SASS

Solar Applications and

Self-powered Wireless Systems
111 Sunnyside Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48109

To:

Walburga Zahn, Head, Development Department

From:

Anthony Weihao Ke, Engineer in Training, Development Department

Subject:

Report on Circuit Lab: Procedures and Results

Date:

Sept. 23, 2016

Dist.:

Lisa Grimble, Department Head, Wireless Systems

Att.:

Appendix A: Breadboard Drawing of Circuit 5

Appendix B: Image of Circuit 5 data

Foreword
As you knew, the annual Shadow-an-Engineer-Day is going to be held here at SASS on
Saturday, October 17, 2016. You asked me yesterday to provide you with information on my
recently completed Circuit Lab to prepare for your circuit presentation for the visiting high
school students. The purpose of the following report is to present my findings and supporting
documentations.
Summary
After a thorough analysis of the circuits, it was observed that LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) do
not obey the behavior predicted by Ohms Law while resistors do. Five circuits were designed,
assembled and tested to investigate their behavior over a constant voltage of 3V. Voltage drops,
current, and resistance were measured with multimeters across each circuit component. The data
were used to compute the power dissipation of each circuit element, and the total power
dissipation was compared to the power supplied by the 3V voltage. The first three circuits show
that resistors obey Ohms Law while the last two circuit shows how LED lights, which are diode,
deviate from those behaviors. In circuit 5, the voltage across the LED was measured as 1.5014V
while the current was computed as 0.0099mA. Ohms Law would dictate enormous resistance,
which is not realistic. However, further testing is required to confirm the lack of Ohmic
properties in the LEDs.

Discussion
This report presents information and data on circuits based on the result of a circuit laboratory
and explains major concepts in circuitry as requested for your presentation.
Major Circuitry Concepts
Voltage, Current, Resistance and Power
Voltage is defined as the electromotive force or potential difference expressed in volts. It
measures the amount of electricity carried by a unit charge. Current is defined as the amount of
charge flow per second, it is measured in Ampere. Resistance is defined as how much a certain
object reduces the electric current, it is measured in Ohms. The relationship between voltage,
current and resistance is often related by the Ohms Law, which states that Voltage = Current x
Resistance.
Voltage Source, Resistors and Diode
Voltage source provides the voltage difference and electromotive force to move the charges. The
voltage would experience a drop after it passes through circuit elements that dissipate power like
resistors and diodes. Voltage source usually comes in the form of a battery, but a voltage machine
is used in this lab.
Kirchhoffs Circuit Laws
Kirchhoffs Current Law states that the sum of currents flowing into a node is the same in
quantity as the sum of currents flowing out of that node.
Kirchhoffs Voltage Law states that the total electromotive force in a closed circuit is equal to the
sum of voltage drops in that circuit.

Purpose
The main purposes of the lab were to illustrate the concepts of Ohms Law and develop the
participants ability in circuit design and investigation through hands-on experience. Five distinct
circuits were constructed on breadboard using common circuit components based on electric
circuit schematics provided. Those circuits include series circuit, parallel circuits, and circuits
containing LEDs.
Setup and Procedures
Circuit 1 consists of two resistors of with resistance of 100 and 1000 respectively set up in
series with 3V supplied by the voltage machine.

Circuit 2 consists of a 100 resistor and a 1000 resistor set up in parallel with 3V of voltage
supplied by the voltage machine.
Circuit 3 consists of four 1000 resistors with three of them set up in series and one in parallel
with respect to the second resistor in series. The voltage supplied by the machine is 3V.
Circuit 4 consists of two 100 resistors and a LED set up in series. The voltage supplied by the
machine is 3V.
Circuit 5 consists of two 100 resistors set up in series and a LED set up in parallel with respect
to the second resistor as shown below. Attached below are the setup and measured data in circuit
5.

Terry, Fred. Laboratory 1 Circuits. Laboratory Report. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI.
n.d. Print

Multimeters were utilized to measure the voltage, current and resistance across each circuit
element in each of the five circuits. The Kirchhoffs Current sums and voltage sums were
calculated. The resultant calculated value from measured results were extremely close to 0,
which is expected. The power dissipation by each circuit element is also calculated. The power
conservation sums are also evaluated to a value close to 0W.

Table of Calculated Resistance and Power

Circuit 1
Circuit 2
Circuit 3
Circuit 4
Circuit 5

Calculated Resistance ()
1100
90.91
2500
540.54
0.009

Power (W)
0.00818182
0.09899901
0.0036
0.01665002
0.04521

Power is defined as the rate at which electricity energy is transferred. It is measured in Watts,
which is also joule per second. The power can be calculated by multiplying the voltage by
current.
Analysis
After extensive testing and analysis of the data, it is determined that resistors behavior can be
approximated by the Ohms Law and Kirchhoffs Laws. However, behavior of diodes like LEDs
cannot be modeled with the circuits laws. As seen in circuit 5, the current measured is about
0.0099mA. That would result in an unrealistically big theoretical resistance if we apply the
Ohms Law.

Conclusion
Through measurement and analysis of circuit system with the help of circuit laws. It is
determined that the behavior of resistors can be predicted by the Ohms Law while the behavior
of diodes like LEDs cannot.

Sources:
Terry, Fred. Laboratory 1 Circuits. Laboratory Report. University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI.
n.d. Print
Kuphaldt, Tony R. "Lessons In Electric Circuits -- Volume I (DC)." Lessons In Electric Circuits
-- Volume I (DC). Michael Stutz, 18 Oct. 2006. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.