St.

Joseph’s Anglo-Chinese School

NSS Physics SBA Manual
The cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO)

Name : Class No.:

Objective
To learn how to use the CRO to display waveforms and measure d.c / a.c. voltage and frequency.
Apparatus
1. CRO × 1 2. a.c. power supply × 1
3. Battery box × 1 4. Multimeter × 1
5. Stop watch × 1 6. Connecting wires × 4

Switch on the CRO. Wait until a light spot appears on the screen. Adjust the brightness of the spot. Use the
X-shift and Y-shift to bring the spot to the middle of the screen.

Time base
1. Check the range of time base settings on the CRO. What are the slowest time base and the fastest time
base?
Slowest time base = _____________ s/cm
Fastest time base = _____________ s/cm

2. Slowly increase the time base setting. Describe the motion of the light spot.

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3. (a) Switch the time base to 0.5 s/cm. Use a stop watch to measure the time required for the spot to
sweep once across the screen.
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(b) Switch the time base to 2 ms/cm. Calculate the time required for the spot to sweep once across the
screen.

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Measuring d.c. voltage
Use the X-shift and Y-shift to bring the spot to the middle of the screen.
1. Check the Y-gain settings on the CRO. What are the highest and the lowest Y-gain?
Highest Y-gain = _______________ V/cm
Lowest Y-gain = _______________ V/cm
2. Set the Y-gain to 2 V/cm and switch on and adjust the time base to turn the light spot into a steady
horizontal line. Connect the CRO to a battery box.
(a) Calculate the voltage of the battery box from the gain control setting.

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(b) Use the multimeter to verify the answer in part (a).
The reading from the multimeter = _________________ which is roughly equal / not equal to the
answer in part (a)

Measuring a.c. voltage and frequency

Connect the CRO to an a.c. power supply. Set the peak voltage of the a.c. at 6 V and frequency at 50 Hz and
set the time base of the CRO at 5 ms/cm and Y-gain to 2 V/cm.
1. Sketch the wavefrom on the CRO when the time base is turned on and turned off.

Time base turned on Time base turned off

2. Calculate the frequency of the a.c. from the CRO trace. Does it equal to 50 Hz?

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3. (a) Use the multimeter given to you to measure the voltage of the a.c. signal.

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(b) Is the answer in part 3(a) equal to 6V. Explain briefly.

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4. Sketch the waveform on the CRO when the time base is changed
to 2 ms/cm while the Y-gain and the output voltage from the signal
generator remain unchanged.

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 Answers of Experiment Worksheet
Time base
1. 0.5 s/cm
0.2 s/cm
2. The light spot travels across the screen at a lower speed.
3. (a) about 5 s
(b) Time required = 10 × 2 ms = 20 ms or 0.02 s

Measuring d.c. voltage

1. 20 V/cm
5 mV/cm
2. (a) about 4.5 – 6 V
(b) about 4.5 – 6 V

Measuring a.c. voltage and frequency

1.

Time base switched on Time base switched off

2. Period = 4 × 5 ms = 20 ms = 0.02 s
Frequency = 1 / 0.02 = 50 Hz
3. (a) about 4.2 V
(b) The answer in part 2(a) is the r.m.s. of the a.c. voltage. Therefore, it is different from the peak
V0 6
voltage which is 6 V. By Vr . m . s .  , Vr.m.s. should be equal to ≈ 4.24 V.
2 2
4.

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 St. Joseph’s Anglo-Chinese School
F5 Physics
Supplementary Exercise on CRO

1. The time base of a CRO is switched off and a spot appears at the centre of the screen. When a voltage is
input to the CRO, the spot is deflected up by 3 cm.
(a) Which type of voltage is inupt to the CRO, a.c. or d.c.?

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(b) If the gain control is set to 50 mV / cm, what is the size of the input voltage?

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2. The figure below shows a waveform on a CRO.

If the controls of the CRO are set at 1ms/cm and 0.5 V/cm, find

(a) the frequency,

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(b) the peak voltage and root-mean-square of the input signal.

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(c) Sketch the trace on the CRO if the gain control is changed to 1 V/cm and the time base control is
changed to 2 ms/cm.

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 Supplementary Exercise on CRO answers

1 (a) d.c. (b) 150 mV = 0.15 V

2 (a) frequency = 5 × 1 ms = 5 ms = 0.005 s
period = 1 / 0.005 = 200 Hz
2
(b) peak voltage 4 × 0.5 = 2 V root-mean-square voltage = = 1.41 V
2
(c)