OBJECTIVES

To construct series and parallel circuits

To test the validity of Ohms law
To solve problems using Ohms law for current, resistance, or voltage in series, parallel, and
series-parallel circuits

THEORY AND DISCUSSION

One of the fundamental laws describing how electrical circuits behave is Ohms law.
According to Ohms law, there is a linear relationship between the voltage drop across a circuit
element and the current flowing through it. Therefore the resistance R is viewed as a constant
independent of the voltage and the current. In equation form, Ohms law is:
V = IR.

(1)

Here, V is the voltage applied across the circuit in volts (V), I is the current flowing through
the circuit in units of amperes (A), and R is the resistance of the circuit with units of ohms ().
Eq. 1 implies that, for a resistor with constant resistance, the current flowing through it is
proportional to the voltage across it. If the voltage is held constant, then the current is inversely
proportional to the resistance. If the voltage polarity is reversed (that is, if the applied voltage is
negative instead of positive), the same current flows but in the opposite direction.
If Ohms law is valid, it can be used to define resistance as:

R=

V
I

(2)

where R is a constant, independent of V and I.

It is important to understand just what is meant by these quantities. The current (I) is a
measure of how many electrons are flowing past a given point during a set amount of time. The
current flows because of the electric potential (V), sometimes referred to as the voltage, applied to a
circuit. In much the same way that a gravitational potential will cause mass to move, the electric
potential will cause electrons to move. If you lift a book and release it from a height (high
gravitational potential) it will fall downward (to a lower potential). The electric potential works in a
similar way; if one point of the circuit has a high electric potential, it means that it has a net positive
charge and another point of the circuit with a low potential will have a net negative charge. Electrons

in a wire will flow from low electric potential with its net negative charge to high electric potential
with its net positive charge because unlike charges attract and like charges repel.
As these electrons flow through the wire, they are scattered by atoms in the wire. The
resistance of the circuit is just that; it is a measure of how difficult it is for the electrons to flow in the
presence of such scattering. This resistance is a property of the circuit itself, and just about any
material has a resistance. Materials that have a low resistance are called conductors and materials that
have a very high resistance are called insulators. Some materials have a moderate resistance and still
allow some current to flow. These are the materials that we use to make resisters like the ones we will
use in this experiment. In short, the electric potential causes the current to flow and the resistance
impedes that flow.
Two or more resistors can be connected in series, connected one after another (Fig. 2.1(a)), or
in parallel, typically shown connected so that they are parallel to one another (Fig. 2.1(b)). If the
current can split (i.e. there is more than one way for the current to flow) and then rejoin, they are in
parallel.
When two resistors R1 and R2 are connected in series, the equivalent resistance R S is given by
RS = R1 + R2. Thus, the circuit in Fig. 2.1(a) behaves as if it contained a single resistor with resistance
RS that is, it draws current from a given applied voltage like such a resistor. When those same
resistors are connected in parallel instead, we use a different formula for finding the equivalent
resistance. See Table 2.1 for all the necessary equations. (Note that we say the current flows from
high potential to low potential, but electrons flow from low to high. This is because current is defined
as the flow of positive charges, and electrons are negatively charged. A negative charge flowing in
one direction is like a positive charge flowing in the other.)

(a) Series

(b) Parallel

Figure 2.1: Schematics of circuits illustrating resistors connected in series and in parallel.

Table 2.1: Equations for two resistors in series and parallel.

Using these relationships, a complex circuit can be redrawn as a circuit with a single resistor.
You may wish to review the process of finding the equivalent resistance of circuits in your physics
textbook.

PROCEDURE

1. Click Simulation Switch to run the analysis. Record voltage V1 across resistor R1 by
connecting a Multimeter in parallel to it. Record the value of current I flowing through R 1 by
connecting another Multimeter in series to R1. Note down the values in Table 3. From the voltage
current readings verify Ohms law V1=R1I. Considering the Multimeter reading as a reference,
calculate the % error.
2. Vary the DC supply voltage Vs in steps of 2V and record the current in each case. Enter your
results in Table 4.
3. Plot V vs. I in the graph of Table 5.
4. Calculate the resistor value based on the slope of the V-I curve plotted in step 4.
Table 4: V-I measurements

V(Volts)
0
2
4
6
8

I(mA)
0
20
40
60
80

SAMPLE PROBLEMS WITH SOLUTIONS

Problem 1
The current flowing in a circuit containing four resistors connected in series is I = 1.0A. The
potential drops across the first, second, and third resistors are, respectively: V = 5V, V = 8V, and V =
7V. The equivalent resistance of the circuit is R = 30. Find the total voltage supplied by the battery,
and also the current, voltage drop, and resistance of each resistor in the circuit.

Solution

Because the resistors are connected in series, then the same current flows through each one.
Using Ohms Law, we can find the resistances of the first, second, and third resistors.

R 1=

V1
I

5
1

R1=5

R 2=

8
1

R2=8

V2
I

R 3=

V3
I

7
1

R3=7

Using the equivalent resistance, we can find the resistance in the fourth resistor. This is a series
circuit, so the equivalent resistance is the sum of the individual resistances.

Requivalent =R1 + R2 + R3 + R4
R
( 1+ R 2+ R 3)
R4 =Requivalent
30(5+8+7)

R4 =10

The current flowing through the fourth resistor is also I = 1.0A. Using Ohms Law again, we can
find the voltage across this resistor.

V 4 =I R4
(1.0)(10)
V 4 =10V
The total voltage supplied by the battery must be equal to the voltage drop across the circuit. So,
we must sum up the voltage drops across the resistors.

V T =V 1+V 2+V 3 +V 4
5+8+7+ 10

V T =30V

Problem 2
In the following schematic diagram, find the total current, I.

Solution
Since the resistors are connected in parallel,

We can use Ohms law

V =IR , or

I=

=V 1=V 2=V 3 =12V .

V
R

to find the current in each resistor.

I1 =

V1
R1

12
2

I 1 =6 A

I2 =

V2
R2

I3 =

12
3

I 2 =4 A

I 3 =2 A

To get the total current, we get the sum of the currents across each resistor.

I =I 1 + I 2+ I 3
6+ 4+2
I =12 A

Problem 3
Find the total voltage of the circuit diagram below.

I T =3 A .

Solution
We need to find first the total resistance of the circuit.
Since R1 is parallel to R2,

12
6

V3
R3

1
1 1
= +
R AB R1 R2

1 1
+
10 4

1
=0.35
R AB
R AB=2.8571
Also, R4 is parallel to R5, so

1
1 1
= +
R CD R4 R 5
1 1
+
8 1
1
=1.125
R CD
RCD =0.8889
Redrawing the circuit by replacing the two parallel sections with their equivalent resistances:

We see that RAB, R3, and RCD are connected in series. The total resistance is the sum of the three
resistances.

RT =R AB + R3 + RCD

 2.8571+3+0.8889
RT =6.746
Using Ohms law, we can now find the total current of the circuit.

V T =I T RT
3(6.746)
V T =20.238V

CONCLUSION
Ohms law is one of the three basic techniques for the analysis of linear circuits, together with
Kirchhoff Current Law and Kirchhoffs Voltage Law. Ohms law states that V=IR where Vis the
difference in potential at the poles of the element (measured in volts), R is the resistance of the
element being tested (measured in ohms), and I is the current passing through the circuit (measured
in milliamps). We can use this formula to solve and to analyse any circuit by manipulating the
equation and arrive to the required quantity (V, I, or R).Lastly, by examining the graph, it is possible
to notice that plot of the voltage drop across the conductor versus the current in the conductor results
in a straight line (linear) stating the proportionality between voltage and current at constant resistance
(Ohms law).