UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

CIRCUIT THEORY
ENGR 065
LABORATORY

Lab 10:
Free Lab The Importance/Efficiency of Switches in
the Real Applications
Date of Experiment: April 21, 2015
Date of Submission: April 28,2015

Objectives:
For this lab, I have chosen to pursue data that would provide the best
option/circuit configuration when it comes to energy efficient in the
dimming of lights. Although idea itself is quite simple, the circuit
design must be considered enough to make the best decisions when it
comes to the complexity and whether or not it is necessary.
Furthermore, the idea will be strongly dependent on the configuration
of resistors, mainly because they are the circuit components that will
be responsible for the dimming of the LEDs being used in this lab.
Theoretical Background:
As previously stated, the circuit components that will be responsible for
the dimming of the LEDs being used will be resistors. These
components do exactly what they are named after; they are
responsible for resisting the circuit current flow while also lower
voltage levels within the say circuit. For such calculations, one must
address some of the basic equations for resistors, for example
1
1 1
1
= + + +
R T i R 1 R2
Ri
Eq. 1
where RT is the total resistance in a circuit, is the equation to use
when there are resistors in parallel with each other. This idea will be
explored because it may be used to control the current in the LEDs
causing them to decrease their light intensities.
While having the resistors in a parallel configuration, a series
configuration can also be considered with
RT = R1 + R2 ++ Ri
i

Eq. 2
where all of the resistors can now be added without having to take
their reciprocals into consideration. This configuration might be a little
less complex, it might provide less flexibility to the diming of the lights.

Experimental Procedure:

Analysis of Experimental Data:

Conclusion: