AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY–BANGLADESH (AIUB)

FACULTY OF SCIENCE &

TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF
PHYSICS
PHYSICS LAB 1
Fall 2020-2021
Section: B5, Group:1
LAB REPORT ON

Determination of the time constant of an RC circuit

Supervised By

Dr. Md. Nurul Kabir Bhuiyan

Submitted By

Name ID Contribution
1.
2. Sakib Al Mahamud 21-45655-3 Experimental Data
3. Nimur Islam Joy 21-45656-3 Procedure and Analysis
4. Istyak Ahmed 21-45658-3 Theory and Apparatus
5. Sakibul Haque Tanmoy 21-45659-3 Result and Discussion

Date of Submission: 26th November 2021

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPICS Page no.

I. Title Page 1
II. Table of Content 2
1. Theory 3,4
2. Equipment 5
3. Circuit Diagraph for the experiment 5
4. Procedure 5
5. Experimental data 6
6. Calculation 7,8,9,10
7. Result 10
8. Discussion 11
9. References 11

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1. Theory

In the RC circuit in fig. 6.1, if at t = 0 switch A is closed (switch B remains open) charges will begin to
build up in the capacitor. These charges do not accumulate within the capacitor instantaneously due to
the resistance provided by the resistor. The potential difference across the capacitor for this process can
be expressed as

Figure 6.1: Circuit for RC charge-discharge measurement where V(t) is the potential
difference across the capacitor as a function of time.
V(t) /

Figure 6.2: Potential difference across a capacitor in an RC circuit as a function of time.

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The time constant can be determine by observing the either the charging and discharging process of the
capacitor as the Fig. 6.2 shows. For the charging process, τ is the time for V(t) to reach 63% of its final
value. For the discharging process, τ is the time for V(t) to fall 63% from its initial value.

In the RC circuit in fig. 6.1, if at t = 0 switch A is closed (switch B remains open) charges will begin to
build up in the capacitor. These charges do not accumulate within the capacitor instantaneously due to
the resistance provided by the resistor. The potential difference across the capacitor for this process can
be expressed as,

𝑉(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑚 (1 − 𝑒 −1
𝑟
) ……… (1)

where Vm is the maximum potential difference across the capacitor. After a sufficiently long time
(much larger than time constant), if switch A is open while switch B is closed, the capacitor will
discharge all of its accumulated charges. The potential difference across the capacitor can be expressed
as

1
−
𝑉(𝑡) = 𝑉𝑚 (𝑒 𝑟) ……… (2)

For charging, Eq. 1 can be written as

𝑉(𝑡) 1
𝑙𝑛 [1 − ] = (−
)𝑡 …… (3)
𝑉𝑚 𝑐

On the other hand, for discharging, Eq. 2 can be written as

𝑽(𝒕)
Comparing Eq. 3 and 4 with y = mx and plotting a graph of "𝒍𝒏 [𝟏 − " for charging and
𝑽𝒎 ]
𝒗(𝒎) 𝟏
"ln vs t” for discharging, we get the value of τ as 𝑟 = −
𝒗𝒎 𝒎

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2. Apparatus
 Power supply
 Circuit board
 Resistor
 Capacitor
 Multi meter
 Stop watch
 Connecting wires

3. Procedure

 An RC circuit was constructed on the circuit board as the circuit diagram shows where R = 47
KΩ, C = 2,200 µF, Vm = 6.1 V.

 A sufficient voltage was applied from the power supply, the charging of the capacitor was
observed and noted the voltage differences across the capacitor with time.

 The power supply from the circuit was disconnected, the discharging of the capacitor was
observed with time. Also the voltage differences across the capacitor was noted down with time.

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4. Experimental Data:
Table 6.1: Charging & Discharging of an RC circuit.

 In the experiment, resistance, R = 47 KΩ and capacitance, = 2200 μF.

 Maximum potential difference, Vm = 6.1 Volts

Charging Capacitor Discharging Capacitor

Time 𝑽𝒕 𝑽𝒕
𝑽𝒕 (𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐬) ln (𝟏 − ) 𝑽𝒕 (𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐬) ln( )
(seconds) 𝑽𝒎 𝑽𝒎

0 0 0 6.1 0
30 1.04 -0.26 4.7 -0.26
60 2.43 -0.50 3.66 -0.51
90 3.2 -0.74 2.84 -0.74
120 3.8 -0.97 2.23 -1.00

150 4.52 -1.35 1.73 -1.26

180 4.64 -1.42 1.38 -1.48
210 4.93 -1.65 1.09 -1.72
240 5.16 -1.87 0.87 -1.94
270 5.32 -2.05 0.69 -2.17
300 5.7 -2.72 0.56 -2.39
330 5.59 -2.48 0.45 -2.60
360 5.68 -2.67 0.37 -2.80
390 5.75 -2.85 0.3 -3.01
420 5.8 -3.01 0.25 -3.19
450 5.84 -3.15 0.2 -3.41
480 5.88 -3.32 0.17 -3.58
510 5.92 -3.52 0.14 -3.77
540 5.94 -3.64 0.12 -3.93
570 5.96 -3.77 0.1 -4.11
600 5.98 -3.92 0.09 -4.21

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5. Analysis and Calculation:

 Calculation: Charging a capacitor

V(t) Vs t (Charging)
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
V

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

t (sec)

 Theoretically:
Time constant, 𝑟 = 𝑅𝐶 = 47 K Ω x 2200 μF
= 103.4 s

ln (𝟏−𝑽𝒕/𝑽𝒎 ) Vs t (Charging Phrase)

4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2 y = 0.0065x + 0.2298
1.5
1
0.5
ln

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

t (sec)

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  Experimentally:
1
From the graph: Slope, m = −
𝑐
1
𝑟= −
𝑚
1
𝑟= −
−0.0065

𝑟 = 153.845 s

𝑐𝑡ℎ− 𝑐𝑒𝑥
 Error of 𝑟 (charging) =
𝑐𝑡ℎ
× 100%
103.4−153.845
=
103.4 x 100%
𝑟 = -48.786%
𝑟 = 48.786%

 Calculation: Discharging a capacitor

V(t) Vs t (Discharging)
7
6
5
4
3
2
V(

1
0

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

t (sec)

 Theoretically:
Time constant, 𝑟 = 𝑅𝐶 = 47 K Ω x 2200 μF
= 103.4 s
Page Number-8
 ln (𝑽𝒕/𝑽𝒎 ) Vs t (Discharging Phase)
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2 y = 0.0071x + 0.1543
1.5
ln

1
0.5
0

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

t (sec)

 Experimentally:
1
From the graph: Slope, m = −
𝑐
1
𝑟= −
𝑚
1
𝑟= −
−0.0071

𝑟 = 140.845 s

𝑐𝑡ℎ− 𝑐𝑒𝑥
 Error of 𝑟 (discharging) = × 100%
𝑐𝑡ℎ

103.4−140.84
=
103.4 x 100%
𝑟 = -36.208%
𝑟 = 36.208%

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 Analysis:
a. Charging data:

The slope of the graph, “ln (𝟏−𝑽𝒕/𝑽𝒎 ) Vs t” defines the negative inverse value of charging time
constant 𝑟, from where the value of 𝑟 was determined.

b. Discharging data:

The slope of the graph, “ln (𝑽𝒕/𝑽𝒎 ) Vs t” defines the negative inverse value of discharging time
constant 𝑟, from where the value of 𝑟 was determined.

6. Result:

Table: Values of time constant, τ.

From the graphs Comments

Estimated We can see that the values of are lower
Process Values of τ Values of τ (=RC) than the values of Charging and
in seconds in seconds Discharging..
Charging 153.845 103.4
Discharging 140.845

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7. Discussion:

Objective: The main objective of the experiment was to determine the time constant of a RC circuit.

Result: The values of Time Constant (𝑟) we found from the experiment are:

At charging phrase 𝑟 = 𝟏𝟓𝟑. 𝟖𝟒𝟓 𝒔

At discharging phrase 𝑟 = 𝟏𝟒𝟎. 𝟖𝟒𝟓 𝒔

Errors in results:

Error of 𝑟 (𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠) = 48.786%

Error of 𝑟 (𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠) = 36.208%

 There is a chance of error while taking stopwatch readings.

 There is a chance of making mistake while getting multimeter readings.

Precautions:

 Wires were connected properly and the ends of wires was cleaned with sandpaper.
 All connections were ensured to be tight.
 Power supplies was connected precisely.
 Readings involving stopwatch was taken carefully and accurately as much as possible
 The voltmeter was connected in parallel across the capacitor.

8. Resources:

For further understanding students may go through the following resources:

 Fundamental of Physics (10th Edition): Capacitor (Chapter 25, page717-721),

RC circuit (Chapter 27, page 788-791).

 Video Links:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_MZNsEqyQw
 (4) 22 - Circuits - Time constant of an RC circuit - YouTube

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