SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING

APPLIED PHYSICS LAB

(PH-102)
LAB REPORT-6
AC AND DC ELECTRONICS
GROUP 4 | CHE15-A
Student name CMS ID
Abdul Muqeet 410000
Ahmed Hassan 408785
Haisum Tahir 420292
Hamzah Kamran 424447
Masood Farid 417125
Abdullah Kamran -
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 EXPERIMENT 1: KIRCHOFF’S LAWS

APPARATUS
– AC/DC Electronics Lab Board: Resistors, Wire Leads
– (2) D-cell Batteries
– Digital Multimeter (DMM)

Purpose
The purpose of this lab will be to experimentally demonstrate Kirchhoff’s Rules for
electrical circuits.

Theory
Capacitor: A device that stores electrical charge. Capacitance is measured in Farads
𝑸
and given by: 𝑪 = 𝑽

Charging a capacitor: When a DC Voltage source is connected to the conductive

terminals of the capacitor, it starts charging the capacitor which then stores it.

Discharging a capacitor: When a charged capacitor is attached to a circuit with

resistance, the current flows and the voltage decreases through the resistance.
This is called discharging.

Kirchoff’s Current Law:

The sum of the currents flowing towards a point in a circuit is equal to the sum of
currents flowing out from that point. If 𝐼1 and 𝐼2 are flowing into point A , and 𝐼3
and 𝐼4 are flowing out. Then based on Kirchoff’s law of current:
𝐼1 + 𝐼2 = 𝐼3 + 𝐼4
Kirchoff’s Voltage law:
The sum of all Voltages in a closed path is zero.

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Procedure
• Connect the circuit using any of the resistors you have except the 10 Ω one.

• Record the resistance values in the table.

• With no current flowing (the

battery disconnected), measure
the total resistance of the circuit
between points A and B.

• With the circuit connected to the

battery and the current flowing,
measure the voltage across each of
theresistors and record the values
in the table below.

• On the circuit diagram, indicate

which side of each of the resistors
is positive relative to the other end
by placing a “+” at that end.

• Now measure the current through each of the resistors.

• Interrupt the circuit and place the DMM in series to obtain your reading.

• Record each of the individual currents as well as the current flow into or out of the main
partof the circuit, IT.

DATA ANALYSIS

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Questions

Q1. State on which principles are Kirchhoff’s current law and Kirchhoff’s voltage law based?
Answer: Kirchhoff's Current Law is based on the principle of conservation of electric charge and states
that, in every node of an electrical circuit, the sum of the electrical currents flowing into the node is equal
to the sum of the electrical currents flowing out of the node.

According to Kirchhoff's Voltage Law, the voltage around a loop equals the sum of every voltage drop in
the same loop for any closed network and equals zero. Put differently, the algebraic sum of every voltage
in the loop has to be equal to zero, and this property of Kirchhoff's law is called conservation of energy.

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Experiment 2: Capacitors in Circuits

APPARATUS:
– AC/DC Electronics Lab Board: Capacitors, Resistors, Wire Leads
– D-cell Battery
– Stopwatch.
–Digital Multimeter

PURPOSE
The purpose of this lab will be to determine how capacitors behave in R-C circuits.
The manner in which capacitors combine will also be studied.

PROCEDURE
1. Connect the circuit using a 100 k𝛺 resistor and a 100 𝜇F
capacitor. Connect the circuit as shown . Connect the DMM
so the black lead is on the side of the capacitor that
connects to the negative terminal of the battery and set it
so that it reads to a maximum of 1.5 V DC.
2. Start with no voltage on the capacitor and then
switch off. If there is a remaining voltage on the
capacitor, use a piece of wire to “short” the two
leads together, draining any remaining charge.
(Touch the ends of the wire to points B and C as shown to discharge the capacitor.)
3. Now close the switch by pushing and holding the button down. Observe the voltage readings
on the DMM, the voltage across the capacitor.
4. If you now open the switch by releasing the button, the capacitor should remain at its present
voltage with a very slow drop over time. This indicates that the charge you placed on the
capacitor has no way to move back to neutralize the excess charges on the two plates.
5. Connect a wire between points A and C in the circuit, allowing the charge to drain back
through the resistor. Observe the voltage readings as the charge flows back.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 until you have a good feeling for the process of charging and discharging of a
capacitor through a resistance.
7. Now repeat steps 3-5, this time recording the time taken to move from 0.0 volts to 0.95 volts
while charging, tC, and the time taken to move from 1.5 volts to 0.55 volts while discharging,
tD.

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8. Replace the 100 𝜇F capacitor with a 330 𝜇F capacitor. Repeat step 7, recording the charging
and discharging times.
9. Return to the original 100 𝜇F capacitor but put a 220 k𝛺 resistor in the circuit. Repeat step 7,
recording your data.
10. Return to the original 100 k 𝛺 resistor but use the 100 𝜇F capacitor in series with the 330 𝜇F
capacitor.
11. Now repeat step 7, but with the 100 𝜇F and the 330 𝜇F capacitors in parallel.

QUESTIONS
Q1. How do capacitors behave in series and in parallel combinations?
Answer:
Total Capacitance is series is less than the capacitances of each capacitor.
In series, it is measured by: (1/C = 1/Cn + ….)
However, in parallel, Total capacitance is equal to the sum of the parallel capacitors (Ct = C1 + C2
+ Cn…)

Q2. State how the RC time constant affects the charging and discharging.
The product of Resistance R and Capacitance C is called the Time Constant. This is the rate of
charging and discharging of a Capacitor. The smaller the Resistance or the Capacitance, the
smaller the Time Constant, thus the faster the charging and discharging rate of the Capacitor,
and vice versa.

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