Exp 306

Mapa Institute of Technology
Department of Physics
Physics 12 Laboratory
Experiment 306 Group No. 2 June 17, 2014 1 of 7
ANALYS I S

In our current generation, almost everything is run by electricity. Electricity has
three components which are resistance, current and voltage. These components are
always part a simple circuits. There are two types of circuits, the series and the parallel
circuit. In a series circuit the components are arranged end to end and so the electric
current flows through the first component, then through the next component and so on,
until it reaches the battery again. On the other hand, in a parallel circuit, the current
splits as it reaches a branch so the current flows around both branches.
The relation of the three components mentioned above is governed by the Ohms
Law. The Ohms Law states that the amount of electric current through a metal
conductor in a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage impressed across it, for any
given temperature. This law is represented as,
where I is the current

Fig.1 Experiment Proper of Experiment 306

through the conductor in units of amperes, V is the potential difference measured across
the conductor in units of volts, and R is the resistance of the conductor in units ohms.
In this experiment, we discovered how the current and voltage flows in the series
and the parallel circuits. We also investigated the relationship of the current and the
voltage to each resistor. Through this experiment we justified what the Ohms law says
with regards to the series and the parallel series. The following material shown below
are the materials needed in order to perform the experiment.

3 Batteries 3 Resistance Boxes
Ammeter

Connecting Wires
Multimeter / VOM

The experiment is divided into two
parts; the first part deals with resistors in
series. The first thing we did was we was
we connected the three batteries provided
to us. Using the three resistors, we built
the circuit through the use of the
connecting wires and we followed the
diagram shown in Fig. 2. Afterwards we
connected the VOM across the resistors one at a time to measure the following voltages:
We did the same thing when we measured the current of each resistor.
After that we determined the equivalent resistance and computed for the total current
and voltage flowing through the circuit and each resistor by using the ohms laws. The
following data below is the data gathered after conducting the experiment.
Resistance 1, (
)
Resistance 2, (
)
Resistance 3, (
)
Total Resistance, (
)
Total Voltage, (
)
TABLE 1. SERIES CIRCUIT
Experimental Computed
Voltage Across Resistance 1, (
) 0.816 V 0.816 V
) 1.226 V 1.224 V
) 1.628 V 1.632 V
Current Flowing through Resistance 1, (
) 0.021 A 0.0204 A
) 0.021 A 0.0204 A
) 0.021 A 0.0204 A
Total Current, (
) 0.021 A 0.0204 A
Percentage Difference 2.90 %
Fig.2 Series circuit diagram shown in the lab manual
Fig.3 Experiment Proper for Series Circuit

Base on the gathered data, we can
observe that the voltage in each resistor
varies but the current in each resistor are
all the same. This justifies what the
Ohms Law says about series circuit that
the current is constant among the loads
whereas the total voltage is the
summation of all the voltage in each
load. The overall resistance is also the
sum total of the individual resistance
between the loads. This means that when we deal with a series circuit, we have to treat
each resistor as one. Why? Its because the current that flows in these resistors only
goes through a single path. The current is not used up by the components in a circuit.
Thus the current will be the same all throughout even though more resistors will be
added because there is only one path for
the electrons to travel.
The second part of the experiment
deals with resistors in parallel series. We
did the same procedure done in the first
part of the experiment. What makes this
part different from the first one is that
we built the circuit by following the
diagram presented in Fig.4. The
gathered data is presented below.

Fig.4 Parallel circuit diagram shown in the lab manual
Fig.5 Experiment Proper for Series Circuit
Resistance 1, (
)
Resistance 2, (
)
Resistance 3, (
)
Total Resistance, (
)
Total Voltage, (
)

TABLE 2. PARALLEL CIRCUIT
Experimental Computed
)
3.65 V 3.65 V
)
3.65 V 3.65 V
)
3.65 V 3.65 V
) 0.075 A 0.073 A
) 0.049 A 0.049 A
) 0.049 A 0.049 A
Total Current, (
) 0.173 A 0.171 A
Percentage Difference 1.16 %

Based on the gathered data, we can observe that the flow of the voltage in each
resistor is the same but the current varies. Compared to the series circuit, the parallel
circuit shows the opposite result of the first part of the experiment. The gathered data
further proves the Ohms Law that when it
comes to parallel circuits, the voltage is
constant among the loads whereas the total
current is the summation of all the current
in each load. The reciprocal of the overall
resistance is the sum total of the
reciprocals of the individual resistance
between the loads. To further explain why
it has the same voltage is because each end
of the resistors is connected with each
other, therefore establishing common points for voltages.

CONCLUS I ON

In the performance of the experiment, with the data gathered, it can be said that
the total current flowing through a series circuit is the same all throughout the
components; however, it is a different case in a parallel series, where the total current is
equal to the current flowing in each component.
The voltage reading in a series circuit varies but the summation of the voltage
reading in each component equals the voltage reading of the source; in a parallel series,
the voltage reading is the same in all components.
Hence, in a series circuit, the current that flows through resistors is the same in
each component; but the voltage across each individual resistor varies, but their sum is
equal to the voltage across the battery, and; the resistance of a series of resistors is equal
to the sum of each resistor. In a parallel circuit, the current flowing through the battery
is equal to the total of the current/s flowing through each component; but the voltage is
the same as the source and the components, and; the resistance is equal to the reciprocal
of the sum of the reciprocals of each resistor.
Among the many different ways a circuit can be assembled, the two simplest
types of circuits are the series and parallel circuits.

Exp 306

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where I is the current

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