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Karen Gao

AP Physics Lab
April 22, 2015
Circuits Lab

I. Title: the Basics of Simple Circuits


II. Beginning ideas:
a) How does voltage, Resistance, and current relate to each other in
a circuit?
b) How does current move through resistors in parallel and in
series?
c) How does the voltage drop across each of the resistors arranged
differently in parallel and in series?
d) I will stay safe by not dropping the voltmeter and the multi-
meter and not breaking the wires
III. Tests- what did I do?
a. I used some wires with alligator clips, 2 small light bulbs with
equal resistance, a voltmeter, a multi-meter, and a small circuit
board with a 3 V battery, resistors, and of course, protruding
metal sticks to attach the wires.
b. I experimented with arranging the resistors in series and in
parallel using the wires to connect the resistors to the battery.
c. Use ohms law to prove the difference in current in different
scenarios
d. Observe how current varies due to change in total resistance in
parallel from in series
e. Hypothesis:
i. The resistors in parallel will drop each the same amount of
voltage or 3 volts
ii. The resistors/light bulbs in series will drop each half the
voltage of the battery
iii. The current in the circuit in parallel will be greater than in
series
IV. Data and Observations
a. I observed that the current is twice as great in the main wire of
the circuit in parallel (later proved using ohm’s law)
b. The current branches in parallel with each branch having only
half the current of the main wire
c. The total resistance is much less in parallel than in series so of
course the current is bigger
d. The current is the same throughout resistors in series
V. Claims/Discussion:
a. The electrons must have dropped all its volts before coming
back to the battery.
b. In parallel: each resistor from the different branches must have
dropped the same amount of voltage before joining again to the
main wire.
c. The resistance is inversely proportional to current by ohms law
V=IR so with the same voltage drop, the bigger the TOTAL
resistance, the smaller the current needed to drop the same
amount of volts.
VI. Evidence:
a. Handwritten/drawn below:
VII. Reading:
a. Just like the textbook says, ohm’s law applies to circuits with
accuracy and sense.
b. Current and total resistance is inversely proportional to one
another as long as battery isn’t changed.
c. Arranging the light bulbs/resistors in parallel needs twice as
much current from the main branch/wire from the battery than
in series because the total resistance is less and each light bulb
must each drop 3 volts instead of just 1.5
VIII. Reflection/Conclusion Questions
a. What can you conclude about how…
i. Potential differences are related for several resistors in
series with a battery: The potential differences in
series across each resistor is the voltage of the battery
divided by the total number of resistors (only if all light
bulbs have the same resistance)
ii. Potential differences are related for several resistors in
parallel with a battery: the potential difference in
parallel across each resistor is 3 volts or the voltage of the
battery.
iii. Might theses conclusions be interpreted from a
conservation of energy perspective: yes, it can be
interpreted from conservation of energy perspective
because moving through each battery it gains 3 volts
which was actually the chemical energy in the battery
turning into electrical energy and across each resistor,
some or all the energy gained through the battery is used
up by the light bulb converted into heat or light energy so
the total energy (electric, chemical, and light and heat)
stays the same. Because the total electrical energy can’t
change through many cycles to come, it must drop the
same voltage each cycle to maintain the same amount of
energy.
iv. Currents are related for several resistors for several
resistors in series with a battery: the current in series is the
same throughout all the segments of wires connecting the
resistors to the battery and its less than the current
needed with same amount of resistors arranged in parallel
because the total resistance is greater.
v. Currents are related for several resistors in parallel with a
battery: the current in several resistors in parallel varies
throughout the different segments. The main wire that
connects directly to the battery is much greater than in
series because the total resistance the much less so more
current is needed to drop the same voltage. The current in
the separated branches are half of the one in main
branch.
vi. Might these conclusions be interpreted from a
conservation of charge perspective? (Explain how
conservation of charge is related to the current flow in a
circuit): just like in series, moving through each battery it
gains 3 volts which was actually the chemical energy in
the battery turning into electrical energy and across each
resistor, some or all the energy gained through the
battery is used up by the light bulb converted into heat or
light energy so the total energy (electric, chemical, and
light and heat) stays the same. Because the total electrical
energy can’t change through many cycles to come, it must
drop the same voltage each cycle to maintain the same
amount of energy.
vii. Can you extrapolate these conclusions to more complex
circuits with resistors in series and parallel combinations:
yes you can extrapolate these conclusions to more
complex circuits with resistors in series and in parallel. All
you have to know is the basics of the current variation in
resistors in parallel and voltage drop variations in resistors
arranged in series and just find equivalent resistances to
solve complex circuits but even the most complex ones
can be broken up into pieces of easy parallel and series
circuits.
IX. Lab error Analysis: The currents we measured in parallel in each of the
branches adds up to the main current but are slightly different for the
supposedly two identical light bulbs with the same resistance. The two
light bulbs might have had very slight difference in resistance therefore
their current aren’t exactly the same. Error percentage: 5.7%

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