Grades:

TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF
THE PHILIPPINES
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING – Electrical Engineering Department

LABORATORY REPORT
ACME1L - M
Basic Electrical Engineering Laboratory

Experiment No. 4 of Exp.*

Power in DC Circuits

Submitted by:
BSME-2B
GROUP 6

Leader: Gonzaga, Lowell Grae G.

Group Members:

Ando, Editha Marie R.

Malinao, Ellaysa Janille S.
Mira, Al Bryan D.
Siagan, Karl Gerard M.

(11/18/2022)

Submitted to:
Prof. Mervyn Anthony N. Ramos

Remarks:
 EXPERIMENT FOUR
Power in DC Circuits

I. OBJECTIVES
3. To determine the power dissipated in a resistive DC circuit.
4. To show that the power dissipated in a load is equal to the power supplied by
the source.

II. THEORY
When an electric current pass through a resistive material, electrical energy is
converted into heat and other forms of energy. The rate of conversion of energy is known
as Power. The law of conservation of energy requires that the power dissipated by any
number of resistance elements must equal the power supplied by the source.

When electric energy is supplied to a resistor it is immediately converted into heat, with
the result that the resistor warms up. The greater electric power supplied, the higher the
temperature will become, until a point is reached where either the resistor or nearby
components will burn out. In order to maintain an acceptable temperature, resistors that
have to dissipate large amounts of power are made physically large, while those that
dissipate little energy can be made smaller.

It is therefore clear that the physical size of a resistor depends not on its resistance value
but almost exclusively upon the power which it has to dissipate. This is why 100W lamps
are physically larger than 60W lamp. The increased size offers better cooling both by
convection and by radiation.

In DC circuits, power can be calculated by getting the product of the current and the
voltage. However, the resistance offered by the load, since it controls current through the
load, is a factor in power calculations. When either voltage and current is known and the
load resistance in given power can be calculated by substituting Ohm’s Law equivalent of
the unknown value. The formula for calculating power is,

P = EI I = E / R and E = IR
By Ohm’s Law:

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 Substituting the above equation for I and E in the power equation:

P = E2 / R and P = I2R

III. MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT

2 Regulated DC Power Supply
2 Digital multimeter / VOM
3 Breadboard
3 Carbon Resistors (1W)
2 100W
2 150W
2 220W
Connecting wires

IV. PROCEDURES
1. Connect the circuit shown in Figure 4.1 being careful to observe the correct meter
polarities. Make certain that the power supply switch is in OFF position and that the
voltage output control is turned fully counterclockwise.
2. Turn ON the power supply and adjust the voltage output control until the voltmeter
across the load resistor indicates 30V. Measure the current through the load resistor.
3. Return the voltage to zero. Calculate the power dissipated by the load resistor using the
three equations given in the theory section. Are the three the same?
4. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 4.2. Note that the three resistors are connected
in series.
5. Turn ON the power supply and adjust for a source voltage VT = 15V as indicated by
the DC voltmeter.
6. Measure the current and the voltage across each resistor. Record the results in Table
4.1. Turn OFF the power supply.
7. Calculate the power dissipated in each resistor using P = VI. Calculate the total power
dissipated by summing the three powers.
8. You will now determine the dissipated powers without knowing the voltage drops
across the resistors. Turn ON the power supply and adjust again for a source voltage
VT = 30V. Measure and record the current.
9. Return the voltage to zero and turn OFF the power supply.
10. Using formula P = I2R, calculate the power dissipated in each resistor and the total
power dissipated. Are they the same with that the results in Procedure 7?
11. Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 4.3. Note that the three resistors are connected
in parallel.

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12. Turn ON the power supply and adjust the voltage output until it indicates 10V.
13. Measure the current in each resistor and record the results in Table 4.2. Turn OFF the
power supply.
14. Calculate the power dissipated in each resistor using the formula P = VI. Calculate the
total power dissipated by summing the three powers.
15. You will now determine the dissipated powers without knowing the current in each
resistor. Turn ON the power supply and adjust again for a source voltage VT = 10V.
16. Return the voltage to zero and turn OFF the power supply.
17. Using formula P = V2/R, calculate the power dissipated in each resistor and the total
power dissipated. Are they the same with the results in Procedure 14?

Figure 4.1

Figure 4.2

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 Figure 4.3

V. DATA AND RESULTS

R1 R2 R3 PT

VOLTAGE 3.191 V 7.021 V 4.787 V xxxxxxxxx

CURRENT 31.915 mA 31.915 mA 31.915 mA xxxxxxxxx

0.031915 A 0.031915 A 0.031915 A

POWER 0.4074 0.8964 0.6111 1.9149 PROCEDURE 7

(P=VI) WATTS WATTS WATTS WATTS

VOLTAGE 6.383 V 14.043 V 9.574 V xxxxxxxxx PROCEDURE 10

CURRENT 63.83 mA 63.83 mA 63.83 mA xxxxxxxxx

0.06383 A 0.06383 A 0.06383 A

P = I2 R 0.40743 0.896339 0.61114 1.9149 PROCEDURE 10

WATTS WATTS WATTS WATTS

TABLE 4.1
R1 R2 R3 PT

VOLTAGE 10V 10V 10V xxxxxxxxxx

CURRENT 100 mA 45.455 mA 66.667 mA xxxxxxxxxx

0.100 A 0.45455 A 0.066667 A

POWER 1 WATTS 0.45455 0.66667 2.12122 PROCEDURE 14

(P=IV) WATTS WATTS WATTS
1 WATTS 0.45455 0.6667 2.12122 PROCEDURE 17
WATTS WATTS WATTS
P = V2 / R

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 TABLE 4.2

Series (30 volts) for procedure 7 and 10

PARALLEL (10 volts) for procedure 14 and 17

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VI. COMPUTATIONS

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VII. CONCLUSION

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VIII. GUIDE QUESTIONS
1. Round 12-gauge copper wire has a resistance of 1.6W / 1000ft. Calculate the power lost
in the 12-gauge copper wire conductor 200 feet long carrying a current of 10A. What
is the voltage between the two ends of the conductor?

2. A l ampere fuse has a resistance of 0.2W. It will melt of “blow” when the instantaneous
current through it is large enough to create a power loss of 5 watts. What is the value
of this melting current?

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3. An earth “ground” at the base of the transmission line tower has a resistance of 2W. If
a lightning stroke of 20kA strikes the tower, what would be the power dissipated in the
“ground”? What would be the voltage drop across the “ground”?

4. The shunt field winding of a DC motor has a resistance of 240W. Calculate the power
loss when the voltage is 120V.

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