Running head: FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 1

First Order RC Circuits

Name

Objectives
The objective of this lab is to evaluate the time-constant for the first order system by

observing the transient response of an RC circuit on a breadboard, using a square wave. In this

experiment voltage follower are used to buffer both the input sign coming from the function

generator and voltage output of the RC circuit. The two signals are also used to light LEDs on

the breadboard.

Background

A measure how long transient current last in a given circuit is referred to as time

constant. For RC circuit, the time taken for the transient current to decay depends on the

resistance, R and Capacitance, C. In this case the resistor resists the flow of current, thus slows
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 2

down the decay. Capacitor, on the other hand, hold charge; thus a capacitor with a large capacity

will take longer to empty than a smaller capacitor (Joglekar & Wolf, 2009). Therefore, the time

constant of the RC circuits gets larger for higher values of resistance and capacitance.

τ(seconds) = R(Ohms)× C(farads)

Consider the diagram below

Figure 1: Series RC circuit

From Kirchhoff’s laws, it can be shown that the charging voltage VC(t)across the capacitor is

given by

VC (t) = VO (1-e-t/RC), t=>0

Where;

Vo is the applied source voltage

RC is the time constant

t is the elapsed time since of supply voltage

The response curve is increasing as shown below

FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 3

Figure 2: : Capacitor charging for Series RC circuit to a step input with time axis
normalized by τ
The discharge voltage for the capacitor is given by:

Vc(t)= Vo e-t/RC

Where Vo is the initial voltage stored in capacitor at t=0, and RC=t is the time constant. The

response curve is a decaying exponentials as shown in the figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Capacitor Discharging for Series RC circuit

The time taken for the capacitive voltage to be 0.63Vo (of the supply voltage) or the time

take for the capacitance voltage 0.37Vc (the initial voltage stored in a capacitor) is referred to as

time constant (Dorf &Svoboda 2010). RC circuits are used as filters in frequency domain and

timing circuits in the time domain. Any electronic circuits use one of these fundamental circuits

in their operations. Such uses include delay lines, noise removers, signal coupling in amplifiers,

timers and relaxation oscillators.

Experiment
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 4

In this experiment, RC circuit was constructed using the laboratory station breadboard.

In order to prevent loading of the circuit, load followers were used to buffer the input and output

signals. Moreover, the load followers were used to simultaneously drive LEDs such that the

students were able to visually interpret the input and output signals. Four LEDs were used in this

experiment. The middle two LEDs were used to indicate the status of the input signal. One was

fully on when the input signal was +5V and the other was fully open when the input signal was -

5V. The outer LEDs indicated the output signal, with one lighting during the negative output

voltage and the other during the positive output voltages. The schematic diagram illustrating the

experimental set up us shown below

Figure 4: RC circuit with indicating LEDs

The measured resistances and the capacitance of the resistor and capacitor were measured

as 235Kohms and 0.101, 0.1, 0.10 microfarads respectively using the DMM. In order to test he

functionality of the circuit, a +5V rails signal was connect to a non-inverting input of the op-

amp. The two LEDs went on, therefore, the learners we good to proceed with the experiment.

The wave function generator was used to generate a 2.5Hz square wave with amplitude of +-5V.

This square wave was applied to the input of the circuit. As the square wave went positive, the

positive LED of the input and the positive LED output signals became brighter with the latter

LED becoming brighter than the input signal. As the square wave went negative, there were a
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 5

change of current flow and the negative LEDs of the input and the output signal li and became

brighter. However, the output signal became brighter at a faster rate than the input signal. The

time responses of the signals were recorded.

The circuit was then modified by adding a second 0.1μF capacitor in parallel with the

first one while maintaining the 2.5Hz square wave. The LEDs behaved the same way as with the

previous circuit, only that this time the LEDs took a longer response time(double the previous) to

turn on and off between the two pairs. Another 0.1μF capacitor was added in parallel with the

previous two. The LEDs behaved the same way only that the response time was longer than the

previous two.

Results

Case R(KΩ) C1(µF) τth(s) τexp(s)

R=235KΩ, 0.1F 234.5 0.101 0.0234 0.0217
R=235KΩ, 2×0.1F 235.5 0.102 0.0471 0.0435
R=235KΩ, 3×0.1F 235 0.11 0.0705 0.653

The experimental time constants, τ, for each set of the first order RC systems are

determined from the plot of input and output signals against response time as shown in the

appendix. The theoretical time constants for each RC system are determined from the measured

resistance and capacitance values (see the appendix for the sample calculation). Since the values

used in the theoretical computation are measured, there is uncertainty in the theoretical values for

the time constant. Thus, the standard instrument data is used to compute for uncertainty as show

in the appendix. Still, there is also uncertainty in the experimental values for the time constant

due to the inexact knowledge of when the step input occurs and when the RC output values

equals the theoretical prediction. The uncertainties for both the theoretical and experimental

values are calculated as 0.0234% and 2.17% respectively. The two time constants do not overlap

since there are more errors in the experimental results than in theoretical calculations
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 6

The color which the LED displays depends on the direction of the current flowing

through it. The brightness of the LED depends on how much current is flowing through it (Bi

et.al, 1999). The LED grows brighter for the higher currents. The output LEDs turn on a little bit

faster than the input LEDs because the discharge rate of the capacitor is higher compared to

changing the capacitor. This is also illustrated by the steeper curve of the output plot, (See

appendix), at the beginning. The curve is steeper at the beginning but tapers off as the capacitor

loses charge.

Conclusion

From the experiment, it is clear that the response time of an RC circuit increases with

increase in the capacitance. As more capacitors are added in the circuit, while the input signal

remains constant, more time is required to charge the extra capacitor. Consequently, the

capacitors will take longer to discharge. The LEDs switches on and off with the change in

direction of flow of the current. During the charging the current flows in clockwise and the left

two becomes on. During discharging (Output), the direction of current flow changes and the right

LEDs turns on and grows brighter. Overall, the experiment was successful and the students were

able to evaluate the time-constant for the first order system by observing the transient response

of an RC circuit on the breadboard.

FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 7

References
Bi, Q., Cai, W. J., Lee, E. L., Wang, Q. G., Hang, C. C., & Zhang, Y. (1999). Robust

identification of first-order plus dead-time model from step response. Control

Engineering Practice, 7(1), 71-77.

Dorf, R. C., & Svoboda, J. A. (2010). Introduction to electric circuits. John Wiley & Sons.

Joglekar, Y. N., & Wolf, S. J. (2009). The elusive memristor: Properties of basic electrical

circuits. European Journal of Physics, 30(4), 661.

FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 8

Appendixes
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 9
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 10

Positive Inputs and Outputs for 235K ohms and 0.1 microfarads RC circuit
t(seconds) C1(Input) C2(Output)

0 0 4.995

0.003333907 1.56 4.33

0.010840646 1.98 3.146

0.012035819 2.22 2.99

0.013916823 2.76 2.76

0.019033325 2.99 2.22

0.021721968 3.146 1.98

0.027324627 4.33 1.56

0.091885494 4.99 0.1

Positive RC inputs and outpust with 235KΩ and 0.1μF capacity

against Response time in seconds
6

4
Input/Output in Voltage

C1(Input)
3
C2(Output)

2
τ(experimental)
1

0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1

Time in seconds
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 11

Positive Input and Outputs for 235K ohms and 0.2 microfarads RC circuit

t(seconds) C1(Input) C2(Output)

0 0 4.998
2.63284E-05 0 4.997
4.51435E-05 0 4.995
0.006760027 1.56 4.33
0.021773507 1.98 3.146
0.024163853 2.22 2.99
0.02792586 2.76 2.76
0.038158864 2.99 2.22
0.04353615 3.146 1.98
0.054741468 4.33 1.56
0.183863201 4.99 0.1
Positive RC inputs and outputs with 235KΩ and 0.2μF capacity
against Response time in seconds
6

5
τ (Experimental)
4

3
C1(Input)

2 C2(Output)

0
-0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
-1
Time in seconds
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 12

Positive Inputs and Outputs for 235K ohms and 0.3 microfarads RC circuits

t(seconds) C1(Input) C2(Output)

0.000493722 0 4.996
0.000634849 0.01 4.995
0.000917188 0.01 4.993
0.048066079 1.56 4.67
0.163441597 1.98 3.965
0.326560302 2.22 3.146
0.362415487 2.76 2.99
0.418845596 2.99 2.76
0.572340652 3.146 2.22
0.652999949 3.965 1.98
0.821079721 4.67 1.56
6.004550696 4.993 0.001
6.004550696 4.995 0.001
Positive RC inputs and outputs with 235KΩ and 0.3μF
capacity against Response time in seconds
6

5 τ (Experimental)
Input/Output in Vlotage

3
C1(Input)
C2(Output)
2

0
-2 0 2 4 6 8
-1
Time in Seconds
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 13

Part II
Evaluation of Bandwidth for First order System by Observing the Steady State Response

Objective
The purpose of the second part of the lab is to evaluate the bandwidth of a first order

system under different frequencies by observing the steady state response. Sine signals are used

to drive the RC circuit constructed in part I. Input and output signals are recorded, which are

used to determine the signals’ magnitude and the corresponding phase shifts between the two

signals.

Background

If the input wave form of an RC circuit is a sinusoidal wave voltage signal, the resultant

output RC waveform remains unchanged, and only its amplitude is affected. A first order RC

circuit can either be a low pass or a high pass filter depending on the input frequency value. In

low pass filters, low frequency signals are passed from the input to the output with little to no

attenuation, while high-frequency signals are attenuated significantly to almost zero. The

opposite is true for a high pass filter circuit. A low pass filter refers to either a combination of

capacitance; inductance or resistance intended to produce high attenuation above a specified

frequency and little to no attenuation below that frequency. The frequency at which the transition

occurs is referred to as “cut-off” frequency. This type of filter is also referred to as first order
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 14

filter. Normally, the point at which a response falls by 3dB (cut off frequency fc), is used to

define the filters bandwidth and a loss of 3dB corresponds to reductions in input voltage to 70.7

percent of the original value.

Figure 5: Passive RC circuit

The reactance of a capacitor is inversely proportional to the frequency, while the value of the

resistor remains constant as the frequency changes.

Figure 6: Reactance of a Capacitor

At low frequency, the capacitive reactance will be very large compared to the resistive values of

the resistor, R. This means that the voltage potential, Vout across the capacitor will be much

larger than the voltage drop, Vin across the resistor. At high frequency signals, the reactance of

the capacitor becomes so low that it gives the effects of a short circuit on to the output terminals

resulting to almost zero output.

Frequency response of a 1st-order Low Pass Filter

FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 15

Figure 7: Frequency response of a 1st-order Low Pass Filter

In reference to figure 7 above, the bode plot shows the frequency response of the RC

circuit to be nearly flat for low frequencies and all of the input signals passed directly to the

output, resulting in a gain of nearly 1, until it reaches its cut-off frequency point(fc). This is

because; the reactance of the capacitor is already high and blocks any current flow through the

capacitor (Simpson & Sayler, 2003). After the cut-off frequency point, the response of the circuit

decreases to zero at a slope of -20dB/Decade. Thus, by carefully selecting the correct resistor-

capacitor combination, one can create a RC circuit that allows a range of frequencies below

certain values to pass through the circuit unaffected while any frequencies above this threshold

attenuated.

Experiment

In this part, the system was put back to the original configuration of 235K ohms resistor

and 0.1microFarads capacitor. The function generator output was set to 0.05Hz sine wave with

5V amplitude (10V peak to peak.). The zero mean was checked using the oscilloscope. Using the

waveform, multiple full periods of the input and output signals were recorded. The sampling was
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 16

made a sufficiently high to facilitate good estimation of the two signals’ magnitudes, as well as

anytime delay between the two signals. The time delay was used to estimate the phase difference

between the two signals.

The lighting behaved the same as in part I where the left two LEDs could light first while

the right two light interchangeably. However, there was dead-band (delay in lighting in between)

because the signals had to rise from 0 to either negative or positive 0.7 first, before the LED

could turn on. The frequency of the signal generator was then increase to 0.1Hz and the above

process repeated. Frequencies of were thereof changed as who in the table on the results section.

Results

Frequency(Hz) Frequency Input Output Gain Gain (dB) T(out)- Phase

(rad/s) Amp(V) Amp(V) (Linear) T(in) lag(deg)
0.05 0.3142 4.995 4.993 0.9995996 -0.00347853 0 0
0.1 0.6284 4.996 4.992 0.999199359 - 0 0
0.006957061
0.2 1.2568 4.995 4.993 0.9995996 -0.00347853 0 0
1 6.284 4.996 4.994 0.99959968 - 0 0
0.003477834
2 12.568 5 4.996 0.9992 - 0 0
0.006951493
3 18.852 4.996 4.993 0.99939952 - 0 0
0.005217273
4 25.136 4.995 4.992 0.999399399 - 0 0
0.005218318
5 31.42 4.995 4.991 0.999199199 - 0 0
0.006958454
6 37.704 4.997 4.356 0.871723034 - - -20
1.192429567 0.009259
7 43.988 4.9955 2.2 0.440396357 -7.12312565 - -52
0.020635
8 50.272 5 1.58 0.316 - - -63
10.00625835 0.021875
9 56.556 4.996 0.95 0.190152122 - - -78
14.41797649 0.024074
10 62.84 4.9998 0.3 0.0600024 - - -84.22
24.43662755 0.023394
16 100.544 4.997 0.2 0.040024014 - - -97.1
27.95358708 0.016858
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 17

256 1608.704 4.997 0.1 0.020012007 - - -100.1

33.97418699 0.001086

From the plot of linear gain against linear frequency and the plot of phase angle and

linear frequency, the bandwidth and the cut-off frequency of the RC circuit are found to be

between 0.05Hz and 7Hz and the 7Hz respectively. Just like in part I, the four LED lights

interchangeably with the left two LEDs lighting first, and the other two following. Additionally,

there is a dead-band in between, since both the input and output signals need to rise to either

positive or negative 0.7V before the lights switch on. Also, the LED grows brighter with increase

in the amplitude of the signals. The theoretical cut-off is calculated as 6.77Hz and is shown in

the appendix.

Conclusion

From the experiment, the bandwidth and the cut-off frequency seems to agree. The small error

could have resulted to due to inaccuracies in recording the output signal and time. However,

learners are able to evaluate of bandwidth for the first order system by observing the steady state

response

References

Simpson, M. L., Cox, C. D., & Sayler, G. S. (2003). Frequency domain analysis of noise in

autoregulated gene circuits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(8),

4551-4556
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 18

Appendices
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 19

Linear gain Vs Frequency

1.2

1
Bandwidth 0.05Hz-7Hz
0.8
Linear Gain

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Linear Frequency (Hz)

Phase lag against Linear Frequency

20

0
-50 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

-20
Phase, ∅(degrees)

-40

Cutoff frequency 7 Hz
-60

-80

-100

-120
Linea Frequency(Hz)
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 20

Gain in(dB) against Frequency(Logarithimic)

0
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
-5

-10

-15
Gain (dB)
Gain in

-20

-25

-30

-35

-40
Frequency , Hz( Logarithmic Scale)

Phase (∅) against the Frequency

20

0
0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
-20
Phase angle in degrees

-40
Series1
-60

-80

-100

-120

frequency, Hz (Logarithmic)
FIRST ORDER RC CIRCUITS 21