ENG 208 REVIEWER - ACTIVITY 5-8

Equivalent Resistance

➔ Electrical Resistance - measure of its opposition to the flow of electrons or electric

current through it
➔ When electric potential or voltage is applied across a material, it will force the electrons
to move from the more negative region to the positive region. Resistance is the one that
prevents the movement of these electrons.
➔ Resistor - the physical device that provide electrical resistance
➔ Resistance - property of the resistor / material to provide electrical resistance
➔ Magnitude of resistance depends largely on the type of material it is made of
➔ Insulators - rubber, ceramic; inhibits or prevents the flow of electric current
➔ Conductors - metals; metallic bonds that allow easy flow of electrons within the material,
have low electrical resistance
➔ All materials will oppose the flow of electric current.
➔ Resistance: R, Unit: Ohm, Georg Ohm
➔ Resistor - passive, two terminal device which provides electrical resistance in an electric
circuit
◆ Have many functions, such as voltage divider, current limiter, bias active elements,
etc.
◆ Have fixed value or variable type
➔ Fixed Valued Resistors
◆ Carbon Resistors - low-power application
◆ Wire-Wound Resistors - made of nichrome wire wool
➔ Variable Resistors
◆ Potentiometer - vary the voltage
◆ Rheostat - vary the current
➔ Carbon Composition Resistors - consist of a solid cylindrical resistive element with
embedded wire leads or metal end caps to which the lead wires are attached. Body is
protected with paint or plastic
◆ It’s ohmic value is indicated on its color-coded bands, have high ohmic values
● 4-band code - 2 Digit, 1 Multiplier, 1 Tolerance (maximum deviation allowed)
● 5-band code - 3 Digit, 1 Multiplier, 1 Tolerance
◆ Smaller value of tolerance = actual resistance is very close to the indicated ohmic
value
➔ Equivalent Resistance - determining the equivalent value as a single resistor from a
combination of resistors, whether connected in series, parallel, or combination of both
➔ Multimeter - measure different electrical parameters
➔ Ohmmeter - measure electrical resistance
➔ Equivalent Resistance Formulas:
◆ Series: R = R1 + R2 + R3 +... RN
◆ Parallel: R = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 +…1/RN

Ohm’s Law and Power

➔ MultiSim - software used for creating circuits
➔ Ground - provides zero voltage, use only on the negative terminal
➔ Minimum Current Circuit - Series
◆ Current (I) values are all the same
◆ Voltage: V = V1 + V2 + V3 (must equal to the original voltage given)
● V=IxR
◆ Power: P = P1 + P2 + P3
● P=VxI
➔ Maximum Current Circuit - Parallel
◆ Current: I = i1+i2+i3
● I = V/R
◆ Voltage: V = V1=V2=V3
◆ Power: P = P1 + P2 + P3
● P=VxI
➔ In a parallel circuit, voltage is constant, current is directly proportional to voltage and
power is directly proportional to both voltage and current.
➔ In a series circuit, the current is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely
proportional to the resistance. The power is directly proportional to both the voltage
and current.
 Reflection and Refraction

➔ When a ray of light (called incident ray), traveling in a medium encounters a boundary
with a second medium, part of it is reflected back into the first medium.
➔ Normal - a line perpendicular to the boundary of a second medium
➔ Angle of incidence (θi) - the angle that the incident ray makes with the normal
➔ Angle of Reflection (θr) - the angle that the reflected ray makes with the normal
➔ Law of Reflection - states that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence
◆ θi = θr

➔ Refraction - is the bending of path of light when it passes from one medium to another
◆ The ray that passes the second medium changes its direction of propagation at the
boundary
➔ Index of refraction (n) - of a transparent medium is the ratio of the speed of light in
vacuum, c, to the speed of light in the medium
◆ n=c/v
◆ Speed of light in any material is less than its speed in vacuum
◆ For a vacuum, n = 1 (for air n is approximately 1)
◆ For other media, n > 1
➔ Index of refraction for some common substances
◆ Air - 1.00
◆ Water - 1.33
◆ Glass, flint - 1.66
◆ Glass, crown - 1.52
◆ Diamond - 2.42
◆ Cubic zirconia (fake diamond) - 2.15
 ➔ Snell’s Law
◆ A ray is refracted toward the normal when it passes into a denser medium
◆ A ray is refracted away from the normal when it passes into a less dense medium
➔ Total Internal Reflection - can occur when a light ray in a dense medium is directed
towards another medium having a lower index of refraction
➔ As the angle of incidence (θ1) increases, the angle of refraction (θ2) increases until θ2 =
90 degrees (ray #4)
➔ This value of θ1 that results in θ2 = 90 degrees is called the critical angle (θc).
➔ For angles of incidence greater than the critical angle, the beam is entirely reflected at
the boundary (ray #5). Used in fiber optics

Demonstration
➔ Basic optic ray table (Pasco), Ray box - showed reflected ray
➔ Angle of reflection = Angle of incidence
➔ Rectangular rhomboid - made of acrylic (index of refraction = 1.495) - used in
demonstrating refraction
➔ Angle of incidence = parallel with the passage of the light ray after the acrylic

From Video
➔ Refraction - bending of light
➔ Interface - place where the light meets the materials, intersection of the boundary of the
two materials and the normal
➔ Reflection - bouncing of light
➔ The light is passing more slowly in the medium, causing compression, waves stack at one
another, and pivots around the entry point
➔ Angle of incidence - incoming beam
➔ Angle of refraction - angle where the light is bending in the second material
➔ Total internal reflection - none of the beam is entering the second medium
➔ Simulator Used - PhET Interactive Simulation on Refraction and Reflection

Lenses
➔ When parallel light rays pass through a thin lens, they emerge either converging or
diverging
➔ Converging Lenses - have positive focal lengths. Thickest in the middle

➔ Diverging Lenses - have negative focal lengths. Thickest as the edges

➔ Lenses are commonly used to form images by refraction

➔ Applications: Camera, Telescope, Microscope
➔ Focal point - the point of intersection of the converging rays (or their extensions)
➔ Focal length (f) - the distance from the center of the lens to its focal point
➔ If the rays diverge, the focal point is the intersection of the outgoing rays extended back
through the lens, and the focal length is negative
➔ Equipment
◆ Ray Optics Kit (Convex and Concave lens) - 4 settings
◆ Basic optics light source
◆ Ruler

➔ Optic light source - functions as a bright source, an illuminated cross-arrow object, a

primary color source, and ray box with up to five parallel rays
➔ To use the light source as a ray box, place the unit flat on a table top
➔ Turn the wheel to select one, three, or five parallel rays
➔ Plano-Convex (converging), Bi-concave (diverging), Bi-convex (converging)
➔ Plano-Concave, Plano-Convex, Plano-Convex (different radius) - used with multi-purpose
oil
➔ Converging lenses are thickest in the middle