Laboratory Experiment No.

2
Parallel RC and RL Circuits
I. DISCUSSION
The characteristics of a parallel circuit, by definition, is that the same
voltage appears across all parallel branches. Therefore, in preparing a
phasor diagram, for any parallel circuit, the common voltage should be
used as the reference phasor.
Each branch may then be considered separately and the total current is
equal to the sum of the individual currents

II. OBJECTIVES
The activity aims to:
1. Describe the relationship between current and voltage in RC and
RL circuit.
2. Attain knowledge about Parallel RC and RL circuits.
3. Obtain values of impedance to know the accuracy of given
circuit.

III. MATERIALS
 100 w Lamp  AC ammeter
 5 uf Capacitor  AC supply
 1.389 H Inductor  Multisim
 AC voltmeter
IV. PROCEDURE
A. RC Circuit
a. Connect the circuit shown in Figure 1 in Multisim.

Figure 1
b. Measure the total current and the current across the lamp and
across the 5 uf capacitor. To measure the total current of the AC
voltage (refer to Figure 2A). Turn on the run button to simulate
the circuit. Record the current reading for the AC voltage source.
Repeat the step for to record the lamp and 5 uf capacitor as shown
in Figure 2B and 2C.

Figure 2A

Figure 2B
 Figure 2C
c. Measure the voltage of the source (eT), lamp (eR) and the
capacitor (eC). To measure the voltage across the source, refer to
Figure 3A. Turn on the simulation to enable the reading. Record
the reading foe the voltage across the source. Repeat the step to
measure the voltage of the lamp and capacitor shown in Figure
3B and 3C.

Figure 3A

Figure 3B

Figure 3C
 d. Using Ohm’s Law, compute the voltage and current for each
component. Record it at Table 1 and 2. Use the formula
𝑒𝑅 𝑒𝐿 𝑒𝑐
𝑅 = ; 𝑋𝐿 = ; 𝑋𝐶 =
𝑖𝑅 𝑖𝐿 𝑖𝑐

1 1 2 1 2
= √( ) + ( )
𝑍 𝑅 𝑋𝑐

e. Compute the magnitude and phase angle of the impedance

using the equation 1/Z = 1/R+(1/ – jXc, where Xc = 1/2πfC.
Use the 5 uF for the value of C.
f. Compute the percent difference between the measure and the
computed value of the impedance.
B. RL Circuit
a. Connect the circuit shown in Figure 4 on the Multisim

Figure 4

b. Measure the total current and the current across the lamp and
across the 1.389 H inductor. To measure the total current of the
AC voltage (refer to Figure 5A). Turn on the run button to
simulate the circuit. Record the current reading for the AC
voltage source. Repeat the step for to record the lamp and 1.389
H inductor as shown in Figure 5B and 5C.
 Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 5C

c. Measure the voltage of the source (eT), lamp (eR) and the
inductor (eL). To measure the voltage across the source, refer to
Figure 6A. Turn on the simulation to enable the reading. Record
the reading for the voltage across the source. Repeat the step to
measure the voltage of the lamp and inductor shown in Figure
6B and 6C.
 Figure 6A

Figure 6B

Figure 6C

d. Using Ohm’s Law, compute the voltage and current for each
component. Record it at Table 1 and 2. Use the formula
𝑒𝑅 𝑒𝐿 𝑒𝑐
𝑅 = ; 𝑋𝐿 = ; 𝑋𝐶 =
𝑖𝑅 𝑖𝐿 𝑖𝑐

𝑉𝑡
𝑍= = √𝑅2 + 𝑋𝑐2
𝐼𝑡
e. Compute the magnitude and phase angle of the impedance
using the equation 1/Z = 1/R + (1/jXl), where Xl = 2πfL. Use
the 1.389 H inductor for the value of L.
 f. Compute the percent difference between the measure and the
computed value of the impedance.

Table 1: Simulation and Computation Result of Voltage of the

Parallel RC Circuit
Voltage (V) R C Total
Workbench
Computation
% Difference

Table 2: Simulation and Computation Result Current of the

Parallel RC Circuit
Current (A) R C Total
Workbench
Computation
% Difference

Table 3: Simulation and Computation Result of Voltage of the

Parallel RL Circuit

Voltage (V) R L Total

Workbench
Computation
% Difference
 Table 4: Simulation and Computation Result Current of the
Parallel RL Circuit

Current (A) R L Total

Workbench
Computation
% Difference

V. ANALYSIS
A. Questions
a. Do the workbench and computational values of voltages and
currents agree?
b. Give possible reasons for any discrepancies.

B. Circuit Design
a. Design a parallel RC circuit which consists of capacitor C and A
220 V, 100 W. The total impedance of the circuit is 453.6712
ohms. Find the value of R and C. (GROUP 1, 2,3, 4 and 5)

C. Problems
a. A coil having an impedance of 10+j5 is connected in parallel
with a series combination of a variable resistance R and a
capacitor having a reactance of 8 ohms. The combination is
connected across a 24 V AC source. Determine the total current
drawn if R is adjusted in order to bring the total pf of the circuit
to unity. (GROUP 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10)
VI. CONCLUSION