Engineering Foundation Year

Electrical Systems
Laboratory 1 (100 marks)
Voltage, Current and Resistance
Requirements
Each student needs to supply their own laptop or tablet with WiFi connection.
Tinkercad account created and pre-lab work completed.
1 × DC power supply (dual channel)
2 × Digital multimeters and probes
1 × Breadboard and assorted wire lengths
1 × Wire side cutter
3 × Resistors: 10 kΩ, 20 kΩ, 30 kΩ (±1%, 0.5 W)

Objectives
The objectives of this laboratory session can be summarised as follow:
 start getting familiar with the software tools that are used in ESYS1000’s labs;
 use simulated and real instruments to measure resistances, voltages and currents;
 learn how to implement and analyse circuits with resistors;
 to be able to build simple circuits on a breadboard.
Remember
Each student should bring a printout of this lab script and complete it during the lab session.
Always be sure you know what you are doing, do not make things work by trial and error.
If you are hesitant about something, ask for help. First to your partner, then to the lab supervisor.
Always turn the PSU off while making or changing connections. Only turn the PSU on during testing.

Before attempting Lab 1 activities:

Read this lab script in its entirety and start thinking about how you are going to approach it.
Watch the following videos (total watching time= 37’):
 Lab 1 explained by Cesar Ortega. (16’)
 Video on the use of a breadboard for prototyping. (12’ 20”)
 Brief tutorial on Tinkercad. (8’35”) Introduction to Tinkercad and the use of breadboards.

If you did not complete Lab 0, you also need to watch the following videos:
 Video on the use of oscilloscopes. (12’ 32”)
 Video on the use of function generators. (2’ 27”)
 Video on the use of multimeters. (17’ 22”)
 Video on the use of bench power supplies. (6’ 21”)

OPTIONAL: Watch these videos if you need a refresher on any of the topics
 Tinkercad circuits help page. In case you need a bit of help on how to use Tinkercad.
 Video explaining voltage, current and resistance. (19’ 20”)
 Video on resistors in series and parallel. (5’ 46”)
 Video on electrical power. (5’ 20”)
 Video on voltage divider. (3’ 52”)
 Video on Kirchhoff’s voltage and current laws. (11’ 02”)
 Video on how to calculate voltages and currents in circuits with resistors. (24’04”)
(NOTE: These videos were almost randomly selected from a multitude available. Feel free to explore other
resources that suit your learning preferences.)

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 Pre-lab activities (50 marks)
These activities have to be completed individually before coming to the laboratory. This work will be assumed
during the lab session.

How to share your Tinkercad projects

To share a Tinkercad design all you have to do is share the corresponding link. See figure below. First,
you have to make your design “public” by changing the properties of your design. Click the clog icon
(1) to access Properties. Use the properties menu (2) to change the availability of your design to
Public (3). Then right click on your design and select “Copy link address” (4) to copy the link to your
clipboard. Then you can paste the link in your document. Anyone with the link will be able to see and
simulate your design.

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Activity 1. Getting familiar with the equipment.
Enter your Tinkercad account and create a circuit like the one shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Connections to understand multimeter and power supply

1a- Use the simulator to change the values and complete Table 1. Click on the resistor to change its value.
Use your pointer to turn the knob on the power supply to change the voltage. You need to stop the
simulation in order to make changes.
Table 1. Various measurements in Tinkercad

5mA

600mA

15V

3.3

2.5

No result

1b- Paste a screenshot of your Tinkercad design in the following box.

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Activity 2. Breadboard and resistors.
Tinkercad offers different kinds of resistors, as shown in Figure 2. Resistors in Figure 2 are connected on a
breadboard. If you observe closely, you will see that every hole in the breadboard can be identified with a
letter and a number. For example, the resistor is connected in points g4 an g8. Notice that in order to measure
the value of a resistor, it has to be completely isolated from other components; i.e. it should not be connected
to anything.

Figure 2. Resistors in Tinkercad

2a- Use Tinkercad to create the circuit in Figure 2 and measure the resistance between the indicated points
and fill Table 2. Stop the simulation before changing connections.

Table 2. Resistance of components in Tinkercad

250 kohm

125 kohm

125kohm

180kohm

506ohm

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2b- Paste a screenshot of your Tinkercad design in the following box.

Activity 3. Practicing breadboarding.

During the lab session you and a partner will be building two circuits for experimentation. To practice the
construction of the circuits in a breadboard, implement each circuit in Tinkercad before coming to the lab.
Remember: you must use a breadboard to make the connections.
3a- Use a Tinkercad breadboard to implement the circuit shown in Figure 3. Use a power supply to provide VS.

Figure 3. Circuit to understand the voltage divider rule.

3b- Paste a screenshot of your Tinkercad design in the following box.

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3c- Use a Tinkercad breadboard to implement the circuit shown in Figure 4. Use a power supply to provide VS.

Figure 4. Circuit to understand the current divider rule.

3d- Paste a screenshot of your Tinkercad design in the following box.

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 Laboratory work (50 marks)
Before conducting the laboratory, check to ensure that you have all the equipment listed in the requirements.
Also, confirm that all equipment is in working order in terms of being able to power up. Report any faulty
equipment to your laboratory supervisor(s) immediately.
For this laboratory and subsequent laboratories, you are to work in pairs. Work with your chosen laboratory
partner as a team. Take turns to assemble circuits on the breadboard, setting the equipment up and taking
measurements. Check each other’s work along the way. Record all results using a pen, not a pencil. Remember,
when in doubt, ask your laboratory supervisor(s) to check your circuit connections and equipment setup
before applying power to your circuit.

Activity 4. Resistance Measurements. (10 marks)

4a- Use the multimeter to measure the value of the three resistors provided. To get better measurements,
measure the probe resistance by shorting them together and taking a reading. This probe resistance
should be subtracted from your resistor’s raw measurements. Record your measurements and answers.
(10 marks)

Table 3. Resistance measurements.

Nominal Measured resistance Ω
Resistor Colour Code (5 band)
Ω Probe resistance: __________ Ω

R1 20 kΩ

R2 10 kΩ

R3 30 kΩ
TIP 1: You have to be aware of in-circuit loading when measuring resistance. Other parts of a circuit
presenting may present additional impedance to the resistance that you are measuring causing
incorrect results. Measure the resistances provided without connecting them on the breadboard.

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Activity 5. Voltage and current measurements in voltage divider (Figure 3). (10 marks)

You should consider the following good practices before measuring variables in a circuit.

TIP 2: Check the voltage output from the PSU only with nothing else connected to the output. The following
steps are a guide
 set up the channel that you are to use in independent mode;
 switch on the PSU; (This may have already been done, if so please continue)
 Place a short circuit across the output of a channel and adjust the voltage control to mid range and
then adjust the current control to 300 mA using the current control, observing the ammeter on the
power supply. Repeat the process for the other channels. This will protect the fuse in the DMM due
to overcurrent. Do not readjust the current controls during the lab session.
 adjust the dial to the desired voltage i.e. 6 VDC;
 use the DMM in DC voltage mode to measure the output of the PSU directly;
 verify that your measurement correspond to the PSU voltage setting.

TIP 3: It is a good practice to always check that a PSU is working correctly.

5a- Measurements in circuit from Figure 3. (10 marks)

Assemble the voltage divider shown in Figure 3 in the breadboard provided. Setup your circuit as per your
Tinkercad design in activity 3. Do not trim any resistor leads as they will be reused by other students in another
laboratory class. When in doubt, get you laboratory supervisor(s) to check your setup before proceeding.

Measure the voltages and current in the circuit you assembled using the multimeter provided.

Value measured with multimeter

Variable
(Include units)

VAB

VAC

VBC

VC

VB

IS

5b- What happens if you swap the DMM leads when measuring voltage or current? (4 marks)

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Activity 6. Voltage and current measurements in current divider (Figure 4). (30 marks)

6a- Voltage and current measurements. (5 marks)

Assemble the current divider shown in Figure 4 in the breadboard provided. Setup your circuit as per your
Tinkercad design in activity 3. Measure the voltages and currents in the circuit you assembled using the DMM
provided.

Value measured with multimeter

Variable
(Include units)

I1

I2

IS

VAB

VB

6b- Current measurements for different voltages. (7 marks)

Measure the current I1 after varying the source voltage VS from 0 V to 12 V in 2 V increments. Use one
multimeter to measure the voltage in the power supply, and another to measure current. As long as you do
not touch the wiring, there is no need to switch off the PSU before each measurement. Carefully adjust the
PSU with the DMM connected to the output of the PSU in the voltage setting until the correct DC voltage is
achieved.

VS [V]
I 1 Measurements for circuit in Figure 4
(Include units)
0

10

12

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6c- Use the grid below to make a graph of current (I1) vs voltage (VS) (current in the vertical axis as dependent
variable, and voltage in the horizontal axis as independent variable). Make sure to label the axes and
indicate the units on each. (8 marks)

6d. Calculate the slope of the line you drew in 6c? ________________ (5 marks)
(If you do not know what a slope is, Google it!)

6e. What does the value of the slope represent? (5 marks)

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 Electrical Systems Laboratory
Marking Rubric for Lab 1
Print one copy of this rubric and bring it to the lab for marking
Submit only one rubric per team.

Student 1 name: ______________________________________________ ID: _____________________

Student 2 name: ______________________________________________ ID: _____________________

Activity Unsatisfactory Satisfactory Marks

0 % 50 51 % 100
Pre-Lab activities. Individually marked.

In-Lab work. Marks for the team.

4a. Measurement of The team did not attempt the task
resistors. or heavily relied on help
5a. Measurements in The team did not attempt the task
voltage divider. or heavily relied on help
5b. Swap the leads for Explanation was totally wrong or
voltage. silly
6a. Measurements in The team did not attempt the task
current divider. or heavily relied on help
6b. Current for different The team did not attempt the task
voltages. or heavily relied on help
The team did not attempt the task
6c. Graph I1 vs VS.
or heavily relied on help
The team did not attempt the task
6d. Slope of the line.
or heavily relied on help
Explanation was totally wrong or
6e. Meaning of slope.
silly
1 mark for each correct value
/10
obtained without help
1 mark for each correct value
/6
obtained without help
Explanation is correct and used
/4
technical language
1 mark for each correct value
/5
obtained without help
1 mark for each correct value
/7
obtained without help
8 marks for a correct and labelled
/8
graph
5 marks for a correct answer /5
Explanation is correct and used
/5
technical language

Lab supervisor: Date: TOTAL /50

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