School of Engineering and Physics

EE102
Lab # 6
Name: Nawazish Ali
ID#: S11120551
Name: Ravinesh Kumar
ID#: S11134281
Name: Adesh Raj
ID#: S11131952

AIM
The aim of this lab is to:
learn the use of bread-boards and methods of measuring current and
voltage,
apply nodal analysis and mesh analysis to find the current through and
voltage across a given resistor in a closed loop DC circuit, and
use Circuit Maker software to verify results obtained.

THEORY
What is a breadboard?
Breadboards are one of the most fundamental pieces when learning how to
build circuits
Why Use Breadboards?
An electronics breadboard (as opposed to the type on which sandwiches are
made) is actually referring to a solder less breadboard. These are great units
for making temporary circuits and prototyping, and they require absolutely
no soldering.
Prototyping is the process of testing out an idea by creating a preliminary
model from which other forms are developed or copied, and it is one of the
most common uses for breadboards. If you arent sure how a circuit will react
under a given set of parameters, its best to build a prototype and test it out.
For those new to electronics and circuits, breadboards are often the best
place to start. That is the real beauty of breadboardsthey can house both
the simplest circuit as well as very complex circuits. As youll see later in this
1

tutorial, if your circuit outgrows its current breadboard, others can be be

attached to accommodate circuits of all sizes and complexities.
Another common use of breadboards is testing out new parts, such as
Integrated circuits (ICs). When you are trying to figure out how a part works
and constantly rewiring things, you dont want to have to solder your
connections each time.
As mentioned, you dont always want the circuit you build to be permanent.
When trying to duplicate a customers problem, Spark Funs Technical
Support team will often use breadboards to build, test, and analyze the
circuit. They can connect the parts the customer has, and once theyve
gotten the circuit setup and figured out the problem, they can take
everything apart and put it aside for the next time they need to do some
troubleshooting.
A circuit built on a solder less breadboard

Nodal Analysis Method

A voltage is always defined as the potential difference between two points.
When we talk about the voltage at a certain point of a circuit we imply that
the measurement is performed between that point and some other point in
the circuit. In most cases that other point is referred to as ground.
The node method or the node voltage method is a very powerful approach
for circuit analysis and it is based on the application of KCL, KVL and Ohms
law. The procedure for analyzing a circuit with the node method is based on
the following steps.
1. Clearly label all circuit parameters and distinguish the unknown
parameters from the known.
2. Identify all nodes of the circuit.

3. Select a node as the reference node also called the ground and assign to it
a potential of 0 Volts. All other voltages in the circuit are measured with
respect to the reference node.
4. Label the voltages at all other nodes.
5. Assign and label polarities.
6. Apply KCL at each node and express the branch currents in terms of the
node voltages.
7. Solve the resulting simultaneous equations for the node voltages.
8. Now that the node voltages are known, the branch currents may be obtained from Ohms law.
Mesh Analysis Method
The mesh method uses the mesh currents as the circuit variables. The
procedure for obtaining the solution is similar to that followed in the Node
method and the various steps are given below.
1. Clearly label all circuit parameters and distinguish the unknown
parameters from the known.
2. Identify all meshes of the circuit.
3. Assign mesh currents and label polarities.
4. Apply KVL at each mesh and express the voltages in terms of the mesh
currents.
5. Solve the resulting simultaneous equations for the mesh currents.
6. Now that the mesh currents are known, the voltages may be obtained
from Ohms law.
A mesh is defined as a loop which does not contain any other loops.

INSTRUMENTS
Breadboard
Resistors (1k, 2k, 4k, 5k, 10k)
Multimeter
Voltmeter
Connecting wires
PC installed with Circuit Maker
METHODOLOGY
Some of the methods used in order to gain information are as follows:
Google
Google was used to gain information on how to use the breadboard in order
to connect simple circuits. Information on the usage of voltmeter and
multimeter was also found using this particular source.

The URL that was used was: https://www.google.com/url?

sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUK
EwjXxLCKtpjPAhVQ_WMKHc2kAncQFggeMAA&url=http%3A%2F
%2Focw.mit.edu%2Fcourses%2Felectrical-engineering-and-computer-science
%2F6-071j-introduction-to-electronics-signals-and-measurement-spring2006%2Flecture-notes
%2Fnodal_mesh_methd.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHWvimY8H6eqeDeV0GW0yl36xvrH
w
EE102 Notes
Lecture notes were referred in order to verify the measurements of the
unknown current or voltage using Nodal Analysis and Mesh Analysis. The
unknown voltages and currents were found out by clearly following the steps
explained in the lectures

RESULTS
Experimental setup

Circuit maker simulation

DISCUSSION
Students are supposed to write their own discussion. Discuss with your
results and compare it with your theory knowledge (from Lectures). You
might need to do little bit of research for this section.

CONCLUSION
Students are supposed to write their own word.
REFERENCE
Do proper referencing