DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

MODULE TITLE EXPERIMENT 2: DC CIRCUITS

COURSE PHY3306
DURATION 3 hours (face to face)
MODULE CODE UPM/FS/PHY3301/002/2023/v1
LEARNING The following resources provide additional information on the content of
RESOURCES this Module:
MultisimLive
Multisim Live Online Circuit Simulator
Youtube manual
NI Multisim Live: 8-minute demo - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=wxEG1wa3PAY

Measure voltage across resistor

How to Measure Voltage in Multisim Live - NI
Timothy Schulz on Thevenin’s Equivalent Circuit
Introduction to Thevenin Equivalent Circuits - YouTube

PRIOR To study this module effectively, students are expected to have basic
KNOWLEDGE knowledge on:
Basic Electrical Circuit
Digital Multimeter (DMM)
Open and short circuit
Thevenin and Norton theorems
TERMS TO KNOW After completing the module, students are able to explain the following terms:
● Voltage source
● Current Source
● Voltage divider

INTRODUCTION Voltage Source

A Voltage Source is an active element that provides a specified and constant
voltage which is completely independent of any other circuit elements. Ideally,
the voltage is constant through all condition, however, the rated voltage across
the terminals of real or practical voltage sources drops off as the load current it
supplies increases.
Current Source
A current source is a circuit element that maintains a constant current flow
regardless of the voltage developed across its terminals as this voltage is
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

determined by other circuit elements. That is, an ideal constant current source
continually provides a specified amount of current regardless of the
impedance that it is driving and as such, an ideal current source could, in
theory, supply an infinite amount of energy.

Voltage Divider
Voltage dividers are also known as potential dividers, because the unit of
voltage, the “Volt” represents the amount of potential difference between two
points. A voltage or potential divider is a simple passive circuit that takes
advantage of the effect of voltages being dropped across components which
are connected in series.
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

LEARNING After completing the module, students are supposed to:

OUTCOMES
1. Know about current, voltage and resistance across open and short circuits;
2. Solve for Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits;
3. Perform circuit simulation using online tools;
4. Use appropriate circuit theory in analyzing DC circuits;
5. Perform virtual measurement using a multimeter.

COURSE Multisim Live is a online electrical schematic capture and simulation. The
CONTENT Multisim Live capable to test the behavior of a circuit, demonstrate the
application of a design, illustrate concepts, and perform and share interactive
SPICE simulations.
Basic Tools Palette in Multisim Live
1. Component
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UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

2. Wiring the circuit

3. A complete circuit

4. Placing a probe to simulate

5. Select and run simulation

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

6. Tap run button “ ” in the toolbar.

7. Tap configuration button in the toolbar to open the configuration panel.
8. Use the Plots and Axes sections to manipulate the graph

LEARNING A. Thevenin Circuit

ACTIVITIES
A voltage divider is used to provide a known voltage to a load resistor RL.
Connect a load resistor of 270 Ω in parallel to the 1.2 kΩ resistor, as shown
in Figure 1.
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

Figure 1.
2. By using a voltage and current probe, measure and record in Table 1 the
load voltage VPQ.
3. Change the load resistor with the following values: 2.2 kΩ, 4.7 kΩ, 470
kΩ and 1 MΩ.
4.For each value of the load resistor, measure and record in Table 2 the new
load voltage and current.
5. Using a circuit analysis, calculated the total resistance RTo between the
terminals P and Q using result in Table 2. Record the results in Table 3.
Resistance can be measured using voltage and current probe and Ohm law’s
V=IR formula.

6. Using Thevenin Theorem, calculate the Thevenin voltage VTH and Thevenin
resistance RTH between the terminals P and Q. Show your calculations and
record the results in Table 4.

B. Open and short circuits

1. Construct the circuit shown in Figure 2 and insert these resistors: R1 = 10
Ω, R2 = 10 Ω, R3 = 25 Ω, R4 = 30 Ω, R5 = 27 Ω, R6 = 50 Ω and R7 = 65
Ω. The power supply is 12 V.

Figure 2.

2. Record the results of A1 – A5 in Table 5.

A1. Measure the current and voltage across R1, R2 and R4.
3. Replace R4 with an open circuit.
A2. Measure the voltage and current across the open circuit and R2.
4. Replace R4 with a short.
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FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

A3. Measure the voltage and current across the short and R2.
A4. By using the Thevenin Theorem, calculated the voltage VTH as in A1 to A3.
Record your calculation in Table 6.
A5. Compare the measured and calculated values and comment on the results.
A6. What will be the current in R6, if R3 is replaced with an open circuit shown
on Figure 3? Why?

Figure 3

C. Circuit analysis
1. Construct the following circuit and insert these resistors: R1 = 4 Ω, R2 = 6
Ω with the variable resistor set at RL = 15 Ω. The current generator
provides I = 2 A.
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

Figure 4

2. With the switch S1 at open, measure the voltage and current at resistor
RLoad. Record the result in Table 7

3. Now close the switch S1 and repeat the measurement. Record your result in
Table 8.
DATA & A. Thevenin Circuit
DISCUSSION
Table 1
Point (RL = 270 Ω Voltage Current
P
Q

Table 2
Resistor Voltage Current
P Q P Q
270 Ω
2.2 kΩ
4.7 kΩ
470 kΩ
1 MΩ

Table 3
Resistor Resistance, RTo
P Q
270 Ω
2.2 kΩ
4.7 kΩ
470 kΩ
1 MΩ

Table 4
Thevenin Voltage Thevenin Resistance
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

B. Open and short circuits

Table 5
Measured
Questions:
Voltage Current
R1 R2 R4 R1 R2 R4
A1
A2
A3

Table 6
Calculated
Questions:
Voltage Current
A1
A2
A3

C. Circuit analysis

Table 7
Resistor Voltage Current
RLoad
Table 8
Resistor Voltage Current
RLoad

1. Show your calculation for the Thevenin voltage, VTH and the Thevenin
resistance, RTH and derive the formula for the Thevenin equivalent circuit
of Figure 1 to 3.

SUMMARY Thevenin’s Theorem is useful to change a complex circuit into a simple

equivalent circuit consisting of a single resistance in series with a source
voltage.

ASSESSMENT Answer the following questions and submit it with your laboratory report.

1. In Figure 1, what happen to the voltage and current at point Q when the
load resistor RL increased from 270 to 1MΩ?
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FACULTY OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

2. Why voltage at point P increased with increasing RL values?

3. In Figure 2, R1 and R2 have the same resistance. Why current at R2 is
higher than R1?
4. When R4 is open, what happen to the voltage and current on R4?
5. What is the voltage at R6 is when R4 is replaced with short?
6. In Figure 4, what is the sign of the voltage and current at RL when switch
S1 is open?
7. Why the sign of the voltage and current at RL changed when switch S1 is
closed?

REFLECTION The following questions allow you to reflect upon your experience using this
module. Write down your reflection in the laboratory report.
1. What have you learned from this module?
2. Which part of the module you like or understand most and which part
you don’t.