College of Technology 2023

EET113

Ohm’s Law and Series Circuits

I. Objective:
 Measure voltage drop across a resistor.
 Verify the validity of Ohm’s law.

II. Parts List:

 Resistors: 1 k, 3.3 k and 10 k
 Variable Power Supply

III. Procedures:

Part 1: Ohm’s Law

1. Use the provided MultiSim circuits to perform the following measurements. You
will start with the circuit EET_113_Week_1_Lab#Figure 1, as shown below in
Figure 1.

Figure 1. A Simple Electric Circuit to Measure Voltage Across a Resistor

2. Double click the multimeter and ensure it is set to read DC voltage.

3. Measure the voltage across the 10 kΩ resistor, VR, and record the value in Table 1
below.
4. Increase the voltage of the power supply in steps of 2 V, starting from zero and
ending with 10V. Record your voltage measurements across the resistor in
Table 1 below.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for resistor values of 3.3 kΩ and 1 kΩ.

Table 1 Resistor Voltage vs. Power Supply Voltage

R1= 10 kΩ R1= 3.3 kΩ R1= 1 kΩ

Power supply Voltage across R, Voltage across R, Voltage across R,
Voltage, Vs VR (V) VR (V) VR (V)
(V)
0 0 0 0
2 2 2 2
4 4 4 4
6 6 6 6
8 8 8 8
10 10 10 10

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6. Use EET_113_Week_1_Lab#Figure 2, as shown below in Figure 2, to perform

the following measurements.

Figure 2. A simple Electric Circuit to Measure Current Through a Resistor.

7. Double click the multimeter and ensure it is set to read DC current.

8. Increase the voltage of the power supply in steps of 2 V, starting from zero and
ending with 10V. Record your current measurements across the resistor in Table 2
below.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for resistor values of 3.3 kΩ and 1 kΩ.
10. Plot the I-V relationship for each resistor by editing the data for Plot 1.

Table 2 Resistor Current vs. Power Supply Voltage

R1= 10 kΩ R1= 3.3 kΩ R1= 1 kΩ

Power supply Current through Current through Current through
Voltage, Vs (V) R, R, R,
IR (mA) IR (mA) IR (mA)
0 0 mA 0 mA 0
2 0.2 mA 0.6 mA 2 mA
4 0.4 mA 1.2 mA 4 mA
6 0.6 mA 1.8 mA 6 mA
8 0.8 mA 2.4 mA 8 mA
10 1.0 mA 3.0 mA 10 mA

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Resistor I-V Plot

12

10
10

8
8
Current (mA)

6 10 kΩ
6 3.3 kΩ
1kΩ
4
4
3
2.4
2 1.8
2 1.2
0.6
0 0.8 1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Voltage (V)

Plot 1. Resistor I-V Characteristic

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Part 2: Series Circuits

1. Use EET 113 Week 1 Lab#Figure 3, as shown below in Figure 3, to perform the
following measurements.

Figure 3. Series Electric Circuit for Measuring Voltage and Current

2. Measure the current flowing in the circuit, IT, and record the results in Table 3.
3. Measure the voltage across each resistor and record the results in Table 3.

Table 3. Resistor Voltages and Current for Series Circuit

Source Circuit Voltage across Voltage across Voltage across Sum of
Voltage, VS Current 3.3 kΩ Resistor 1 kΩ Resistor 10 kΩ Resistor Resistor
(mA) (V) (V) (V) Voltages (V)
12 V 0.8 mA 2.8 V 0.8 V 8.4 V 12 V

4. Include a screenshot of the circuit and multimeters showing the measured values.

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Figure 3A. Screenshot of Voltage and Current Measurements

5. Verify Kirchhoff’s Voltage law, KVL, by summing the resistor voltages in the
circuit. Record the value in Table 3. Verify their sum is the same as the source
voltage, 12 V.

V s =V R 1+V R 2 +V R 3

12 V s=2.8 V R 1 +0.8 V R 2+8.4 V R 3

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Part 3: Ground References

1. Use EET 113 Week 1 Lab#Figure 4, as shown below in Figure 4, to perform the
following measurements.

Figure 4. Series Circuit with Ground at Point D

2. The voltmeter is connected with the negative terminal at point D. Connect the
positive terminal to points A, B, and C and measure the voltage of each point in the
circuit with respect to point D.
3. Record the voltmeter readings at each point in Table 4 below.

Table 4. Voltage Readings for Ground at Point D

Probe Position Measured

Voltage being measured Voltage
A (VA) 12 V
B (VB) 11.2 V
C (VC) 8.4 V
D (VD)
0V
(Ground Reference)

4. The voltage between two points in a circuit is found by subtracting the voltage at
the second point with respect to ground from the voltage at the first point with
respect to ground. Calculate the following voltages between the given points:

a. VAB = VA - VB = 0.8 V
b. VBC = VB - VC = 2.8 V
c. VCD = VC - VD = 8.4 V

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5. Use EET 113 Week 1 Lab#Figure 5, as shown below in Figure 5, to perform the
following measurements.

Figure 5. Series Circuit with Ground at Point C

6. In this configuration, the ground reference is changed from point D to point C. The
voltmeter is connected with the negative terminal at point C. Connect the positive
terminal to points A, B, and D and measure the voltage of each point in the circuit
with respect to point C.

7. Record the voltmeter readings at each point in Table 5 below. Be sure to include
the sign of the voltage measured.

Table 5. Voltage Readings for Ground at Point C

Probe Position Measured

Voltage being measured Voltage
A (VA) 3.6 V
B (VB) 2.8 V
C (VC)
0V
(Ground Reference)
D (VD) -8.4 V

8. Calculate the following voltages between the given points:

a. VAB = VA - VB = 0.8 V
b. VBC = VB - VC = 2.8 V
c. VCD = VC - VD = 8.4 V

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9. Use EET 113 Week 1 Lab#Figure 6, as shown below in Figure 6, to perform the
following measurements.

Figure 6. Series Circuit with Ground at Point B

10. In this configuration, the ground reference is changed from point C to point B. The
voltmeter is connected with the negative terminal at point B. Connect the positive
terminal to points A, C, and D and measure the voltage of each point in the circuit
with respect to point B.

11. Record the voltmeter readings at each point in Table 6 below. Be sure to include
the sign of the voltage measured.

Table 6. Voltage Readings for Ground at Point B

Probe Position Measured

Voltage being measured Voltage
A (VA) 0.8 V
B (VB)
0V
(Ground Reference)
C (VC) -2.8 V
D (VD) -11.2 V

12. Calculate the following voltages between the given points:

a. VAB = VA - VB = 0.8 V
b. VBC = VB - VC = 2.8 V
c. VCD = VC - VD = 8.4 V

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13. Use EET 113 Week 1 Lab#Figure 7, as shown below in Figure 7, to perform the
following measurements.

Figure 7. Series Circuit with Ground at Point A

14. In this configuration, the ground reference is changed from point B to point A. The
voltmeter is connected with the negative terminal at point A. Connect the positive
terminal to points B, C, and D and measure the voltage of each point in the circuit
with respect to point A.

15. Record the voltmeter readings at each point in Table 7 below. Be sure to include
the sign of the voltage measured.

Table 7. Voltage Readings for Ground at Point A

Probe Position Measured

Voltage being measured Voltage
A (VA)
0V
(Ground Reference)
B (VB) -0.8 V
C (VC) -3.6 V
D (VD) -12 V

16. Calculate the following voltages between the given points:

a. VAB = VA - VB = 0.8 V
b. VBC = VB - VC = 2.8 V
c. VCD = VC - VD = 8.4 V

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IV. Conclusions:

Answer the following questions about the lab.

1. What did you observe about the resistor I-V plots? Given that the slope of the I-V
plot for a resistor is 1/R, did the slope increase or decrease as you increased the size
of the resistor?
The smaller the resistor, the mor the slope increases.

2. State Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law. How did the circuit in part 2 satisfy KVL?
The total voltage gained in the loop must equal the total voltage dropped.

3. What did you observe about the voltages VAB, VBC, and VCD as the ground reference
point was moved?
After calculations, the values remained constant.