ANALYSIS

Many resistor circuits cannot be reduced to simple series-parallel

combinations. In the previous activity, two DC power supplies V1 and V2 and three

resistors R1, R2, and R3 are connected in a circuit that cannot be solved by simple

parallel or series combinations. We don’t need new principles to compute the

currents in such a circuit. There are some techniques that can be used to solve such

problems systematically. One such technique is called Kirchhoff’s Laws developed

by the German physicist Gustav Robert Kirchhoff (1824-1887).

In order to get the following objectives, a theory must be proven through the

experiment.

According to this theory, Kirchhoff’s Laws consist of Junction Law and the

Loop Law. A junction is a point in a circuit where 3 or more conductors are

connected. In figure 1 of the previous activity, points B and E are junctions. A loop

is a closed part of a circuit. In Figure 1, ABEF is a loop. BCDE and ACDF are also

loops.

Junction Law: The algebraic sum of currents through any junction is equal to zero

∑𝐼 = 0
Loop Law: In any loop, the sum of potential drops and voltages from the sources is

equal to zero.

The junction law is based on the law of conservation of charge while the loop

law is based n the law pf conservation of energy.

To use Kirchhoff’s laws, a diagram of the network is drawn, and arbitrary

current directions are marked on the diagram. The current flowing through each

resistor is labeled I1. I2, etc. The junction law is applied to each junction to derive

the junction equation. The junction equation/s that can be used to analyze the circuit

is always one less the number of junctions.

I I

SIGN CONVENTIONS

Junction law: Current entering a junction is positive and current leaving the junction

is negative.

Loop Law:
Voltage source or battery: As you go around a loop, if the loop direction enters the

negative terminal of the battery, voltage is positive, otherwise voltage is negative.

Resistor: As you go around a loop and through a resistor, if the loop direction is in

the same direction as the current through the resistor, it is considered a potential drop

and IR is negative. If the loop direction is opposite the direction of the current

through the resistor, it is considered a potential rise and IR is positive.

In order to perform the experiment, the following procedures were done. First,

we connected the three resistor boxes, R1 = 50Ω, R2 = 100Ω, and R3 = 50Ω as in the

figure given in the module. Power supply V1 consists of three batteries in series, and

power supply V2 is a single battery. When the circuit is already turned on, we

measured the voltage across power supply V1 using the digital multimeter. We

measured the voltage across power supply V2 and recorded it in the data table.

In order for us to measure I1, we disconnected Wire 1 and replaced it with the

ammeter. To measure I2, we disconnected Wire 2 and replaced it with ammeter. To

measure I3, we disconnected Wire 3 and replaced it with the ammeter. We recorded

all the ammeter readings.

We then used the conjunction law and the loop law to compute for the values

of I1, I2, and I3. We used the values of V1 and V2 obtained from procedure 2 and the

given values of R1, R2, and R3.

 The values of the three resistors were given by the handbook, where, R1 is 5

Ω, R2 is 10 Ω, and R3 is 5 Ω, respectively.

For the computed values, we used the concept of Kirchhoff’s Current Law (or

Junction Law) and Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (or Loop Law) in obtaining the

equations need to set-up a system of linear equations. Using the Junction Law, we

were able to set-up one equation describing flow of current on Node B. Meanwhile,

values for the voltage rise and drop are also computed on the loops 1 and 2,

respectively. Given three equations and three unknowns, the system of equation can

be solved using matrices by setting-up a matrix reducing it to a Reduced Row-

Echelon Form (RREF) in order to obtain the computed values of I1, I2, and I3.

I1 = I2 + I3

V1T = I1R1 + I2R2

V2T = I3R3 + I2R2

Based from this data above, Table 1 shows the complete data obtained from

the experiment proper. From the data, the experimental values showed an acceptable

4.26683 average percentage of error which can be said to be precise measurement

when compared to the computed values. This result shows that the theory presented

in the experiment is true and reliable. Moreover, through the conduct of this
experiment it can be concluded that the Kirchhoff’s Current and Voltage Laws are

true and is applicable in real life.

TABLE 1. KIRCHOFF’S LAW

Experimental Computed Percentage Error

I1 0.018 A 0.019792 A 5. 40 %

I2 0.013 A 0.014904 A 7.40 %

I3 0.004 A 0.004888 A 0.00049 %

Power Supply 1, Voltage (V1) 2.48 V

Power Supply 2, Voltage (V2) 1.246 V

Resistance 1 50 Ω

Resistance 2 100 Ω

Resistance 3 50 Ω
 CONCLUSION
Based from the experimentation done, the following conclusions were made.

Current flow in circuits is produced when charge carriers travel though

conductors. Current is defined as the rate at which this charge is carried through the

circuit. A fundamental concept in physics is that charge will always be conserved.

In the context of circuits this means that, since current is the rate of flow of charge,

the current flowing into a point must be the same as current flowing out of that point.

On the other hand, as charge carriers flowing through a circuit pass through a

component, they either gain or lose electrical energy, depending upon the component

(cell or resistor for example). Microscopically, this is due to the fact that work is

done on them by the electric forces inside the circuit components. The negative of

the work done by these electric forces on a unit of charge which passes through a

component is called the potential difference, or voltage, across the component. In

most circuits which you'll meet, it turns out that the work done by the electric forces

around any closed loop in the circuit must be zero. This means that the sum of all

potential differences across the component involved in the loop must be zero. This

explains why connecting both ends of a voltmeter to the same point in a circuit gives

a zero reading, as expected.

Based on the experiment, we were able to satisfy and prove the theory

presented by Dr. Kirchhoff, Kirchhoff’s laws. Primarily, all the currents obtained by
performing the experiment were all precise when compared to the computed values

that was obtained with the use of KCL and KVL. The computed percentage

difference within the entire can be said to be precise, thus, proving the reliability of

results.

In addition, by utilizing the equation given, derived using KCL, we were able

to verify that the current entering Node B, I1, is equal to the sum of the currents

leaving Node B, I2 and I3. Also, using the Equations 5 and 6 that were both derived

using KVL, we verified the theory of the loop law in which we yield the summation

of all voltage rise and voltage drop is equal to zero.

In conclusion, enabled us to learn one of the key methods in analyzing

complex circuits utilizing the Kirchhoff’s laws. Considering real-life scenarios, all

circuits tend to be complex especially when it comes to circuit system used in large

infrastructures such as buildings, this concept can be of great aid in analyzing

electrical and circuit plans that will be presented to us in the near future.
DATA SHEET