Lab Manual:

Measurements and Instrumentation

Using the NI Automated Measurements Board for NI ELVIS III

Lab 2: Voltage Measurement Part 1

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Lab 2 – Voltage Measurement Part I
Learning Objectives
In this lab you will explore, through hands-on experience, the concept and properties of voltage. Among
other experiments, you will
 Simulate Ohm’s Law using Multisim Live Circuit.
 Simulate AC/DC voltage sources using Multisim Live.
 Use your NI ELVIS III DMM to measure voltage.
 Use your NI ELVIS III Function Generator to generate a voltage signal and read it using an
Oscilloscope.
 Simulate Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law using Multisim Live.
 Conduct single-source voltage measurements using your NI Automated Measurements Board
and LabVIEW.
 Conduct differential voltage measurements using your NI Automated Measurements Board and
LabVIEW.

Deliverables
You will be expected to:
 Conduct experiments using the NI ELVIS III and record your observations
 Conduct experiments using the NI Automated Measurements Board and record your observations
 Simulate circuits using Multisim Live and record your observations
 Complete Check for Understanding Questions
Required Tools and Technology
Platform: NI ELVIS III
 Digital Multimeter
 Function Generator
 Oscilloscope
Note: The NI ELVIS III Cables and
Accessories Kit (purchased
separately) is required for using the
instruments.
Hardware: NI Automated
Measurements Board
Software: NI Multisim Live
● You can use Multisim to
simulate circuits before building
them for your final solution
Software: LabVIEW
Version 19.0 or Later
Toolkits and Modules:
 LabVIEW Real-Time Module
 NI ELVIS III Toolkit
 View User Manual:
http://www.ni.com/en-us/support/mode
l.ni-elvis-iii.html
 View Tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLvcPIuVaUMIWm8ziaSxv0gwtsh
BA2dh_M
 View Breadboard Tutorial:
http://www.ni.com/tutorial/54749/en
 Access online http://multisim.com
 View Help http://multisim.com/help/
 Before downloading and installing
software, refer to your professor or lab
manager for information on your lab’s
software licenses and infrastructure
 Download & Install for NI ELVIS III:
http://www.ni.com/academic/download
 View Tutorials:
http://www.ni.com/academic/students/l
earn-labview/
Introduction: Voltage in Everyday Life
Consider a water pump pushing water through a pipe (see the figure below). The water pump causes a
decrease in pressure at point A in the pipe with respect to pressure at point B in the tank. This causes the
water to be pushed through the pipe from point B to point A. Likewise, the pump causes an increase in
pressure at point C in the pipe with respect to pressure at point D. This causes the water to be pushed
through the pipe into the upper container.

Analogously, consider a brand-new AAA battery connected in series with a light bulb and an open switch
(see the figure below). Just like the pump creates a difference in pressure causing water to be pushed
through the pipes, the battery creates what is called a difference in electric potential. When the switch is
closed, that difference in potential pushes electric charge through the wire and the bulb. Thus, causing
the bulb filament to heat up and the bulb to emit light.
Note: All matter contains electric charge. We all experience the effect of electric charge on a day-to-day
basis. Be it a wool sweater that sparks in the dark or a plastic pen that attracts paper pieces when rubbed
by a cloth, these phenomena exhibit three basic properties of charge.
1. There are two types of electric charge that we refer to as positive charge (protons) and negative
charge (electrons).
2. Charges with the same sign repel. Charges with opposite signs attract.
3. “The natural” state of matter is to have an equal amount of positive and negative charge.
Thus, when bringing a negatively charged object in contact with a positively charged object, the excess
negative charge will flow to the positively charged object until some sort of “balance” is achieved.
Before we bring both objects into contact together, the excess negative charge has the “potential” to flow
to the other object. The is referred to as electric potential.
 The longer bar of the battery represents the positively charged (+) side of the battery and shorter bar represents the negatively
charged (-) side of the battery. The electric potential at the (+) side is higher than that at the (-) side. Thus, when the circuit is
closed, the electric charge is pushed through the circuit from one side to another and through the light bulb. Technically, it is the
negative charges that move through the wire to the positive side. However, by convention, the positive electric current is
considered to flow from the positive to the negative side.

This is similar to the pump pushing the water through the pipe. In the case of the pump, what is being
pushed is water. In the case of the battery, what is being pushed is the negative electric charge (electrons).
The rate per time at which the electric charge is pushed through a point of the wire is referred to as
current.
Although, we do not see electric charge, we experience its effects on a daily basis. Be it a wool sweater
that sparks in the dark or plastic pen that attract paper pieces when rubbed by a cloth, all these phenomena
exhibit the fundamental properties of electric charges in objects around us. All matter contains two types
of charge, positive and negative. Charges of opposite type attract. Charges of the same type repel each
other. Objects with excess negative charge tend to discharge their excess when they come into contact
with objects with deficiency in negative electric charge (i.e. excess positive charge). This explains why
the excess negative charge on the (-) side is pushed through the copper wire to the (+) side. Charge is a
measurable phenomenon with a SI unit of C (Coulomb).
The imbalance in charge between both sides of the battery causes the difference in electric potential. That
difference in electric potential caused by the battery per unit of charge is referred to as the voltage of the
battery. Voltage is a measurable entity. It is measured in units of Volts (V). A typical AAA battery has
1.5V.
Connecting a battery with a higher voltage to the circuit in the above figure causes the light bulb to glow
brighter or burn out. This is because more current gets pushed through the filament which in turn heats up
more.

Experiment: Voltage in Objects Around you

Use the Digital Multimeter embedded in your NI ELVIS III to measure voltage in objects around you.

Note: Recall that the voltage is a measurement of the difference in electric potential per unit of charge.
Placing the DMM probes in the right spots is crucial for properly measuring the voltage. Furthermore,
make sure the (-) side of the battery is connected to the ground (COM) socket of the DMM.
In the above, the difference in potential between (voltage measure) the positive side of the battery and the negative side is
1.0557V. Place the common ground probe (COM) on the (-) side of the battery and the voltage probe of the DMM on the (+) side
of the battery. From the Measurement mode dropdown menu of the SFP (left-hand side) choose DC voltage Reversing the
position of the probes yields a negative reading.

Using the DMM Soft Front Panels on your NI ELVIS III

 Make sure your NI ELVS III is connected to your computer and powered on.
 Launch Measurement Live https://measurementslive.ni.com/
 Choose Instruments -> Digital Multimeter.
 From the drop-down menu, choose the Voltage measurement mode.

Connect your DMM probes (see the figure below).

Use your probes to measure voltage.

Describe the voltage measurement experiment you conducted

1. Which object did you choose? __________________________.

2. How did you connect the probes? _________________________.

3. What's is the voltage measurement read on the DMM Soft Front Panel? _____________.

4. Swap the positions of the probes. What is the voltage reading on the DMM Soft Front Panel?
________________________.

Notes:

 Recall that measuring voltage is measuring the difference in electric potential between two
points.
 The voltage might oscillate between two numbers. In such a case record that range in your
answer.

Ohm’s Law: Voltage, Resistance and Current

Consider the hydraulic pump analogy we visited earlier. Note that the tighter are the pipes through
which the water is being pushed, the less water flows through them over time. In a way, the larger the
diameter of the pipe is, the less resistance there is to flow of water. Analogously, different substances
resist transmitting electric current to varying degrees. For example, copper wires are highly conducive to
electric currents. We say they have high conductivity. This is why most electric appliances have plug
wires made out of copper. We say copper has low resistance. On the other hand, the filament inside a
light bulb or an electric heater has higher resistance. This resistance causes the electric power to be
transformed into the form of emitted heat as opposed to being carried through to the other side as
electric current. Resistance is a measure of how much a certain object resists the flow of electricity
(electric charge). It is measured in Ω (Ohms) unit.

The relationship linking resistance, voltage and current is referred to as Ohm’s Law. Ohm's law is one of
the key laws of electricity. Ohm's Law states that the current ( I ) flowing in a conductor is directly
proportional to the potential difference ( V ) , or voltage, between its ends. The proportion coefficient is
the resistance ( R ) of the conductor material. It is expressed in the equation:

V ( v )=I ( A ) × R( Ω) .

Simulate: Ohm’s Law

Open the following public circuit on Multisim Live:
https://www.multisim.com/content/6ckhbECkpZKRJfQLwqAUvC/ohms-law-2-voltage/open/
Left: A 12V voltage source is connected to a 1500Ω in a closed circuit. Right: Grapher showing the voltage and current values at
specific points of the circuit over time. Note that since voltage source is a constant 12V, the current is constant as well.
Furthermore, the current flows in a unique direction.

Save a copy of the circuit for yourself.

Run the circuit by pressing the top-left play button. The legend on the Grapher indicates which graph
corresponds to which probe. The voltage source is assumed to be constant over time.

1. Double the value of the Resistance in the resistor (double -click the resistor and change the
resistance in the right-hand pane).
What is the new value of the current? _____
2. Change the voltage value to 24V. (double -click the voltage source and change the voltage in the
right-hand pane).
What is the new value of the current? _____
3. Click the voltage probe in the circuit.
a. What is the reference of the probe? _________
b. Move the voltage probe and place it on the circuit on the other side of the resistor (the
side of the ground). Run the circuit. What does the voltage probe read? __________
c. Place a reference probe on the circuit across the resistor on the opposite side from the
voltage probe. Change the reference of the voltage probe to the reference probe you
just added.
You can find reference probes on the left-hand side pane under the probes icons. You can
change the reference of a certain probe by clicking the probe itself, then editing its
properties on the right-hand side pane.
Run the circuit. What is the voltage you read? ________________________.
d. In your own words, explain how the concept of the voltage being the difference in
electric potential explain the negative and positive values you got in the previous
measurements.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________.

AC/DC Voltage
Recall the earlier scenario during which we measured the voltage across the ends of a AAA battery. The
AAA battery voltage is said to be a DC (direct current) voltage. One end of the battery (+) has a higher
electric potential than the other end (-). Furthermore, the amounts of these potentials are constant (not
taking into account the depletion over a long period of usage time). This is why measuring the voltage
(difference in electric potential between the (+) side and the (-) side per charge) over time yielded a
positive constant value. In a DC voltage setting, the current flows in one direction, similar to the pump
that pushes the water in one direction.

However, there are other types of voltage sources. For example, the voltage powering a household
alternates over time between 120V and -120V. Depicting its alternation over time yields a wave similar
to the one in the figure below. It is called an AC (alternating current) Voltage. It yields a current that
alternates magnitude and direction (See the figure below).

We will postpone exploring currents and the direction of their flow in the Current Lab. For now, we
return to the topic of types voltage sources.

Figure 1 The Blue graph depicts an alternating sinewave voltage with amplitude of 120V as it changes over time. Note that the
frequency. The Green graph depicts the resulting current in a resistor.
Refer to the figure above. The Blue graph depicts an alternating sinewave voltage with an amplitude of
120V as it changes over time.

The voltage amplitude refers to the distance between the highest peak and the lowest peak in the
voltage graph divided by 2. In other words, it is half the difference between the highest and lowest
voltages supplied by the voltage source.

Changes in an AC voltage happen within the scale of milliseconds. The above voltage has a frequency of
1000 Hz (Hertz). This means, each 1 second, the voltage makes 1000 cycles. On the graph, this means
the sine wave completes 1000 periods in one second.

Experiment: Voltage Signal Waveforms.

In the previous section we discussed a voltage source that generates a sinusoidal voltage signal
waveform. A function generator is a piece of electronic equipment or software used to generate
different types of electric signal waveform.

In this section you will use the function generator in your NI ELVIS III to generate various types of electric
waveforms. You will use the Oscilloscope on your NI ELVIS III to read these waveforms. The Soft Front
Panels will help you display the waveform on your computer screen

 Open Measurement Live and launch the SFP Instruments Oscilloscope and Function Generator.

Figure 2 You could choose type of wave and the its corresponding NI ELVIS III output channel by selecting the drop-down list next
to the appropriate channel.
  Connect the Output channel you chose to input channel of the Oscilloscope of your choosing.

Note how the connected channels match the ones chosen in the Oscilloscope and the Function Generator.

 From the Oscilloscope SFP choose the channel you physically connected.
  Click Run on both the Function Generator and Oscilloscope SFPs.

Function Generator sending a sinewave voltage signal that is picked up by the Oscilloscope and displayed.

4. In each case make the described change to the wave generated and describe how this impacts
the displayed wave on the Oscilloscope.
a. Change the offset of the signal to 2V.
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
b. Change the amplitude to 2V.
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
c. Change the Frequency successively to 200Hz, 400Hz and 500 Hz. In your own words
describe what happens on the chart.
Click on the dropdown button under the frequency bar to choose Hz, KHz or MHz.
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law

Consider the following circuits. Recall that voltage is the difference in electric potential between two
points per unit of charge. In a circuit, the term source refers to the components supplying power to the
circuit, such as a voltage source or a current source. The term load refers to components in the circuit
that consume power.
Left: The resistors R1 and R2 are set to be connected in series with the voltage source V1. Right: the resistors R3 and R4 are said
to be connected in parallel to the voltage source V2. Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) helps us determine the voltages across loads
in a circuit such as R1, R2, R3 and R4.

Important questions to ask when faced with such circuits are:

 What are the voltages across the various components in those circuits?
 What are the currents across the various wires and components?

In this lab we will only deal with the first question. In the Current lab we will deal with the second one.

Kirchhoff’s Voltage law (KVL) states that the sum of the voltage drops (for components connected in
series) in any closed-circuit loop is equal to zero. The following figures illustrate how the sums of the
voltages across the components in a closed circuit equal zero.

The sum of the voltage differences between probe PR4 and REF4 (12V), between probe PR1 and REF1 (-8V) and between probe
PR2 and REF2 (-4V) is equal to zero.
 The sum of the voltage difference between PR3 and REF3 (-12V) and between PR5 and REF5 (+12v) equals zero.

Simulate: Application of Kirchhoff’s Voltage Laws

Consider the following Multisim circuit:
https://www.multisim.com/content/h9J8MwgTZoNqz2bYinYcKY/kirchhoffs-voltage-law-2/open/

Open the circuit and use Save As to save your own copy of the circuit under a different name.

1. What is the reference of the voltage probe PR1? ______

2. What is the voltage measured by the probe? ________
3. Change the resistances of the previous two resistors to values of your choosing. Run the circuit.
What is the voltage read by the same probe? ______________________________.
4. In your own words explain how KVL supports your answer. ___________________________.

Differential vs Single ended Analog Input

Depending on the context of the experiment or circuit we are working with, we may need to take a
differential measurement or single ended measurement of voltage.

A single-ended voltage measurement at a certain point of a circuit is a measure of the difference in

electric potential between this point and the common ground (see figure below) in the positive direction
of the current. The positive direction of a current through a closed circuit is set to be from the positive
side of the source (the point with higher electric potential) to the negative side (the point with the lower
electric potential). The ground is always considered to have a zero electric-potential.

For example, consider the following circuit:

 The positive direction of the current flow is indicated by the blue arrow.

 Probe PR1 measures the voltage drop across both resistors with respect to the ground. i.e. the
electric potential difference between point of the circuit where PR1 is connected and the ground
point. By the KVL, this value equals to the voltage supplied by the source which is 12V.
 Probe PR3 measures the voltage drop across the second resistor with respect to the ground. No
component is connected between these two points; thus, there is no change in electric
potential, which makes the voltage 0V.
 Probe PR3 measures the voltage across R2. i.e. the difference in electric potential between point
PR2 of the circuit and the ground.

All the measurements done with the above probe are done with respect to the ground. They are
called single-ended measurements.

On the other hand, let us consider the measurements done in the following circuit. Probe PR1
measures the voltage across the 1KΩ resistor in the positive direction of the current. It is not a single
ended-measurement. It measures the difference in electric potential between point of the circuit
where PR1 is connected and the point where the reference REF1 is connected. Thus, we say it is a
differential measurement between PR1 and REF1.
On the other hand, Probe PR2 indicates the differential voltage measurement done between the point
of the circuit where PR2 is connected and the point of the circuit where REF2 is connected. Note that
this measurement is equal to negative the single-ended measurement of indicated by PR2 in the
previous circuit.

The concepts of differential and single-ended voltage measurement are closely tied to the concepts of
single ended and differential voltage signals.

Consider the following circuit. The voltage source and the load, the resistor in our case, share the same
ground. The electric potential at the ground is zero. Thus, the voltage signal transmitted from the source
with respect to the ground and the voltage signal received at the load with respect to the same ground
are both DC 12V signals. This is called a single-ended voltage signal.

A 12V Voltage source connected in a closed-loop circuit with a 1KΩ resistor load.

Recall that voltage is the difference in electric potential per charge. Consider the same resistor in the
following circuit.

The voltage at the probe PR2 with respect to the ground is equal to that of the source voltage V2=12V.
The voltage at the probe PR3 with respect to the ground is equal to that of the source voltage V2=10V.
Thus, the electric potential difference per charge across the resistor R2 is V2-V3= 2V.
Attaching the probe PR4 at point A and its reference at point B yields the expected electric potential
difference per charge of 12V-10V = 2V (see the figure below).

This is called a Differential voltage signal. The signal received by the load is the difference between two
single-ended signal sources.

Application of KVL - Potentiometer

Sometimes we need to scale down the voltage of the source we are working with. One way to do that is
to use a Potentiometer.

First, let us consider the following circuit that we looked into earlier.

Probe PR1 measures the voltage drop across the 1KΩ resistor. PR2 measures the voltage drop across resistor R2. Note that REF2
is the same as the ground reference. In other words, if we set the probe PR2 to reference the ground it would yield the same
amount.
Let us analyze why the probes return these values. Before we do, we need Kirchhoff’s Current Law
(KCL). We will go over it in the Current Lab. However, for now, you need to know that the current going
through loads in a closed loop circuit is the same.

To understand why the probes return these values, we need to employ the KVL, KCL and Ohm’s laws.

Denote the voltage drop across R1 by V1 and the voltage drop across R2 by V2. By KCL, we know that the
current flowing through R1 is the same as the one flowing through R2. We denote that current by I.

By KVL, we have

V 1 +V 2=12 V

By Ohm’s law, applied to both resistors, we have

V1 V2
I= =
R1 R 2
V1 V2
Which yields: =
1 2
Combining both equations yields V 2=8V and V 1=4 V

Drawing the differential voltage signal from across resistor R2 yields a scaled down voltage V2. According
to the above formula, the new scaled down voltage is

R2
V 2= V¿
R1 + R2
Where, Vin is the voltage of the input source, in our case it is 12V. The higher R1 is, the lower is the
output voltage drawn from across R2.

The potentiometer follows the same concept (see the figure below). Using a variable resistor, the
potentiometer takes a certain voltage as input and returns a scaled-down voltage as output. It is
equipped with a wiper that can be adjusted physically. Moving or rotating the wiper changes the
amount of resistance. This change yields a change in the scaled voltage output (see figure below).

Experiment: Voltage Measurement

Overview of the Voltage Measurement Section of the Application Board
The voltage measurement section on your NI Automated Measurements Board consists of a
potentiometer driven by two voltage sources (See figure below). Each source can generate arbitrary AC
or DC signals, and all three terminals of the potentiometer can be measured through the banana jacks.
Warning: Do not drive any voltages into the three terminals. These are intended for measurement
purposes only.

The voltage sources are software programmable from your LabVIEW VI. Once the voltage sources are
configured, you can vary the output of the middle terminal by manually turning the potentiometer.
Being software programmable, they can be independently configured to create a wide variety of circuit
configurations. The following are some simplified circuits that you can create with different
configurations.

Tip: There is a single LED in the upper right-hand corner of the voltage measurement section. Software
can turn on the LED to indicate that the current experiment is making use of this section.

Direct Voltage Source Measurement

In this experiment you will use your NI Automated Measurements Board and LabVIEW to conduct
voltage measurement and display it on your screen.

 Make sure your:

o NI ELVIS III is powered on
o Connected to your computer
o The application board is powered on.
 Open the /Voltage/Basic folder in the zip file provided in your lab kit.
 Launch the LabVIEW Project named Voltage Basic.lvproj.
 Make sure all other projects are closed.
 From the project window, configure the NI ELVIS III IP address to reflect the IP address of the
actual NI ELVIS III your computer is connected to.
o You can find the IP address of your NI ELVIS III by pressing and holding the button on
the left-hand side until the IP address is displayed on the LED screen.
o To configure the NI ELVIS III from your project window,
 right-click NI ELVIS III (0.0.0.0)[Unconfigured IP Address]
  click General in the window prompt you get.

 In the IP address section enter the IP address of the NI ELVIS III connected to
your computer.

o Save your project.

 Open the RT Main.vi and run it.

This VI configures the voltage sources in a way that is represented in the circuit schematic below.
You will use a single-source measurement to measure the voltage on sockets 40, 42 or 41.

1. Connect channel A/AI0 to socket 40. Run the VI. Record voltage value read: ________.
2. Connect channel A/AI0 to socket 42. Run the VI. Record voltage value read: ________.
3. Connect channel A/AI0 to socket 41. Run the VI. Change the resistance on the potentiometer
while observing the corresponding change in voltage diagram and schematic. In your own
words, describe how the change in resistance of the potentiometer impacts the voltage output
through socket 41.
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.
Record the minimum possible voltage read through 42: _______.
Record the maximum voltage possible read through 41: ________.

Compare Measurements Using the NI ELVIS III DMM

In the following experiment you will measure the same voltage as the previous lab, but this time you will
use the NI ELVIS III DMM.

 Make sure your NI ELVS III is connected to your computer and powered on.
 Launch Measurement Live and choose Instruments.
 From the Instruments pane choose Multimeter.
 From the drop-down menu, choose the Voltage measurement mode.
 Connect your DMM probes (see the figure below).
 Repeat the measurement experiment again. Use the cables of the DMM to measure the
voltage.
Note that the potentiometer measures the voltage drops between the positive and
negative probes. Thus, it is a differential measurement. Record the readings from the
Measurement Live Multimeter below:
a. Socket 40: ______________
b. Socket 42: ______________
c. Socket 41 Minimum Voltage: ______________
d. Socket 41 Maximum Voltage: ______________

Comparing Single-Ended and Differential Measurement

In this experiment you will experiment with single-ended and differential measurements.

 Make sure your:

o NI ELVIS III is powered on
o Connected to your computer
o The application board is powered on.
 Open the /Voltage/Input Mode folder in the zip file provided in your lab kit.
 Launch the LabVIEW Project named Voltage Input Mode.lvproj.
 From the project window, configure the NI ELVIS III IP address to reflect the IP address of the
actual NI ELVIS III your computer is connected to.
o You can find the IP address of your NI ELVIS III by clicking and holding the button on
the left-hand side until the IP address is displayed on the LED screen.
o To configure the NI ELVIS III from your project window,
 right-click NI ELVIS III (0.0.0.0)[Unconfigured IP Address]
 click General in the window prompt you get.

 In the IP address section enter the IP address of the NI ELVIS III connected to
your computer.

o Save your project.

  Open the RT Main.vi and run it.

This VI configures the voltage sources in a way that is represented in the circuit schematic below.

Recall that a single-ended measurement voltage is done with respect to ground. Differential voltage is
the measure of voltage drop from one point with respect to another. The two points are called the
differential pairs. The VI returns:

 the single ended-voltage at socket 41 through channel AI0, Bank A.

 the single ended-voltage at socket 42 through channel AI4, Bank A.
 the differential voltage at socket 41 with respect to the voltage at socket 42.

Connect Bank A Channel AI0 (A/AI0) to socket 41 and Channel A/AI4 to socket 42.
Run the VI. Turn the potentiometer (VR4) and observe the voltage change in Schematic and Voltage
Chart.

1. Turn the potentiometer wiper al the way down until the single-ended voltage reading at socket
42 is minimal.
a. What is the value of this minimum? ________
b. What is the corresponding value of the differential-reading at the same socket with
respect to the differential pair at socket 42? ________
2. Turn the potentiometer wiper until you get a single-ended voltage reading at socket 42 of value
0V. What is the corresponding differential voltage reading? ________.
3. Turn the potentiometer wiper until you get a single-ended voltage reading at socket 42 of value
10V. What is the corresponding differential voltage reading? ________.
4. Unplug one side of the Banana Jack from socket42 and insert it in socket 40.

a. Turn the potentiometer wiper until you get a single-ended voltage reading at 41 of
amount 0V. What is the corresponding differential-measurement voltage at socket 41?
___________________
b. Turn the potentiometer wiper until you get a single-ended voltage reading at 41 of
amount 10V. What is the corresponding differential-measurement voltage at socket 41?
___________________
c. Turn the potentiometer wiper until you get a single-ended voltage reading at 41 of
amount -10V. What is the corresponding differential-measurement voltage at socket
41?___________________
5. In your own words, explain why the measurement differ from before you swapped the cable
plug socket.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________.
6. Return the Banana Jack plug to its initial socket. Repeat the previous set of measurements using
the NI ELVIS III DMM.
Note: Recall that the DMM conducts a differential measurement. Make sure the negative lead is
grounded when you want to simulate and single ended measurement. In case of differential
measurements, the negative lead of the DMM needs to be placed at the differential pair of the
point from which you are measuring the voltage drop.
a. what is the minimum single -ended voltage reading at socket 41? _____________
b. what is the maximum single -ended voltage reading at socket 41? _____________
c. what is the minimum differential voltage reading at socket 41? _____________
d. what is the maximum differential voltage reading at socket 41? _____________
e. Where there any major discrepancies (more that 2) between the measurements
displayed in the VI and the ones you conducted by the DMM? ________________
 Conclusion
Note: The following questions are meant to help you self-assess your understanding so far.

1. For each of the following, indicate whether the statement is true or false.
a. Resistance of a resistor is what prevents the voltage from flowing through it. [T/F]
b. The higher the resistance of a resistor the less is its capacity to allow current flow
through it. [T/F]
c. Connecting a voltage source in series with two resistors in a closed loop circuit splits in-
half the voltage over the resistors. [T/F]
2. Consider two voltage sources. one yields 4 V with respect to the ground reference. The other
yields 2 V with respect to the same ground reference.
a. What is the differential voltage measurement of the first source with respect to the
other? ____________________
b. What is the differential voltage measurement of the first source with respect to the
ground? ____________________

Explore Further
In this lab you explored some properties of voltage. You also investigated a DC Voltage signal and a
sinewave alternating voltage signal. Voltage signals emitted from sensors measuring natural physical
phenomena such as vibration, temperature, sound or strain rarely look like these two. They vary to
different extents in measure. Furthermore, sometimes they alternate at multiple frequency components as
opposed to the sinewave that has a single frequency component.
The type of signal we are acquiring, which many times we do not know, greatly influences the properties
of the measurement device we use to acquire it. It also greatly influences the type of software analysis
needed to reconstruct the full signal using only the measurements taken.
Thus, in such scenarios we try to find a finite number of numeric parameters that are associated with
every signal. Once found through measurement, testing and analysis, these parameters are enough to
uniquely identify the signal and predict its behavior at moments in time when we haven’t measured it.
In the Lab on Range, Resolution and Sampling Rate we explore some of these parameters and how they
influence the measurement device used. We also experiment with ways to identify them, given a certain
signal.