Instructions

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Task 1.10

Objective:
In this task of the lab, our objective is to get used to taking measurements of the Power Supply with
the DMM and how those measurements change when a resistor is introduced.

Results/Calculations:
Step 1:
Table I: Measured Voltage and related percent error

Set Voltage (V) Measured Voltage (volts) %Error

+13 13.001 .00769

-13 -13.002 .01538

Step 2:
To get the reading of 26 volts, I connected the positive lead of the Digital Multimeter (DMM) to the
positive lead of the power supply (PSU), and the negatives of the DMM to the negatives of the PSU.
This measures the voltage difference between the two leads, and since one is at -13 and the other is at
13, the difference is 26 volts

Table II: Measured Voltage and related percent error

Measured Voltage (volts) %Error

26.01 0.03846

Step 3:
Table III: Measured Voltage and related percent error

Set Voltage (V) Measured Voltage (V) %Error

4.122 4.129 0.1698
Step 4:

𝑉 5𝑉
𝐼=𝑅= 220Ω
= 0.0227272727mA

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Step 5:
Explain what you would expect to happen and why.

I should expect to see a voltage drop across the resistance of about 5 volts because the potential
difference for the circuit should equate to zero (Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law). Since we only have one
component in our “circuit” the voltage drop should just be whatever our PSU voltage is; so 5 volts.

Step 6:

I saw a voltage drop of about 5.0008 volts which was as expected but technically more than possible.
When we measured the current (limited to .015mA) across the resistor we saw that the measured
current was about .01392 A which gave us a calculated voltage of 3.060 volts.

𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 = (. 01392 𝐴)(220 Ω) = 3.060 V

Step 7:

𝑉 5𝑉
𝑅= 𝐼
= .015 𝑚𝐴
= 330 Ω

Since we don’t actually have a 333 ohm resistor, we went with a 330 ohm resistor instead.
Measuring current through this got us .01410 A and a measured voltage of .4608 volts
I would rely more on the DMM because that is made to take measurements as oppose to the Power
supply which is just meant to output the best that it can.

Conclusion:
Type in conclusion for this task here.

In summary task 10 asked us to take measurements from the Power Supply with the DMM and then
see how those measurements could change with a resistor.

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Task 1.11
Objective:
Type in the objective of this task here.
The objective of task 11 is to verify ohm’s law by running a known voltage through a known resistor.
With our voltage and currents, we can plot this to find the calculated resistance and compare this to
the known resistance

Circuit Schematic(s):

Figure 1: Schematic for measuring current across 1k Ω resistor

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 Results/Calculations:
Step 3
Table IIV: Measured current in Amps for an increasing set of voltages

Set Voltage (V) Measured Current (mA)

0 0

.5 .4536

1 .9087

1.5 1.4846

2 1.980

2.5 2.476

3 2.971

3.5 3.467

4 3.962

4.5 4.556

5 4.953

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Step 4:
Enter your answer along with relevant equations and calculations here.

Measured Current vs Set Voltage

0.006
Measured Current (A)

0.005 y = 0.0009906x - 0.0005

0.004
0.003
0.002
0.001
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Set Voltage (V)

Measured Current (A) Linear (Measured Current (A))

The slope of the Line of best fit = .0009906 S

The inverse of this value should get us our calculated resistance which ends up being about 1009 ohms which
is close to our expected 1000 ohm value.

Step 5:

Figure 2: Schematic used to measure the resistance of the resistor

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 Measured resistance = 1008.3 ohms

The largest error between our measured, expected and calculated resistance, is between our
expected and calculated, giving us a difference of about 9 ohms or a .9% error.
This seems like a reasonable error because this specific resistor has a tolerance of about 1% so our 9
ohm difference is within that plausible tolerance

Step 6

Based on the tolerances of the resistor, we should expect a tolerance of about (plus or minus)
1% (from the brown band). This would equate to a maximum value of 1010 ohms and a
minimum value of 990 ohms.
All our values for the resistance falls within this range.

Conclusion:
Task 11 allowed us to work with a resistor to verify if Ohm’s law is in fact true.
Unsurprisingly, it is.

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 Task 1.12 Commented [SIN1]: done

Objective

The objective of task 12 is for us to learn what the potentiometer is and then use it as a Rheostat
(control current output by varying resistance)

Results/Calculations
Step 1:
Table V: Measured resistances between the wiper and outside pins
Measured resistance between middle and Measured resistance between the two outside
outside pins pins
𝟗𝟗𝟒𝟑. 𝟕 Ω 𝟗𝟗𝟓𝟑. 𝟕 Ω

Step 2:

My measured resistance between the wiper and the outside pin was . 213 Ω. This means the total range of
the potentiometer is about ~ 𝟗𝟗𝟒𝟑. 𝟕 Ω
Resistance between the two outside pins doesn’t really change (there was a slight but noticeable and
repeatable dip in resistance when the potentiometer was in the middle of its rotation. But in theory it
should remain the same ~ 𝟗𝟗𝟓𝟑. 𝟕 Ω)
This makes sense because the resistor shouldn’t be losing total resistance rather just varying it. In theory it
should be from 0 to 10k ohms but in the real world we can’t quite get there.

Step 5:
Table VI: Measured Current and corresponding Calculated Resistance
Measured Current
Calculated resistance (R)
(include unit in your answer)
100.11 mA 49.95

2.417 mA 2068.7

.908 mA 5506.6

.6435 mA 7770

13.55 uA 10900.4

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Step 6:

Calculated Resistance VS Measured Current

12000
Calculated Resistance (ohm)

10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
0.1355 0.6435 0.908 2.417 100.11
Measured Current (mA)

Calculated Resistance Linear (Calculated Resistance)

Figure 3: Calculated Resistance VS Measured Current

From this graph we can see the resistance vs measured current has a linear relationship.
This could be useful for controlling something such as motor position or something where you
want precise control. Having a linear relationship could be negative if you maybe want a large
array of values to use for your potentiometer, something that an exponential relationship could
get you.

Conclusion:

In summary, task 12 had us using a potentiometer to act as a rheostat. We measured the output
currents from the pot given varying voltages then graphed the results. This revealed to us that the
potentiometer changes its resistance linearly.

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 Task 1.13 Commented [SIN2]: done

Objective
Like task 12, we are now using the potentiometer in a circuit to varying a variable of ohms law. In this
case, we will be using it as a voltage divider; so changing voltage output by varying resistance.

Results/Calculations

Step 4:
Table VII: Measured Voltage for quarter rotations of dial
Num of quarter turn Measured Voltage (V)

0 5.0017

.25 4.415

.5 2.291

.75 .8453

1 .0018

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Step 5:
This configuration is called a voltage divider because the decreases as you turn the dial, essentially
“dividing” the voltage.

Step 6:
When I turn the pot the light doesn’t turn on until near the very end of the rotation (when the
resistance is the least). This tells me that the lamp is probably only works after roughly 5v or a certain
current.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, task 13 introduced us to a potentiometer being used as a voltage divider. We saw the
effects of changing dial (varying resistance) on the output voltage.

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