Cover Page

ECE 2113

Section 005

Experiment # 1: Resistor Color Code and Potentiometers

Henry Gallagher

TUid#: 915945042

February 13th, 2023

I. Introduction

The purpose of this lab is to learn about how to use Ohm’s law in a series circuit and the voltage
divider rule.

II. Procedure
Part I.
1.
Part II.
1. Assemble the breadboard in the lab manual onto the ELVIS breadboard
2. Measure I1 and VL for the different values of RL given.
Part III.
1. Take a potentiometer from the lab kit and identify which terminals of the potentiometer are A,
B, & C.
2. Record the resistance values between A & B, B & C, and A & C when the wiper arm of the
potentiometer is fully CCW, 25% CW, 50% CW, 75% CW, and fully CW.
Part IV.
1. Assemble the circuit shown in the manual on the breadboard using a 1kΩ potentiometer for R1
and RL= 470Ω with V1= 10V
2. Measure the current, I1, and voltage, VL, with the potentiometer at the same spots as in part III
step 2.

III. Results

Part I

1. Color coding of resistors is extremely important when dealing with resistors. In mass production of
electronic systems, color coding of resistors can make it much easier/quicker for humans (who are well-
versed in the color code) to determine which resistors they need to use in the device they are
manufacturing. It is much easier for somebody to know that they are using the correct resistor; in
particular if they are using the same one over and over again (as in mass production). Another reason this
might be helpful is if the resistors need to be sorted by a machine, which would probably not be able to
tell resistance from a number written on the resistor, but could potentially differentiate between two
different color patterns. In general, colors are much more identifiable than numbers when you’re working
fast.

2.

Part II

3. Tolerance of resistance value is important for mass production of circuits and systems because it gives
the manufacturer some reference as to how to know when a resistor should not be used in production
because it is too far off from what it’s supposed to be. Since it is impossible to have all resistors have the
exact same resistance, manufacturers must have a reference point for the quality of the resistor.
Part III

4. The amount of resistance dramatically increased with each quarter CW rotation of the wiper arm.
When the wiper arm is 100% CCW, the resistance is around 1 ohm (0.904 ohms). When the wiper arm
was turned 100% CW, the resistance was close to 10 ohms (9.635 ohms).

Part IV

5.
I think this layout of the potentiometer would decrease the resistance value with CW rotation because the
current through the potentiometer will be going the opposite direction.

6. The potentiometer can be quickly rotated, which not only changes the resistance of the potentiometer,
but also the resistance potential of the other resistors, which could be represented by any number of things
(ie, lightbulb).

7. Potentiometers can be very useful within a circuit in order to quickly alter the power that is being
received by circuit elements without changing the amount of voltage that is entering the circuit. This
would be a much more efficient way of changing the amount of power that a circuit element is receiving.

IV. Discussion

This lab showed the importance of circuit elements such as resistors and potentiometers. While resistors
have a constant resistance and are easier to identify, potentiometers are able to provide variable resistance
to the circuit. The importance of having resistors color-coded versus just having the resistance on it is
imperative in circuit board manufacturing applications.