Experiment 20: Ohm's Law: Purpose

revised 3/31/19
Experiment 20: Ohm’s Law

Purpose
(1) To verify Ohm’s Law.
(2) To study resistors connected in series and in parallel.
Apparatus
DC Power Supply, a sample with 3 resistors, an ammeter, a voltmeter, wires
Theory
A) Ohm’s Law. When a current I flows through a resistor, EQUATION (1)
the potential difference V (voltage) between the two ends OHM’S LAW
of the resistor, where R is the resistance, is given by
Ohm’s Law. V=R·I
B) Combinations of Resistors. When two or more resistors ( R1, R2, R3,…) are
connected in series (Fig. 1) then this combination is equivalent to a single resistor
of resistance Req given by Equation (2).
EQUATION (2)
SERIES CIRCUIT
Req = R1 + R2 + R3+ . . . . .
When two or more resistors are connected in parallel (Fig. 2) then the equivalent
resistance Req is given by Equation (3).
EQUATION (3)
PARALLEL CIRCUIT
1=1 + 1 + 1 ....
Req R1 R2 R3
103
Experiment 20
Procedure Part I: Ohm’s Law

a) Record the zero readings of your ammeter for all scales: These are the readings when
the ammeter is completely disconnected from any circuit. They should be close to
zero, but may be slightly off.
Make sure that the DC power supply is off and that the adjusting knobs are set to the
minimum positions. Plug in the power supply.
b) Construct the circuit in Fig. 3a using the resistor marked R1 without connecting the
voltmeter. Use the 50 ma ammeter scale. Make sure the + and – sides of the
ammeter are connected as shown in Fig. 3a. Resistors have no positive or
negative sides. Use red wires for positive power if possible.
c) Set the voltmeter scale to read 5 volts at its maximum. Attach wires to your voltmeter
using a red wire for the + terminal and a black one for the - terminal. Connect
the red wire from the voltmeter to the side of the resistor where the current enters it
and the black wire to where the current leaves the resistor, as shown above.
CALL YOUR INSTRUCTOR TO CHECK YOUR CIRCUIT. DO NOT PROCEED

WITHOUT HIS OR HER PERMISSION.
d) After your instructor’s approval, copy this data table to your RESISTOR R1
data sheet. With the adjusting knob in minimum Ammeter and
position, turn the power on. Turn the regulating knob slowly Voltmeter Scales
and watch both the ammeter and voltmeter readings increase. Used:
(If they don’t increase, turn off the power and call your I V
instructor.) Keep doing this until the ammeter reaches 50ma (ma) (volts)
or the voltmeter reaches 5 volts - whichever comes first.
Record the current I and the voltage V to three significant

digits on your data sheet.
104
Experiment 20
e) Decrease the current and record I and V. Do this a total of four more times (a total of
5 readings) in roughly equal intervals. The lowest current should be 5 to 10 ma.
f) Repeat the steps (d) and (e) for R2 and R3. As before, start with the maximum current
close to 50 ma or the maximum voltage close to 5 volts.
g) Estimate and record the uncertainties in your readings on all scales of ammeter
and voltmeter which you used (this tells how well you can read the scales ie ±0.5V).
Procedure Part II: Combinations of Resistors

h) Connect all three resistors R1 , R2 , R3 in series as shown in Figure 1 (if you are not
sure how to do this, check with your instructor). Using the 10 volt scale on the
voltmeter, record 5 readings. Your maximum current may be less than 50 ma.
j) Connect all three resistors in parallel as shown in Figure 2. Using the finest voltmeter
scale possible, with the maximum current close to 50 ma, take 5 readings as before.
k) Estimate from your data in Part I the values of R1 , R2 , R3 . Record which resistors
have the two higher resistances and connect them in parallel.
Connect this combination in series with the remaining resistor. Take 5 readings.
BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE LAB:

A) Your data sheet should have 6 tables, clearly marked with: (i) which resistors were
used, (ii) which scales were used. You should also have written the uncertainty of
every scale used and its zero reading.
B) After your instructor has checked your work, disconnect all wires, unplug the power
supply, and clean up your station.
105
Experiment 20
Lab Report
Part I
1) Using graph paper and a ruler, plot V vs. I (V on the y axis) for each of your resistors
R1, R2 , R3. Draw the line of best fit for each resistor. Determine its resistance in
ohms from its slope to 3 significant digits. Display all calculations on the graph
sheet.
[If your professor allows you to use the value of the slope of the best fit line from
excel, make sure the trend line equation is printed on the graph.]
Be careful with units. Hint: Does V/mA = Ohms?
Part II.
2) Plot V vs. I for each of the three combination circuits. Find Req for each circuit
from the slope, as you did for Part I.
3) Calculate the value of Req for each of the three combination circuits from the Series
Circuit Equation (2) and the Parallel Circuit Equation (3) using your experimental
values of R1 , R2 , R3 from Part I results. Show your calculations for all three
combination circuits in detail.
4) Copy this table which CALCULATED MEASURED %
COMBINATION R R
summarizes your DISCR
results. When
ALL IN SERIES
calculating the %
discrepancies, use the
calculated values in ALL IN PARALLEL
the denominator.
SERIES & PARALLEL
5) Answer the following questions:

Question 1: Should the lines of best fit pass through the origin of the graphs of
V vs. I?
Question 2: Could the zero readings of your ammeter and voltmeter be used
as a data point when drawing the graph? Explain.
Question 3: Suppose somebody, using the same apparatus which you used,
measured I = 45.5 ma, and V = 8.2 volts on some resistor. Using your recorded
uncertainties for the 50 ma and 10 volt scales, what would be the maximum %
uncertainty in R if it were calculated from the Ohm’s Law Equation (1)? Use
calculus methods to answer this question if you can.
Question 4: Explain what could have caused the discrepancies between your
calculated and measured resistances in Part II.
106

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revised 3/31/19

Experiment 20: Ohm’s Law

Procedure Part I: Ohm’s Law

CALL YOUR INSTRUCTOR TO CHECK YOUR CIRCUIT. DO NOT PROCEED

Record the current I and the voltage V to three significant

Procedure Part II: Combinations of Resistors

BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE LAB:

5) Answer the following questions:

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