NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL & MANUFACTURING

ENGINEERING

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LAB

Verification of Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) and

Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL)

Submitted By:
Mohammad Gulzaib
460917
Section:
ME – 15 (C)

Submitted To:
Engr. Sania Shaheen
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

Assessment Rubrics for EE-103 Electrical Engineering Lab

Excellent (9-10) Good (7-8) Fair (4-6) Poor (1-3)
Introduction and Complete and well Nearly complete, missing Some introductory Very little
Theory written; provides all some minor points information, but still background
necessary missing some major information
background principles points provided, or
for information is
the experiment incorrect
Experimental Well-written in Written in paragraph Written in paragraph Missing several
Procedure paragraph format, all format, important format, still missing important
experimental details experimental details some important experimental details
are covered are covered, some experimental details or not written in
minor details missing paragraph format
Results: data, �igures, All �igures, graphs, tables All �igures, graphs, Most �igures, graphs, Figures, graphs, tables
graphs, tables, etc. are correctly drawn, are tables are correctly tables OK, some still contain errors or are
numbered and contain drawn, but missing some poorly constructed, have
titles/captions. some have minor important or required missing titles, captions
problems or could features. or numbers, units
still be improved missing or incorrect, etc.
Discussion All-important trends and Almost all the Some of the results Very incomplete or
data comparisons have results have been have been correctly incorrect
been interpreted correctly interpreted and interpretation of
correctly and discussed, interpreted and discussed; partial but trends and
good understanding of discussed, only Incomplete comparison of data
results is conveyed. minor understanding of indicating a lack of
improvements are results is still evident. understanding of
needed. results.
Conclusion All-important All-important Conclusions regarding Conclusions missing or
conclusions have been conclusions have been major points are missing the important
clearly made, drawn, could be better drawn, but many are points
student shows good stated misstated, indicating a
understanding lack of understanding
Report Formatting, All sections in order, All sections in order, Sections in order, Sections out of order,
structure and well formatted, very formatting generally contains the minimum too much
referencing readable. References well, but could still be allowable amount of handwritten copy,
provided appropriately improved. References handwritten copy, sloppy formatting. No
provided, but not formatting is rough referencing at all.
entirely but
readable. Improper
References
Plagiarism in any case will result in zero mark in that session.

Page 2 of 9
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

Contents
Lab Objectives ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Lab Equipment .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Related Theory .................................................................................................................................................. 4
• Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law: ...................................................................................................................... 4
• Kirchhoff’s Circuit Law: ....................................................................................................................... 5
• Circuit Diagram: .................................................................................................................................... 5
Lab Task............................................................................................................................................................. 6
• Task ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Procedure ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Results ............................................................................................................................................................... 6
• KVL ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
• KCL: ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Discussion.......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................................... 8
References ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

Page 3 of 9
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

Verification of Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) and Kirchhoff’s Current Law

(KCL)

Lab Objectives

• Verification of Kirchhoff’s voltage divider rule (KVL).

• Verification of Kirchhoff’s current divider rule (KCL).

Lab Equipment

1. Resistor
2. Digital Multimeter
3. DC power supply
4. Bread board

Related Theory

• Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law:

The principle known as Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (discovered in 1847 by Gustav R. Kirchhoff, a German
physicist) can be stated as such:
“The algebraic sum of all voltages in a loop must equal zero”
In other words the algebraic sum of ALL the potential differences around the loop must be equal to zero
as: ΣV = 0. Note here that the term “algebraic sum” means to take into account the polarities and signs
of the sources and voltage drops around the loop.
This idea by Kirchhoff is commonly known as the Conservation of Energy, as moving around a closed
loop, or circuit, you will end up back to where you started in the circuit and therefore back to the same
initial potential with no loss of voltage around the loop. Hence any voltage drops around the loop must
be equal to any voltage sources met along the way [1].

Figure 1: KVL

Page 4 of 9
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

Figure 1 gives an example of this. Let us start at the − terminal of the battery, and label the potential (or
voltage) of this point 0V. We go around the circuit in the direction of the arrow, which is the direction in
which we think current will flow. On passing the battery, the potential increases by 6V to 6V. We then
lose 4V on passing the 2Ω resistor to give a new potential of 2V. Finally, the potential drops by 2V in
the 1Ω resistor back to zero again.

• Kirchhoff’s Circuit Law:

Kirchhoff’s Current Law, often shortened to KCL, states that

“The algebraic sum of all currents entering and exiting a node must equal zero.”
This law is used to describe how a charge enters and leaves a wire junction point or node on a wire.
Current flow in circuits occurs when charge carriers travel around the circuit. Current is defined as the
rate at which this charge passes any point in the circuit. A fundamental concept in physics is that charge
will always be conserved. In the context of circuits this means that, since current is the rate of flow of
charge, the current flowing into a point must be the same as current flowing out of that point.

Figure 2: KCL

• Circuit Diagram:

Figure 4: KVL Circuit Diagram Figure 3: KCL Circuit Diagram

Page 5 of 9
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

Lab Task

• Task

The task is to verify Krichhoff’s voltage law and kirchhoff’s current law experimentally and theoretically
by making a circuit and measuring values and verifying it according to equation of Krichhoff’s laws.

Procedure

KVL:

• Construct the circuit on the breadboard based on the configuration illustrated below.
• Utilize a multimeter to measure the resistance of three different resistors and document the values.
• Connect the DC power supply and set the voltage to 10 volts.
• Measure and document the voltage drops across each resistor, which will serve as your experimental
results.
• Compute theoretical values using formula V = IR.
• Repeat the procedure by changing two resistors with different resistances.

KCL:

• Use a multimeter to measure the resistance of three distinct resistors and record the values.
• Connect the DC power supply and adjust the voltage to 10 volts.
• Open the circuit at the specified points and measure the current flowing through the resistors at those
locations. Calculate the theoretical current values using the formula I = V/R.
• Repeat the procedure by changing two resistors with different resistances.

Results

• KVL

1st Iteration:
Table 1: 1st iteration for KVL experiment

Resistance Voltage Drop Voltage Drop Current (mA)

kΩ Experimental (V) Theoretical (V)
𝑹𝑹𝟏𝟏 5.5 4.2 4.13 0.75

𝑹𝑹𝟐𝟐 5.5 4.2 4.13 0.75

𝑹𝑹𝟑𝟑 2.2 1.6 1.6 0.75

∑ 𝑉𝑉 = 10 V ∑ 𝑉𝑉 = 9.91 V

Page 6 of 9
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

2nd Iteration:
Table 2: 2nd iteration for KVL experiment

Resistance Voltage Drop Voltage Drop Current (mA)

kΩ Experimental (V) Theoretical (V)
𝑹𝑹𝟏𝟏 2.2 2.4 2.4 1.07

𝑹𝑹𝟐𝟐 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.07

𝑹𝑹𝟑𝟑 5.5 5.9 5.9 1.07

∑ 𝑉𝑉 = 9.9 V ∑ 𝑉𝑉 = 9.9 V

• KCL:

1st iteration:
Table 3: 1st iteration for KCL experiment

Resistance Voltage Drop Current Current

kΩ Experimental Theoretical
(mA) (mA)
𝑹𝑹𝟏𝟏 2.2 6.4 2.94 2.9

𝑹𝑹𝟐𝟐 1.5 3.46 2.4 2.31

𝑹𝑹𝟑𝟑 5.5 3.46 0.62 0.62

Experimental:
𝑰𝑰𝟏𝟏 = 𝑰𝑰𝟐𝟐 + 𝑰𝑰𝟑𝟑
2.91 mA = 2.31 mA + 0.62 mA
2.91 mA = 2.93 mA
Theoretical:
𝑰𝑰𝟏𝟏 = 𝑰𝑰𝟐𝟐 + 𝑰𝑰𝟑𝟑
2.90 mA = 2.31 mA + 0.62 mA
2.90 mA = 2.93 mA

Page 7 of 9
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

2nd Iteration:
Table 4: 2st iteration for KCL experiment

Resistance Voltage Drop Current Current

kΩ Experimental Theoretical
(mA) (mA)
𝑹𝑹𝟏𝟏 2.2 7.8 3.4 3.5

𝑹𝑹𝟐𝟐 5.5 2.2 0.4 0.4

𝑹𝑹𝟑𝟑 0.68 2.2 3.0 3.2

Experimental:
𝐼𝐼1 = 𝐼𝐼2 + 𝐼𝐼3
3.4 mA = 0.4 mA + 3.0 mA
3.4 mA = 3.4 mA
Theoretical:
𝐼𝐼1 = 𝐼𝐼2 + 𝐼𝐼3
3.5 mA = 3.2 mA + 0.4 mA
3.5 mA = 3.6 mA

Discussion

In this experiment, we successfully verified Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) and Kirchhoff’s Current Law
(KCL) using practical circuit analysis. For KVL, the sum of measured voltages in a closed loop was
approximately zero, confirming that the total voltage is conserved. KCL was validated by showing that the sum
of currents entering and leaving a node was nearly equal.
Minor deviations in both laws were observed due to measurement inaccuracies and parasitic resistances, but
overall, the results aligned well with theoretical predictions. This experiment highlighted the importance of
precision in circuit measurements and reinforced the practical application of KVL and KCL in electrical circuit
analysis.

Conclusion

This experiment confirmed Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) and Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL). The
measured voltages in a closed loop added up to zero, and the currents entering and leaving a node were equal,
verifying both laws. Minor deviations were due to measurement inaccuracies, but overall, the results aligned
with theory.
Page 8 of 9
Electrical Engineering Lab Report 4

References

[1] Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law:

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/chpt-6/kirchhoffs-voltage-law-kvl/
[2] Kirchhoff’s Current Law:
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/chpt-6/kirchhoffs-current-law-kcl/

Page 9 of 9