Resistors and logic circuits 1

RESISTORS AND LOGIC CIRCUITS

Name

Course
Instructors Name
Date
 Resistors and logic circuits 2

Introduction

Aim:

To verify Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s laws for electrical circuits by comparing the measured

and theoretical values of voltage and current calculated for both series and parallel circuits.

Background Information:

Voltage is the electric potential between two points on an electric circuit and is measured

in using an potentiometer and has SI units volts (V). Current is the flow of electric charge in a

circuit measured using an Ammeter in Amperes (A). Resistance (R) is the opposition of electric

current measured using an Ohmmeter in Ohms (Ω).

Series Circuit

A series circuit is one which resistors are connected end to end in a chain to form only

one path for the flow of current. In a series circuit, the sum of the voltage drops across the

resistors is equal to the total voltage across the circuit. The current through all resistors is equal.

Parallel Circuit

In a parallel circuit, the resistors are connected between the same two sets of electrically

common points. In parallel circuits, the voltage across each resistor is equal. The current through

the various resistors adds up to the total current through the circuit.

Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)

Kirchhoff’s 1st law (KCL) states that at a node (junction) the total current entering the

junction is equal to the total current leaving the junction. It works on the principle of

conservation of electric charge. KCL is used to study parallel circuits.

 Resistors and logic circuits 3

Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL)

KVL or Kirchhoff’s second law states that the algebraic sum of voltages around a closed

network is zero. The law is based on the principle of conservation of energy.

Ohm’s Law

The law states that the voltage across an ideal conductor is proportional to the current

through it.

Method:
Series Connection

Parallel Connection
 Resistors and logic circuits 4

First, the resistance for each resistor rated 1kΩ, 820Ω and 680Ω used was measured and

the results recorded. The experiment was then set up as shown above for both the series and

parallel connections. The setups were connected to a 15v and 10v DC supply respectively. The

voltage across each resistor was then measured and recorded in the tables below.

Results:
Series Connection
Nominal Resistance Ω Measured Resistance % Difference
R1 = 680 670.2Ω 1.44%
R2 = 820 804.8Ω 2.85%
R3 = 1k Ω 980.1Ω 1.99%
Series Rtot = 2.5k Ω 2.4538kΩ 1.85%
Table 1 Nominal resistance against measured resistance in series

Quantity Measured value from Theoretical values using Percentage

DMM nominal values for Vs and R Difference
VS 15.00 V 15v 0
Rtot 2.4538 kΩ 2.5kΩ 1.85%
VR1 4.0966V 4.08V 0.4%
VR2 4.9201V 4.92V 0
VR3 5.989 V 6V 0.2%
IA 6.115mA 6mA 1.92%
IB 6.112mA 6mA 1.92%
IC 6.115mA 6mA 1.92%
ID 6.113mA 6mA 1.92%
Table 2 Measured values of Voltage, Resistance and Current in series
 Resistors and logic circuits 5

Parallel Connection
Quantity Measured value from Theoretical values using nominal
DMM values for Vs and R
Vs 10.00v 10.00V
VR4 10.05v 10V
VR5 10.05v 10V
VR6 10.05v 10V
Ia 37.654mA 36.896mA
Ib 12.515mA 12.19mA
Ic 15.043mA 14.7mA
Id 10.27mA 10mA
Rtot 266.38Ω 271Ω
Table 3 Parallel connection measured and calculated Values of V, I and R

Discussion:

Series Circuit

From the results, there was a direct relationship between the Voltage, Current, and the

Resistance. The current through the circuit remained constant while the Voltage was dependent

on the Resistance. Therefore the results corresponds to Ohm’s law which states that voltage is

proportional to current through it (V=IR) and thus the law was verified.

The percentage difference between the total nominal resistances and the total measured

resistances remained at a range of about 2%. The differences between the two values are because

of environmental conditions such as temperature, errors in the measuring devices and tolerances

in the resistors.

Ohm’s law is valid as long as the temperature of the circuit remains constant. However, a

temperature increase increases the resistance and vice versa resulting in variations as seen in the
 Resistors and logic circuits 6

experiment. Moreover, resistors are designed with a tolerance value, meaning that the measured

value is expected to deviate slightly from the expected value. The reason for the difference

between measured and calculated values of Vs and I in the circuit are due to the inherent errors

in measuring devices.

Parallel Circuit

For the parallel connection, the voltage across all resistors was equal (10V) while the

total current in the circuit was a sum of current through each resistor. Thus, Kirchhoff’s voltage

and current laws were verified.

The total measured resistance was 266.38Ω while the calculated resistance was 271Ω,

which is well within the range of the expected value. The difference between the two resistances

was due to errors in measurement devices and temperature differences.

Improvements

The experiments can be improved by using resistors with a higher rating, which would make the

temperature variation negligible. Also higher precision equipment can be used to give readings

that are more accurate.

Conclusion:

From the first experiment, the voltage found to be a function of current and Resistance

thus verifying the Ohm’s law that V=IR with resistors in a series circuit. Kirchhoff’s 1st law that

total current entering a junction is equal to total current leaving the junction was also verified

with resistors in parallel circuit. Kirchhoff’s voltage law was verified.

 Resistors and logic circuits 7

Appendix I

This appendix presents the data and calculation used to verify the Ohm’s law. The first column

shows the rated (nominal) resistance. Column 2 shows the resistance as measured in the lab.

Column 3 shows the percentage difference between the two values.

The percentage difference was calculated as:

Difference = (Nominal Resistance - Measured Resistance)/ Nominal Resistance x 100

Nominal Resistance Measured % Difference

Ω Resistance =(Nominal-Measured)/Nominal%
R1 = 680 670.2Ω 1.44%
R2 = 820 804.8Ω 2.85%
R3 = 1k Ω 980.1Ω 1.99%
Series Rtot = 2.5k Ω 2.4538kΩ 1.85%
 Resistors and logic circuits 8

Appendix II
The appendix shows the data and calculation used for the verification of Ohms law. The 1st
column shows the measured Quantity. Column 2 shows the value of the quantity as measured
with a Digital MultiMeter (DMM). Column 3 shows the calculated values while column 4 is the
difference between the calculated values and the measured values.
Column 3 theoritical values calculation
V=I x R therefore IA=IB=IC=ID = V/R = 15V/2.5kΩ= 6mA
Rtot = R1 +R2 + R3
VR1 = IRR1 = 6mA x 680Ω = 4.08V
VR2 = IRR3 = 6mA x 820Ω = 4.92V
VR3 = IRR3 = 6mA x 1000Ω = 6V

Quantity Measured value from Theoretical values % Difference

DMM using nominal values
for Vs and R
Vs 15.00 V 15v 0
Rtot 2.4538 kΩ 2.5kΩ 1.85%
VR1 4.0966V 4.08V 0.4%
VR2 4.9201V 4.92V 0
VR3 5.989 V 6V 0.2%
IA 6.115mA 6mA 1.92%
IB 6.112mA 6mA 1.92%
IC 6.115mA 6mA 1.92%
ID 6.113mA 6mA 1.92%
 Resistors and logic circuits 9

Appendix III

The theoretical values were calculated as follows.

Since the voltage across the resistors is equal VR4 = VR5 = VR6
From KCL Ia = Ib+Ic+Id
Using KVL
Vs (10V) =IbR4 = IcR5 = IdR6
Ib = V4/R4 = 10/1 = 10mA
Ic = V5/R5 = 10/0.82 = 12.195mA
Id = V6/R6 = 10/0.68 = 14.7mA
Total Current through the junction (Ia) = Ib + Ic + Id = 36.896mA
Total Resistance (Rtot) = 10V/36.896mA = 271 Ω

Quantity Measured value from Theoretical values using nominal

DMM values for Vs and R

Vs 10.00v 10.00V

VR4 10.05v 10V

VR5 10.05v 10V

VR6 10.05v 10V

Ia 37.654mA 36.896mA

Ib 12.515mA 12.19mA

Ic 15.043mA 14.7mA

Id 10.27mA 10mA

Rtot 266.38Ω 271Ω