Lab 5: Pre-Lab work

For your pre-lab work, please answer the following questions before coming to the
lab.

1 An initially charged capacitor is connected through a switch to a resistive circuit

without a source. The switch is in the open position for a long time and closes at t=0
. Draw the circuit and calculate the steady-state voltage of the capacitor in this RC
circuit, i.e., v C ( ∞ ) or v C when t → ∞ .

2 Explain the physical meaning of the steady-state voltage value in the previous
question. What does this mean for the energy stored in the capacitor?

Steady-state voltage means the point where voltage stops changing over time.
This means that the capacitor has stopped discharging energy.

3 Consider a series RL circuit with a DC voltage source and a switch. Draw the circuit
and sketch the variation of current and voltage of the inductor, i L and v L,
respectively, before and after the switch closes at t=0 . Assume i L ( 0 )=0 . Provide any
necessary labels on the graphs and explanations for the variations of waveforms.
4 An RC switching circuit has a capacitance of 100 μ F and is required to have a time
constant of 5 ms . What is the required value of resistance in the circuit? What is the
inductance value required to achieve the same time constant in an RL switching
circuit using the same resistor?

5*10^-3 = 100*10^-6 * R

R = 50 ohms

5*10^3 = 50/L

L = 10 kH

5 Explain each of the following oscilloscope settings:

a Scale (horizontal and vertical).

b Channel coupling.

c Triggering mode and configuration (level and edge).

Refer to the Oscilloscope section in the Appendix and to the “Oscilloscope” videos to
articulate your explanation.

The scale of the oscilloscope allows users to adjust the size of the waveform so
that it is easier to see and read measurements from. Horizontal scale is in
time/div, and allows the period to be read from the waveform (and hence
frequency to be found). Vertical scale is in volts/div and allows voltage to be
found.

Channel coupling affects whether or not the DC component of the waveform is

shown. If it is set to DC, then DC and AC components will be shown, but if it is set
to AC then only AC components are shown.

Trigger level can be adjusted to be one of two modes. Normal mode sweeps for a
trigger condition and notes the time. Auto mode forces acquisitions even if trigger
conditions are not met. Edge triggering refers to a sweep conducted for a
particular voltage threshold.