University of the East

College of Engineering
Electrical Engineering Department

Laboratory Report No. 3

Voltage Divider

Name: Clemente, Michael Kevin N. Date of Performance: August 19 2016

Student No. : 201111123514 Date of Submission:
Subject & Section: NEE220- 1CEF
Group: 1
Instructor: Engr. Antonio C. Rebong
List of Instruments & Equipment:
UniTrain-I Interface - is the central unit of the UniTrain system. It
incorporates all inputs and outputs, switches, power and signal sources
and measurement circuitry needed to perform experiments. The Interface
is controlled via the connected PC.
UniTrain-I Experimenter to be used as a Docking Station - for
coupling to the UniTrain Interface or to other Experimenter modules.

MetraHit Multimeter- can be transformed into a professional, PC-

based universal recording system with METRAwin 10 software, and
an interface adapter. Measured values are queried from the multimeters
by METRAwin 10, are managed at the PC and can be displayed as Yt or
XY graphs up to 6 channels, or in tabular form up to 10 channels.
Measurement data are displayed in the online operating mode at up to 4
virtual pointer instruments or digital displays with adjustable limit
values. High performance online arithmetic functions provide for data
analysis. The sampling interval can be set within a broad range.

Experiment Card DCCL No. 2- are linked to the Interface and the
training program via Experimenters.

Leads and Connection Plugs- an electro-mechanical device used

to join electrical terminations and create an electrical circuit. Electrical
connectors consist of plugs (male-ended) and jacks (female-ended).
 Extension cord- is a length of flexible electrical power cable (flex)
with a plug on one end and one or more sockets on the other end
(usually of the same type as the plug)

Computations:
Exercise 1:

a.) VIN = 24V, R1 = 50, R2 = 100

VT
V OUT = ( ) R
R 1+ R 2 2

V OUT = ( 50 +24100
V
)
100

V OUT =16 V
b.) m

VT
V OUT = ( ) R
R 1+ R 2 2

V OUT = ( 10024+V50 )50

V OUT =8V

c.) VIN = 24V, R1 = 100, R2 = 100

 VT
V OUT = ( R)
R 1+ R 2 2

24 V
V OUT = ( 100 + 100 )
100

V OUT =12 V

Therefore, if R2 is greater than R1, then the output voltage will be closer to
the input voltage. And if R2 is lesser than R1, then the output voltage will be
smaller compare to the input voltage. And if R 1 and R2 is equal, then the
output voltage will be half of the input voltage.

Exercise 2:

a.) VIN = 24V, R1 = 20, R2 = 100, RL = 50

VT
V OUT = ( R1+ R 2 /R L )
( R 2 /R L )

V OUT =

[ R1 +
VT
( R2 R L ) [] ( R2 R L )
( R2 + R L ) ]
( R2 + R L )

V OUT =
[ 20 +
24
( 100 )( 50 ) [] ( 100 ) ( 50 )
( 100 + 50 ) ]
( 100 +50 )
 V OUT =15 V

b.) VIN = 24V, R1 = 20, R2 = 100, RL = 100

VT
V OUT = ( R1+ R 2 /R L )
( R 2 /R L )

V OUT =

[ R1 +
VT
( R2 R L ) [] ( R2 R L )
( R2 + R L ) ]
( R2 + R L )

[ ][ ]
24 ( 100 ) ( 100 )
V OUT =
( 100 )( 100 ) ( 100 + 100 )
20 +
( 100 +100 )

V OUT =17.14 V

c.) VIN = 24V, R1 = 20, R2 = 100, RL = 200

VT
V OUT = ( R1+ R 2 /R L )
( R 2 /R L )

V OUT =

[ R1 +
VT
( R2 R L ) [] ( R2 R L )
( R2 + R L ) ]
( R2 + R L )
V OUT =
[ 20 +
24
( 100 )( 200 ) [] (100 ) ( 200 )
( 100 + 200 ) ]
( 100 +200 )

V OUT =18.46 V

Therefore, even though R2 is in parallel with R L it doesnt affect the output

voltage in the circuit.

Answer to Questions:

1. The factors that affect the output voltage of a voltage divider are
its total voltage or the voltage input and the resistance of the
load it drives. he output voltage of a voltage divider will vary
according to the electric current it is supplying to its
external electrical load. To obtain a sufficiently stable output
voltage, the output current must either be stable or limited to an
appropriately small percentage of the divider's input current.
 2. No, it is not possible to get an output voltage that is greater than
the input voltage because as the name implies, the Voltage
Divider, then the voltage must be divided in each load so the
input voltage will divide through each resistor in the circuit. Any
ratio Vout/Vin greater than 1 is not possible. That is, using resistors
alone it is not possible to either invert the voltage or
increase Vout above Vin.
3. Voltage dividers have tons of applications, they are among the
most common of circuits electrical engineers use. These are
some of the application of voltage divider circuit;
Potentiometer - is a variable resistor which can be used to
create an adjustable voltage divider
Reading Resistive Sensor
Level shifting - which has a number of solutions including
voltage dividing.

Conclusion:
An experiment to verify the properties of voltage and
current division was presented. The voltage divider was created
using two resistors connected in series in a circuit. The current
divider was created using 2 resistors connected in parallel. It was
found that if one of the resistors in the voltage divider was greater
than the other, more voltage was dropped across it. It was also
found that the greater the resistor was, less current passed through.
Experimental, simulated and calculated results were found to be in
good agreement. Slight deviations were caused by experimental errors
which included taking somewhat wrong readings due to fluctuating values in
the ammeter and voltmeter. The output voltage of a voltage divider will
 vary according to the electric current it is supplying to its
external electrical load. To obtain a sufficiently stable output voltage,
the output current must either be stable or limited to an
appropriately small percentage of the divider's input current. Load
sensitivity can be decreased by reducing the impedance of the
divider, though this increases the divider's quiescent input current
and results in higher power consumption (and wasted heat) in the
divider. Voltage regulators are often used in lieu of passive voltage
dividers when it is necessary to accommodate high or fluctuating
load currents.

There is also an equation that is used to find for the output voltage if
it is connected in series connection and that is:
V
V OUT =
( )
R
R 1+ R 2 2

And for the parallel connection:

VT
V OUT =
( R 1+ ( R2 / R L ))( R2 / R L )

Discussion:
For Run 1A the voltage results convincingly seem to be in good
agreement. The tables clearly indicate that the calculated and simulated results
were found to be the same. Slight deviations in the experimental results
might have been caused by fluctuating values in the ammeter making
it hard to read precise values. In addition, setting the voltmeter to exactly
10V also proved to be a difficult task because the knob was too sensitive. If this
experiment is to be redone, improvements can be made by taking enough
time to set the source voltage on the lab to the correct value
 For Run 2A the calculated, simulated and experimental current
results are also in convincing compliance. The calculated and simulated results
gave out corresponding values. On the other hand the experimental results
proved to be somewhat different from the calculated and simulated
results. This might have been caused by the fact that the ammeter that was
used to measure the current would slightly alter the values making it very
possible to take wrong readings. If the experiment is to be redone,
improvement scan be made by allowing the ammeter to settle to one value
before taking readings to avoid takingwrong reasons

For Run 2A When used in this manner, the

name potentiometer makes perfect sense: they meter (control)
the potential (voltage) applied across them by creating a variable
voltage-divider ratio. This use of the three-terminal potentiometer as
a variable voltage divider is very popular in circuit design. Just like
the fixed voltage divider, the potentiometers voltage division ratio is
strictly a function of resistance and not of the magnitude of applied
voltage. In other words, if the potentiometer knob or lever is moved
to the 50 percent (exact center) position, the voltage dropped
between wiper and either outside terminal would be exactly 1/2 of
the applied voltage, no matter what that voltage happens to be, or
what the end-to-end resistance of the potentiometer is. In other
words, a potentiometer functions as a variable voltage divider where
the voltage division ratio is set by wiper position.

This application of the potentiometer is a very useful means of

obtaining a variable voltage from a fixed-voltage source such as a
battery. If a circuit youre building requires a certain amount of
voltage that is less than the value of an available batterys voltage,
you may connect the outer terminals of a potentiometer across that
battery and dial up whatever voltage you need between the
potentiometer wiper and one of the outer terminals for use in your
circuit:

References:
https://www.scribd.com
http://hyperphysics.phy-
astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/voldiv.html