Voltmeter Loading Effects
Voltmeter Loading Effects
When a voltmeter is used to measure the voltage across a circuit component, the voltmeter circuit itself
is in parallel with the circuit component. Since the parallel combination of two resistors is less than either
resistor alone, the resistance seen by the source is less with the voltmeter connected than without.
Therefore, the voltage across the component is less whenever the voltmeter is connected. The decrease
in voltage may be negligible or it may be appreciable, depending on the sensitivity of the voltmeter being
used. This effect is called voltmeter loading. The resulting error is called a loading error.
Example 1:
Two different voltmeters are used to measure the voltage across resistor Ra in the circuit below. The
meter are as follows:
Meter A: S= 1kΩ/V, Rm= 0.2kΩ, Range = 10V
Meter B: S=20kΩ/V, Rm=1.5kΩ, Range = 10V
Calculate:
Find the voltage reading and the percentage of error of each reading obtained with a voltmeter on
a. Its 3V range
b. Its 10V range
c. Its 30V range
AMMETER INSERTION EFFECTS
A frequently overlooked source of error in measurement is the error caused by inserting an ammeter in a
circuit to obtain a current reading. All ammeters contain some internal resistance, which may range from
a low value for current meters capable of measuring in the ampere range to an appreciable value of 1kΩ
or greater for microammeters. Inserting an ammeter in a circuit always increases the resistance of the
circuit and, therefore, always reduces the current in the circuit. The error caused by the meter depends
on the relationship between the value of resistance in the original circuit and the value of resistance in
the ammeter.
Without ammeter:
With ammeter:
Example 3:
A current meter that has an internal resistance of 78Ω is used to measure the current through resistor Rc.
Determine the percentage of error of the reading due to the ammeter insertion.
Without ammeter:
With ammeter: