Lab 3 Report

Cody Zasada and Parker Dougherty

3/06/13

Introduction/Procedure:
The purpose of this lab is to understand the AC features of the inductors and capacitors.
Observations about the influence of frequency on AC impedance will be made. In order to study
this relationship, the RL Circuit in Figure 1 and the RC Circuit in Figure 2 were both constructed
on a breadboard and connected to the function generator. The source voltage and the
inductor/capacitor voltage were both monitored and measured using the oscilloscope. A 10 VPP
signal with frequencies varying from 10 Hz to 10 MHz was sent through each circuit and the
data was recorded in Table 1. The actual values of the inductor and capacitor were measured
using an RLC meter and recorded as well.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Lab Data:
RL Circuit
Vs
Frequency (Hz)

Vl

Peak-to-Peak
Peak-to-Peak RMS Voltage
RMS Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)
(V)

10
100
1000
10000
100000

18.8
18.8
19.4
19.6
20.6

6.59
6.59
6.58
6.84
7.11

0.496
0.616
2.120
14.400
20.000

0.11100
0.26500
0.52500
4.74000
7.08000

t lag (s)
0.011
0.0007
0.00018
0.000013
0

62.8318531
628.318531
6283.18531
62831.8531
628318.531

(rad)
0.69115
0.43982
1.13097
0.81681
0.00000

(deg)
39.6
25.2
64.8
46.8
0.0

RC Circuit
Vs
Frequency (Hz)
100
1000
10000
100000
1000000
10000000

Table 1.

Vc

Peak-to-Peak
Peak-to-Peak RMS Voltage
RMS Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)
(V)
20.0
20.0
19.6
19.4
20.2
20.3

7.11
6.79
6.56
6.58
6.52
4.47

20.000
12.600
1.680
0.158
0.016
0.316

t lag (s)

7.00000
0
4.20000
-0.00016
0.52000
-0.000024
0.05250
-0.0000025
0.00474 -0.00000012
0.10200 -0.000000022

628.318531
6283.18531
62831.8531
628318.531
6283185.31
62831853.1

(rad)
0.00000
-1.00531
-1.50796
-1.57080
-0.75398
-1.38230

(deg)
0.0
-57.6
-86.4
-90.0
-43.2
-79.2

Data Processing/Data Analysis:

Using the reference equations given in the lab report, the following values were calculated.
Calculating the inductance of the inductor using 10 kHz measurement:
VL = 14.4e0.81681j
IL = 0.2371e-0.82267j
ZL = 607.31e1.6395j = -41.677 + 605.88j
L = 9.64 mH

Calculating the capacitance of the capacitor using 1 kHz measurement:

VC = 12.6e-1.00531j
IC = 0.02813e.67656j
ZC = 447.9e-1.6819j = -49.649 445.14j
C = .357 F

Error Analysis:
Measured
Value
Inductance 11.1 mH
Capacitance .331 F

Calculated Percent
Value
Error
9.64 mH
13.15%
.357 F
7.80%

Conclusion:
In an effort to better understand how frequency influences ac impedance, varying frequencies
were run through the RL and RC circuits and the lab data was recorded. After studying the lab
data, some conclusions can be drawn about how inductors and capacitors act when varying
frequencies are sent through them. It was observed that inductors tended to have higher
impedance at higher frequencies, while capacitors tended to have higher impedance at lower
frequencies. This behavior also determines which component most of the circuits voltage is
located across.
In the case of inductors, the numbers in Table 1 indicate the inductor holds more of the circuits
voltage at higher frequencies. At low frequencies, the inductor holds less of the circuits
voltage. This confirms our expectations, since the job of an inductor is to resist current change.
In the case of capacitors, the numbers in Table 1 indicate the capacitor holds more of the
voltage at lower frequencies. At higher frequencies, there seems to be so many charges going
through the capacitor that it acts almost like a wire.
Using the reference equations given in the lab handout, the capacitance and inductance were
calculated within a reasonable amount of error. This leads to the conclusion that the lab data is
relatively accurate.