DC Component Analysis

Introduction

Throughout this session you will experiment with the basic concepts of DC circuit electricity: resistance,
voltage, and current. You will use high quality digital multimeters, an electrical power source with
variable output and a number of electric circuit elements, for exploring the characteristics and
relationships between these concepts. Specifically you will be studying how resistors, light bulbs and
capacitors respond to DC voltage.
Theory

As a subject of study DC-Circuits is one of the most important in physics in a practical sense, as direct
current (DC) circuits and techniques figure in some way or other in nearly every activity in science and
technology. We begin our study with a number of definitions.

Figure 1: Diagram of a simple direct current (DC) circuit with common elements

An Electric Circuit, Voltage and Current

In order for an electric current to flow and be sustained, a loop or circuit is necessary. An example is
drawn above in Figure 1. On the left is shown a battery that supplies the electrical energy, and on the
right is shown a load device that consumes, or transforms, the electrical energy. The load might be a
resistor, a light bulb, a radio and so on. The battery produces a potential difference or voltage, V, across
its terminals (measured in the SI unit of Volts; V), that is said to drive a current, I, around the circuit
(measured in the SI unit of Amperes; A). What is described as the current by standard convention flows
to the load through the wire along the top of the figure and from the load through the wire along the
bottom of the figure, in a direction opposite to the movement of the electrons in the wire. Should the
circuit open up or break at any point, this current would immediately cease. The current has the same
value I at any point in the circuit, including the battery. There current is uniform and steady throughout
the loop shown and charge is conserved..

Note: The direction of current shown in Figure 1 is the conventional direction. This convention is used in
most university physics texts and is the one used by professional physicists. The electrons are actually
moving in the opposite direction. To avoid confusion we shall use the terms conventional current or
simply “current” most of the time, and refer to the electron current for the flow of charge carriers only
when the distinction is relevant or necessary.
 Figure 2: A water loop diagram of the electric circuit of Figure 1.

As a useful analogy, a loop of current can be thought of as water flowing around a closed loop (Figure 2).
The loop of wire in Figure 1 is here represented by a hollow pipe through which flows a continuous
stream of water. On the left is a pump (the equivalent of the battery in Figure 1) and on the right is a
valve (the equivalent of a load). The pump, by virtue of the driving force it exerts, drives water towards
the valve through the pipe along the bottom of the figure and pulls water back towards itself through
the pipe along the top of the figure. The valve limits or regulates the flow of water by means of
constriction. When the valve is more open (lower in resistance) the water flow is greater (electron
current) for a given pump force (battery voltage). The water flows continuously with the same mass per
second being transported along the pipe in each part of the circuit. No water is lost. There is no
beginning or end point to the water flow. If the pump stops, the water flow also stops, and it does so
immediately, for all practical purposes.

Ohm’s Law
Let us now return to Figure 1. For a given voltage the current that is made to flow in a circuit is set by an
attribute of the load called resistance. The resistance R is defined as the ratio of voltage to current:
!
𝑅= [1]
"
The SI unit of resistance is the ohm, abbreviated Ω, so that 1 Ω = 1 V·A–1.

The resistance of a load or circuit element can always be calculated in this way for any arbitrary V and I.
However, if R is constant in the sense of being independent of V and I, then Eq.[1] is called Ohm’s Law.
Any device whose resistance is constant is said to obey Ohm’s Law or is said to be an Ohmic, or linear,
device. Conversely, a device whose resistance depends on V or I is said to be non-linear.

Electrical Energy and Power

Voltage and current are maintained in an electric circuit without the available energy being reduced, but
electrical energy is consumed, in the sense of being transformed into other forms of energy. In each
second a fraction of the energy of the battery is said to be transferred to the load, where it is converted
into the kind of energy desired for useful work. This transformed energy may be internal energy in the
case of a resistor, sound energy in the case of a radio, or mechanical work in the case of a motor. In
time, the energy of a real battery will be used up. The main point to keep in mind is that the quantity
consumed here is energy, not current and not voltage. It can be shown that if a current I flows through
the load when a voltage V exists across the load, then the energy E in Joules, transformed in t seconds is
given by:

𝐸 = 𝐼𝑉𝑡 [2]

The time rate of change of energy or the amount by which the energy changes per unit time is called the
power (measured in the SI unit of Watts; W). From Eq.[2] the power P is then:
#$
𝑃 = #% = 𝐼𝑉 [3]
Note that if the load of the circuit obeys Ohm’s law then either the current or the voltage can be
substituted in the above equation giving you three different equations to calculate the power of the
circuit, depending on what variables you know.

𝑉&
𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 = 𝐼&𝑅 =
𝑅

Using a Digital Multimeter

In this experiment you will be using a digital multimeter (DMM) to measure the three electrical
quantities: current, voltage and resistance. Two multimeters might be used to study the characteristics
of a circuit component with the simple circuit in Figure 3.

Figure 3: A simple circuit showing how two digital multimeters are connected to measure the current flowing through and the
voltage developed across a circuit Component.

In Figure 3 the multimeter must be set to the proper function and must be placed in the circuit correctly
for the reading to have any meaning. When in ammeter function it must be connected in series with the
component. This is because a current must flow through an ammeter to make the ammeter work as
intended. Because of the ammeter’s very small internal resistance only a very small voltage drop occurs
across the ammeter. An ammeter in a circuit should ideally have little effect on a circuit’s characteristics.

In contrast to ammeter function, the multimeter when in voltmeter function, must be connected in
parallel with the component, since by its nature a voltmeter displays a potential difference between two
points. Since the voltmeter has a very large internal resistance, the current that flows through it is
usually negligible. Thus ideally the voltmeter placed where it is in Figure 3 has little effect on the circuit’s
characteristics.

Double check your multimeter is connected properly to any circuit and set to the correct function before
taking measurements. An improperly connected multimeter may still display numbers on its screen, but
those numbers will not have any real meaning. For example, a multimeter set up in series with a
component but set to read voltage may display a wide range of numbers. However, since it needs to be
in parallel to read voltage, those numbers will not have any real meaning.

Figure 4: A drawing of the Radio Shack Multimeter you will be using in the lab

Using your Radio Shack DMM

Most students find a digital multimeter (DMM) to be intimidating at first glance. Have your DMM in
hand or consult Figure 4 as you read through the following sections.
Buttons
Identify the four rectangular toggle buttons lined up just below the display area of the DMM. You should
be able to spot the red POWER button and the AC/DC button. At the moment the POWER button should
be OFF (the LCD screen should be blank).

FUNCTION/RANGE Switch
Identify the rotary switch in the centre of the control panel of the DMM. This is the FUNCTION and
RANGE selector. This switch enables you to select the FUNCTION or kind of measurement you wish to
make and the RANGE of the measurement. You should be able to spot the resistance (Ω), voltage (V)
and current (A) settings. Note that there are different ranges e.g. resistance (200 Ω, 2 kΩ, 20 kΩ, 200 kΩ,
2 MΩ, 20MΩ and 2000 MΩ). Remember 1 kΩ = 103 Ω and 1 MΩ = 106 Ω. On the 200 Ω range the DMM
will display a maximum of 200 Ω; if you attempt to measure a resistance greater than this the DMM will
display OL (overload).

Sockets
Identify the four connection sockets (“20A”, “A”, “COM” and “V/Ω”) arrayed from left to right along the
bottom sector of the multimeter. The “20A” socket will not be used in this experiment. The “COM”
socket, otherwise known as the COMMON or GROUND connection, is used in all measurements. For
example, to measure current you would use the “COM” and “A” sockets. To measure voltage you would
use the “COM” and “V/Ω ” sockets.

ON/OFF
Push the red POWER button to turn the meter ON. If the battery is weak a car battery symbol with
positive and negative terminals will appear near the bottom right of the display, call your Practical
Leader to get the battery replaced. If not, turn the meter OFF by pressing the POWER button a second
time until you need to use it.
Table 1 Accuracy of Radio Shack DMM
Function Range Accuracy (Uncertainty)
DC voltage 200mV, 2V, 20V, 200V, 1000V 0.8% of measurement +/-1 LSD
200µA, 2mA 1.0% of measurement +/-1 LSD
DC current 20mA, 200mA, 2A 1.5% of measurement +/-1 LSD
20A 2.5% of measurement +/-5 LSD
200Ω 1.0% of measurement +/-3 LSD
2kΩ, 20kΩ, 200kΩ, 2MΩ 1.0% of measurement +/-1 LSD
Resistance
20MΩ 1.5% of measurement +/-2 LSD
2000MΩ 5.5% of measurement +/-5 LSD

Calculating the uncertainty from this table is done in 3 steps.

Step 1: Calculate the % error from the value of the measurement.

Example: Measuring a DC current the display shows 12.34 A on the 20 A range. According to
Table 1 the uncertainty is 2.5%
 12.34 A × 0.025 = 0.3085 A

Step 2: Add the error in the least significant digit listed to your result from step 1.
Example: For the measurement 12.34A, the least significant figure is the hundredths column.
Therefore add ±0.05 (ie ±5 to the LSD):

0.3085 A + 0.05 A = 0.3585

Step 3: Round your error to the most significant digit.

Example: 0.3585 round to 0.4

The measurement to be reported for this DC current is (12.3 ± 0.4) A.

Note that although the multimeter displays the measurement to the hundredths, the error shows that
this digit isn’t accurate enough to warrant recording. Often students will complain that the multimeter
measurement is always changing. Well, that is just the error you are seeing!
 Experiment Exercise #1: The Resistor

The first type of load with which you will experiment is a carbon composition resistor (Figure 5). The
resistance of such a resistor is specified by the manufacturer with colour codes painted in four bands on
the resistor’s body. Beginning with the non-silver or gold band closest to one end of the resistor, the
band colours give, respectively, the first significant digit of the resistance, the second significant digit,
and the exponent on a power-of-ten multiplier of the number formed by the first two digits. The fourth
band gives the manufacturer’s tolerance or accuracy. The values for each colour are listed in Table 2.

Figure 5: Picture of Resistor Bands

Table 2: Resistor Colour Bands

For bands 1, 2, 3
Colour Number
Black 0
Brown 1
Red 2
Orange 3
Yellow 4
Green 5
Blue 6
Violet 7
Grey 8
White 9
For Band 4
Colour Tolerance
Gold 5%
Silver 10%
As an example, if the bands are grey, red, yellow and silver (where grey is the band closest to one end),
then the resistance works out to be: (82 × 104 ± 10%) Ω. After calculating the uncertainty rounded to one
significant digit and then writing in scientific notation we obtain: (8.2 ± 0.8) × 105 Ω.

Carbon composition resistors are rated as to the electrical power they can successfully dissipate to the
ambient air before a significant change in their temperature occurs. Above this rating a resistor will
become very hot and can even catch fire! Generally, the bigger the mass and surface area of the resistor
the better the resistor can transfer heat to the surroundings, and therefore the more power it can
handle. Ratings of typical resistors are ¼ W, ½ W and 1 W. All of the resistor in this lab are rated for ½W.
Procedure:
#1: Using the method above, determine the values of the resistors given to you by reading their bands.
Specifically identify the 1kΩ resistors.

#2: All resistors in this lab are rated for 1/2W. Using equation [3] determine the maximum voltage that
can be safely applied to a 1kΩ resistor with this rating.

#3: Ensure that the power supply and multimeters are off. Turn the power supply to its minimum
setting.

#4: Build a circuit like Figure 3 to study the properties of the 1kΩ resistor. See the figure below for an
example.

Figure 6: Example of Circuit to study Resistor

#5: Take measurements of the current and voltage at 10 different points. DO NOT EXCEED THE
VOLTAGE CALCULATED IN STEP 2

#6: Enter your data into SciDAVis. Create a plot of Voltage (V) vs Current (A). Make sure Voltage is on
the Y axis, and Current is on the X axis. Perform a quick linear fit on the data plot. Record the fit
parameters (slope, intercept) and the error.

Discussion Questions

#1 - Is a resistor "Ohmic"? In other words, is the relationship between voltage and current linear? Does
is follow Ohm's Law? Justify your answer by referring to the quality of linear fit and the error of the fit
parameters. Please include a picture of your plot and fit in your report. This can be done by right
clicking anywhere in the plot, selecting "export" from the menu and then selecting window.

#2 - Compare the results of the data fit to the rating and tolerance of the resistor found in step #1 of the
procedure. Does this resistor’s behavior match its rating within tolerance?
 Experiment Exercise #2: Incandescent Lamp

The next load you will be studying in this experiment is an Incandescent Lamp or a light bulb. This
device converts electrical energy to light.

Procedure
#1: Ensure that the power supply and multimeters are off. Turn the power supply to its minimum
setting.

#2: Build a circuit like Figure 3 to study the properties of the Incandescent Lamp. See the figure below
for an example.

#3: Take measurements of the current and voltage at 10 different points. DO NOT EXCEED 24V as this is
the power rating of the bulb.

#6: Enter your data into SciDAVis. Create a plot of Voltage (V) vs Current (A). Make sure Voltage is on
the Y axis, and Current is on the X axis. Perform a quick linear fit on the data plot. Record the fit
parameters (slope, intercept) and the error.

Discussion Questions

#1: Is the voltage and current through the light bulb linear? Is it "Ohmic"? Justify your answer by
referring to the quality of linear fit. Include a picture of your plot in your report.

#2: How does an incandescent bulb or lamp create light? Why does the bulb get brighter as more
current passes through it? (This may require some quick internet research)

#3 - How would temperature affect the resistance of the element in the bulb? Can you see this in the
data?