Experiment #4 preliminary report - Voltage and current law

1. Objective

This experiment aims to understand and verify the relationships among voltage, current, and
resistance in a series circuit using Ohm’s Law and power calculation formulas. Specifically,
the experiment will:

-​ Confirm Ohm’s Law by measuring voltage and current across resistors.​

-​ Compare calculated and measured power using the formulas:​

P = VI ​
P = I^2R​
P = V^2/R​

-​ Observe how changing resistor values affects voltage drop, current, and power
consumption.

2. Theory

Ohm’s Law:

V = IR​
Where:

-​ V : Voltage (Volts)
-​ I: Current (Amperes)
-​ R: Resistance (Ohms)​

Power Equations:

Electric power consumed by a resistor can be calculated using the following formulas:

-​ P = VI
-​ P = I^2R
-​ P = V^2/R​

These relationships allow us to analyze how voltage and current behave in DC circuits,
especially in series configurations.

3. Experimental Procedure
Experiment 1: Power Calculation on R1

-​ Circuit setup:​
A single resistor (R1 = 2.7 kΩ) is connected to a 12V DC power supply.​

-​ Objective:​
Calculate theoretical current and power, then measure actual values and compare.

Experiment 2: Voltage and Power on Variable Resistor (R2)

-​ Circuit setup:​
R1 is fixed at 2 kΩ. R2 is varied between 2 kΩ, 5 kΩ, and 10 kΩ. The circuit is
powered by a 10V DC supply.​

-​ Objective:​
Measure the voltage across and current through R2. Then calculate the power
consumption for each resistance value.

4. Conclusion

This experiment will provide practical understanding of Ohm’s Law and power formulas. By
comparing theoretical and experimental values for different resistor configurations, the
student will develop intuition about how voltage and current behave in series circuits, and
how power consumption depends on resistance.

Experiment #4 result report - Voltage and current law

1. Objective

This experiment aimed to analyze and verify the fundamental relationships between voltage,
current, resistance, and power in simple DC circuits, based on Ohm's Law and power
formulas. The goals were:

-​ To apply Ohm’s Law (V=IR)(V = IR)(V=IR) to determine current through and voltage
across resistors.​

-​ To compute electrical power using multiple standard formulas:

(P = VI, P = I^2R, P = V^2/R)

-​ To compare theoretical calculations with actual measured values.​

-​ To investigate how varying resistor values affect current flow and power dissipation.
2. Theoretical Background

Ohm’s Law

Ohm’s Law describes the linear relationship between voltage (V), current (I), and resistance
(R): V = IR

This means that current in a resistor is directly proportional to the applied voltage and
inversely proportional to resistance.

Power in Resistive Circuits

The power dissipated by a resistor can be expressed in three mathematically equivalent

forms:

-​ P = VI : Direct measurement of voltage and current​

-​ P = I^2R : Emphasizes current and resistance​

-​ P = V^2/R : Emphasizes voltage and resistance​

In a series circuit, the current is the same through all components, but the voltage is divided
according to the resistance of each element.

3. Experimental Setup

Experiment 1: Power Dissipation in Single Resistor (R1 = 2.7kΩ)

-​ Power supply: 12V DC​

-​ Components: One resistor (2.7 kΩ)​

-​ Measurement Tools: Voltmeter and Ammeter​

-​ Purpose: To compute power using all three formulas and compare theoretical and
measured values.​

Experiment 2: Series Circuit with Variable R2

-​ Power supply: 10V DC​

-​ Components: Fixed R1 = 2kΩ, variable R2 = {2kΩ, 5kΩ, 10kΩ}​

Measurement Tools: Voltmeter across R2 and Ammeter in series​

-​ Purpose: To analyze voltage drop, current, and power on R2 as resistance increases.

4. Results

Experiment 1 – R1 Only

이론값 측정값 상대오차 저항 측정

전압 12.00V 12V 0.00%

전류 0.00444A 0.0044A 0.90%

2727.27Ω
P = VI 0.0528A 0.0528A 0.00%

P = I^2R 0.0523A 0.0520A 0.57%

P = V^2/R 0.0533A 0.0533A 0.00%

Observation: All formulas yield highly consistent power values, with less than 1% relative
error. This confirms the theoretical equivalence of the power equations.

Experiment 2 – R2 Variation in Series Circuit

R2 전압 전류 전력 전력(이론) 상대오차

2KΩ 1.6V 0.0025A 0.00400W 0.00128W 68.0%

5KΩ 4.8V 0.0014A 0.00672W 0.00461W 45.8%

10KΩ 10V 0.0009A 0.00900W 0.01000W 10.0%

5. Error Analysis

Experiment 1 – Minimal Error

-​ Sources of error such as resistor tolerance (typically ±5%) and multimeter resolution
were present but negligible.​

-​ Since the circuit involved only one resistor, voltage division and contact issues were
minimized.​

-​ All three methods of power calculation agreed closely, indicating high reliability of
both theoretical modeling and practical measurement.​

Experiment 2 – Significant Error in Low R2 Cases

In contrast, Experiment 2 showed noticeable discrepancies between calculated and
measured power, especially for lower values of R2. Several contributing factors include:

1.​ Instrument Accuracy and Resolution​

-​ When measuring low voltages (e.g., 1.6V) and small currents (μA–mA range), digital
multimeters often have higher relative error.​

-​ Measurement resolution may have led to rounding errors and imprecise readings.​

2.​ Contact Resistance & Connection Issues​

-​ Breadboard connections or loose wires may introduce unwanted resistance or

voltage drops.​

-​ This could result in underreporting of voltage across R2 or unexpected current

values.​

3.​ Resistor Tolerances​

-​ Real resistor values may differ significantly from their nominal value due to
manufacturing tolerances.​

-​ A 2kΩ resistor with 10% tolerance could range from 1.8kΩ to 2.2kΩ, affecting the
power calculations substantially.​

4.​ Internal Resistance of Measurement Devices​

-​ The voltmeter and ammeter themselves may influence the circuit slightly, especially if
their internal resistance is not ideal (voltmeters should be very high; ammeters very
low).​

-​ In low-current situations, this impact becomes proportionally larger.​

5.​ Power Supply Fluctuation​

-​ If the DC source is unstable or subject to internal resistance, voltage delivered under

load may differ from the nominal 10V or 12V.​

6. Conclusion

This experiment successfully demonstrated the validity of Ohm’s Law and the equivalence of
various electrical power equations under controlled conditions. Specifically:
 -​ Experiment 1 validated all theoretical predictions with negligible error. It served as a
baseline confirming that the lab instruments were functioning properly and the
theoretical models were accurate.​

-​ Experiment 2 highlighted the complexities introduced when dealing with multiple

resistors in a series circuit, especially when working with small voltage and current
values. Measured data for R2 showed significant deviation from expected values,
especially at low resistance, due to measurement limitations and real-world
imperfections.​

Key Takeaways:

-​ Theoretical laws hold strongly under ideal or controlled conditions.​

-​ Real-world measurements are always subject to practical limitations: component

tolerances, connection quality, and instrument precision.​

-​ Understanding the source and magnitude of error is just as important as obtaining

correct values in engineering practice.​

7. Suggestions for Improvement

-​ Use precision resistors (1% tolerance) for more accurate validation.​

-​ Apply averaging over multiple measurements to reduce the impact of random

fluctuations.​

-​ Calibrate measurement tools before use.​

-​ Minimize contact resistance by soldering connections or using better quality leads.