PHY150

EXPERIMENT 3 : DC CIRCUIT
1. DAYANG NURUL IZZAH BINTI AG JEMAN (2020887936)
2. IZZATI MAZIANI BINTI MOHAIMIN (2020842268)
3. J. ARIANA THALIA BINTI MOHD FADZIL@ JAIPEN (2020894724)
4. NUR SYAZIYAH AUNI BINTI MALIM (2020454058)
 THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND :

Figure
1. PARALLEL COMBINATION OF
RESISTORS
When resistors connected side by side, the combination called parallel as shown in Figure (2).

Figure (2)
2. SERIES COMBINATION OF RESISTORS
When resistors follow each other, the elements are connected in series, see figure
(3).

Figure
(3)
 MATERIALS AND APPARATUS

Link :
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/circuit-construction-kit-dc-virtuallab/
latest/circuitconstruction-kit-dc-virtual-lab_en.html

PROCEDURE

PART I: MEASURING THE CURRENT AND THE VOLTAGE IN SIMPLE DC

CIRCUIT.
1. The experiment was conducted through stimulation on the link: :
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/circuit-construction-kit-dc-virtuallab/ latest/circuitconstruction-kit-
dc-virtual-lab_en.html
2. The experiment started by clicking on the battery symbol in the bottom left of the screen, and show
current (conventional) was clicked, then a simple DC circuit contains of battery, resistance, switch,
and wires was constructed as shown in Figure (4).

Figure (4)

3. The voltmeter from the right second box was selected and the two terminals of the voltmeter were connected
with the end points of the resistor . What is the combination between resistance and voltmeter?
4. The ammeter was dragged and connected with the circuit in the series.
5. The reading of the voltmeter, v1 in was recorded in the data analysis, table 1.
6. The reading of the Ammeter I1 was recorded on table 1.
7. The values were clicked on and the resistance R was recorded in table 1.
8. The battery was clicked on and the voltage was changed to 20 V
9. Steps 6,7, and 8 were repeated then the results V2, I2, R were recorded in table 1.
10. The voltage then was changed to 30 V and steps 6,7, and 8 were repeated and recorded in table 1.
11. The circuit was screen shotted and pasted in the report.
PART II: SERIES CONNECTION OF RESISTORS
1. Another resistor was connected in the circuit in series as shown in Figure (5) .

Figure (5)

2. Then, the power supply was set to 120 Volts. And the two resistance was set to 𝑅1= 20 𝜴,
𝑅2= 30 𝜴.
3. The voltmeter was connected across the resistance , 𝑅1 to measure the voltage drop 𝑉1.
4. The voltmeter was connected across the resistance , 𝑅2 to measure the voltage drop 𝑉2 .
5. The voltmeter was connected across the power supply ( battery ) to measure the voltage 𝑉𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙.
6. 𝑉1+ 𝑉2 was calculated and it was compared to the total voltage across 𝑅1 and 𝑅2 (step 5).
7. The electric current, I was measured using the Ammeter before 𝑅1 , between 𝑅1 and 𝑅2, and after 𝑅2.
8. The product of I x 𝑅1 was compared to the value of 𝑉1.
9. The product of I x 𝑅2 was compared to the value of 𝑉2.
10. All the screenshots were inserted in the lab report.
PART III: PARALLEL CONNECTION OF
RESISTORS
1. The circuit has been connected as shown in figure (6).

Figure (6)

2. The voltage of the power supply (battery) was adjusted to 120 volts.
3. The voltage of V1 across R1 using the voltmeter has been measured. (the copy of the circuit was taken).
4. The voltage V2 across R2 using the voltmeter has been measured. (the copy of the circuit was taken ) .
5. V1 and V2 have been compared to the output from the power supply V total (battery).
6. The current I1, through R1 using the ammeter has been measured. ( the copy of the circuit was taken).
7. The current I2, through R2 using the ammeter has been measured. (the copy of the circuit was taken).
8. The total current in the circuit I (total) has been measured. ( the copy of the circuit was taken).
9. I1 + I2 has been calculated and compared to result in procedure 8.
10. All the data has been recorded in the lab report .
 DATA CALCULATIONS AND RESULTS

PART 1: MEASURING THE CURRENT AND THE VOLTAGE IN SIMPLE DC

CIRCUIT
 1. Write your results from Part 1 in table
1.
Trial V (v) I (A) R (𝛺) Rcal = V/I

1 9.0 0.90 10.0 10.0

2 20.0 2.00 10.0 10.0

3 30.0 3.00 10.0 10.0

Table (1)
2. Comment on your
results.
Based on the result, it can be seen that potential difference is directly proportional to the
current. As the potential difference is increased, the current is also increased. However, the
resistance remains constant.
3. Paste your graph
here.
 PART II: SERIES CONNECTION OF
RESISTORS

1. Write your result in table 2.

V1 (v) V2 (v) Vtotal (v) V1 + V2 (v)

48.00 72.00 120.00 120.00

Table (2)

2. Comment on your
result.
From the result on table 2, V total is the combination of V1 and V2. The voltage of the
power supply is equal to the value of the voltage for both of resistance, R1 and R2.
3. I (before 𝑅1) = 2.40 A, I (between 𝑅1& 𝑅2) = 2.40 A, I (after 𝑅2) =
2.40 A
Comment on the current readings:
The value of the electric current is all the same when the
Ammeter was placed before the R1, between the R1 and R2 and
after the R2.

4. I x 𝑅1= 48.00 V 𝑉1= 48.00 V

5. I x 𝑅2= 72.00 V 𝑉2= 72.00 V

Comment on the results:

The value of I x 𝑅1 and 𝑉1 is the same. The value of I x 𝑅2 is also
 6. Paste graphs here. Screenshots of
circuit:

(Voltage, 𝑉1 reading at 𝑅1) (Voltage, 𝑉2 reading at 𝑅2)

(Voltage, 𝑉𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 reading at power supply)

 6. Paste graphs here. Screenshots of
circuit:

(Electric current, I measured before 𝑅1) (Electric current, I measured between 𝑅1and 𝑅2)

(Electric current, I measured after 𝑅2)

 PART III: PARALLEL CONNECTION OF
RESISTORS
1. Write your result in table
3.
V1 (V) V2 (V) Vtotal (V)

120.0 120.0 120.0

Table (3)

2. Comment on your result.

Based on the result that is obtained, the results for V1, V2 and Vtotal were the same. This had
occurred because the circuit is in parallel. Therefore, the voltage is the same.
 3. Write your result of the current in table
(4).

I1 (A) I2 (A) Itotal (A) I1 + I2 (A)

0.90 1.80 1.80 2.70

Table (4)

Comment on the result:

Based on the results that was obtained, the ammeter reading for I1 was 0.90 A , the
ammeter reading for I2 was 1.80 A. The reading was different, because the circuit was
in parallel. Therefore. The total reading ammeter for this circuit is 2.70 A.
 4. Paste graphs here. Screenshots of
circuit:

(Voltage reading across R1) (Voltage reading across

R2)
 4. Paste graphs here. Screenshots of
circuit:

(Ammeter reading across R1) (Ammeter reading across

R2)

(Ammeter reading for total current Itotal)

This experiment was conducted to investigated
about Ohm’s Law in which it states that the
potential difference, V is directly proportional to
the current that flows through the material, I
(V=IR).

DISCUSSION
 In experiment part 1, using the stimulator, a series circuit that contained a
battery, switch, resistor, ammeter and voltmeter that was attached together by wires
were formed. The battery is being manipulated by changing it from its initial value
which is 9V, to 20V and lastly to 30V. Based on the results and graph of the
experiment above, it can be seen that as the potential difference increases, the
current also increases. Despite the change of values of the voltage and current, the
resistance still remains the same. This proves the formula of current which is I=V/R.
Alternatively, if the voltage in the circuit remains constant, the resistance will
increase while the current decreases.
 In experiment part II, the two resistors were linked in series circuit. Because the voltmeter has a high
resistance and would not allow current to flow through it if connected in series, it was connected across
the resistor. The voltage at R1 is lower than the voltage at R2. This is because R1's resistance is lower
than R2's. High resistance indicates that a higher voltage is required to ensure that current may flow
through the resistor and circuit. The current is the same whether the ammeter is connected before R1,
between R1 and R2, or even after R2. The same electric charge runs through each component in a
series combination of components in an electric circuit. This is due to the fact that the charge is flowing
in a consistent manner. As a result, in a series arrangement, the electric current remains constant. To
make it easier to grasp, the current flowing in the circuit before it passes through R2 and the current
flowing through R1 are the same. The same current that flows through R1 will also flow through R2. This
is due to the fact that there is no other option but to pass through the next point of resistance. This is
how the present continues to be the same.
 Based on the results that were obtained from part 3 of the experiment, when
resistors were connected in parallel, each of the resistor experienced the
same voltage which is 120V. This shows that the full voltage of the battery was
applied to each resistor. Based on the formula Vtotal = V1= V2. While the
current flows in parallel circuit, the current flow is not the same. This is
because the total current that leaves the battery had been divided into two
parts using the formula |total = I1 + I2|. To prevent the circuit from burning, the
resistance of the wire was adjusted to 20 𝛺 and 30 𝛺 since the voltage of the
battery throughout the experiment was high up to 120V.
 1. What do you expect if you connect the ammeter in parallel with the
resistance?
When ammeter is connected in parallel to the circuit, the net resistance of the circuit will
decrease. Hence, if more current is drawn from the battery, it will damage the ammeter. This is
because with a very low resistance in the ammeter, all of the available current will flow through
the ammeter. The ammeter will short circuit the element and a large amount of current passing
through the ammeter will burn out the coil of the ammeter. If the ammeter is not damaged, it will
not give a typical reading for the circuit being tested because the circuit has been altered.

QUESTIONS
2. What do you expect if you connect the voltmeter in series with the resistance?

The voltmeter has a high resistance because they are used to measure the voltage and current should
not flow through it. Hence, when a high resistance voltmeter is connected in series, the circuit will not
have any current flow. For that reason, a voltmeter that is connected in series is more likely to act like a
resistor rather than as a voltmeter.

3. Write the benefits of connecting rheostat in electrical circuits.

A rheostat is a current-controlling variable resistor. We can control the flow of electric current in the
circuit by inserting the rheostat into the electrical circuit. The electric current flow is reduced by the
rheostat to a specific level. It does not, however, entirely stop the flow of electricity.
 To recapitulate, direct current is a
type of current which flows in one
direction. It can only be carried out when
the circuit is closed whereas if the circuit
is open, the flow of current ceases . From
this experiment, we can measure the
current and voltage for simple DC circuit.
Besides, we also accomplished to study
the series and parallel connection of CONCLUSION
resistors. Hence, the three objectives of
this experiment are achieved.
1. https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/chpt-
2/voltage-current-resistance-relate/
2. https://www.physics-and-radio-electronics.com/electronic-
devices-and-circuits/passive-components/resistors/rheostat.html
3. https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/chpt-
5/simple-parallel-circuits/

REFERENCES