Original Piece of Writing

Electrical Laboratory Report

Introduction to Engineering Practices and Principles 1

Section 1201-026

Nathan Reilly

Date test was performed 9/20/18

Date report was submitted 9/23/18

I have neither given nor received any unauthorized help on this assignment, nor witnessed any
violation of the UNC Charlotte Code of Academic Integrity.
 9/21/18

Summary
The purpose of this project was to complete a correct electrical circuit. Specifically, this project
was to find which resistors would work best with each other to create the circuit. What
determined the factors were how much ohms each resistor had. Given 25 resistors five pairs of
five, one pair had 220 ohms, the second pair had 330 ohms, third pair had 2200 ohms, forth pair
had 3300 ohms, and the fifth had 10,000 ohms. In order to complete the circuit these resisters
have to be in series, parallel, or in combination of series and parallel. The outcome of this
project will be a complete circuit that has the correct resistors to get the voltage down to zero.
Introduction
Given the voltage of 18 volts and the current of 0.0011 amps for an electrical circuit. The task
was to find what the voltage drop was after each node. The next step was to put together a
breadboard using 5 wires and 25 resisters. The resisters had the values of 10000, 3300, 2200,
330, and 220 ohms. Paring the resistors together to find the wanted voltage drop. There is an
assumption that the voltage drop is only at the resistors not anywhere else.
Theory
To determine the results of this project one must first know the basic components of an electrical
device. The basic components that make up an electrical circuit are the power supply, the
current, and the resistance throughout the circuit. The power supply is the amount of voltage
applied to the circuit. The reason resistance is a factor in an electrical circuit is because there are
collisions at an atomic scale between free electrons that carry the current of the circuit and the
fixed atoms of the material being used. The formula of Ohm’s law allows the finding of this
resistance because Ohm’s law is the ratio of potential difference in voltage across the object to
the current of which flows through it.
Methods and Procedures
In order to find the solution to this problem, the first thing would be to find the precise amount of
resistance each node has. To do that use Ohm’s Law which states that Resistance (R) equals
Voltage Drop (∆V) divided by the Current (I) take the initial voltage which was 18 volts and
subtract it from the 1st node which has 13.16 volts. The voltage drop is 4.48 volts at the 1st node.
To find the equivalent resistor take the voltage drop and divide it by the current. The equivalent
resistor is equal to 4400 ohms. This process will be continued to find the other nodes. The
voltage in the 2nd node is 11.59 volts with a voltage drop of 1.57 volts and the equivalent resistor
would be 1427.27 ohms. The voltage in the 3rd node is 10.01 volts with a voltage drop of 1.58
volts and the equivalent resistor is 1436.36 ohms. In the 4th node the voltage given is 2.33 volts
making the voltage drop 7.68 volts and the equivalent resistor is 6981.818 ohms. The 5th node
has a voltage of 0 volts making the voltage drop 2.33 volts and the equivalent resistor is 2118.18
ohms.
Once all of the equivalent resistors have been found the individual resistors have to be put in
series, parallel, or a combination of both in order to fulfill the needed resistance at that node.
However, each resister is not made perfectly so there is a wiggle room in each resister used in
this project. To find this information about each resister use the Resistor Color Code.
Once the resistors are put together in the breadboard a voltmeter was used to test the circuit. It
does this by sending a voltage through one of its wires to see the voltage drop at each node.

Experimental Apparatus and Procedures

Table 1 Measurements at Each Node
Location Voltage Voltage Drop Equivalent Resistors

Source 18 V - -

Node 1 13.16 V 4.48 V 4400 Ohm

Node 2 11.59 V 1.57 V 1427.272 Ohm

Node 3 10.01 V 1.58 V 1436.364 Ohm

Node 4 2.33 V 7.68 V 6981.818 Ohm

Node 5 0V 2.33 V 2118.182 Ohm

Table 2 Resistors Color Code

Color Number Color Number Color Number

Black 0 Yellow 4 Gray 8

Brown 1 Green 5 White 9

Red 2 Blue 6 Gold -1

 Orange 3 Violate 7 Silver -2

Gold ±5%
Silver ±10%
Missing ±20%

Sample Calculations
Sample Calculation for Resistors in Series

Sample Calculation for Resistors in Parallel

Sample Calculation for Both Resistors in Series and in Parallel Combined

Sample Calculation for Ohm’s Law

Example Schematic made in Microsoft Visio

Results
Given Values
· A starting voltage of 18 volts
· A current of 0.0011 amps
· Node 1 had 13.16 volts
· Node 2 had 11.59 volts
· Node 3 had 10.01 volts
· Node 4 had 2.33 volts
· Node 5 had 0 volts
Calculated Values
· Node 1 had a voltage change of 4.48 volts with an equivalent resistor of 4400 ohms
· Node 2 had a voltage change of 1.57 volts with an equivalent resistor of 1427.27 ohms
· Node 3 had a voltage change of 1.58 volts with an equivalent resistor of 1436.36 ohms
· Node 4 had a voltage change of 7.68 volts with an equivalent resistor of 6981.818 ohms
· Node 5 had a voltage change of 2.33 volts with an equivalent resistor of 2118.18 ohms
Experimental Test

Alternative solutions can be found in the Appendix A.

Table 3 Experiment Test Results
Location Voltage Voltage Equivalent Actual Present
Drop Resistors Results Difference
 Start 18 V - - - -

Node 1 13.16 V 4.84 V 4400 Ohm 4400 Ohm 0.00%

Node 2 11.59 V 1.57 V 1427.272 1430 Ohm 0.19%

Ohm

Node 3 10.01 V 1.58 V 1436.364 1416.31 1.42%

Ohm Ohm

Node 4 2.33 V 7.68 V 6981.818 6963.33 0.266%

Ohm Ohm

Node 5 0V 2.33 V 2118.182 2186.31 3.116%

Ohm Ohm

A picture of the completed breadboard can be found in the Appendix B.

Discussion and Conclusion

This project shows the components of an electrical circuit and the steps needed to find how to
make it a correct electrical device. There are many different ways to find and some may be
closer or farther apart than others. The reason for that is because not all resistors are made
perfectly. There is always going to be this “wiggle room” sometimes it’s ±5%, others it’s ±10%,
or it could even be ±20%. For example, the needed resistance must be 4400 ohms, two 2200
ohm resistors are put in series but does not equal 4400 ohms exactly. It is because those resistors
have imperfections in them. Finding all the necessary parts to this project is what made it
challenging because of the many steps that must be taken in order to complete the electrical
circuit and check it using a voltmeter.
New Remixed of Writing
Electrons
Levitating
Energy
Constantly moving
Through
Real
Ions
Can
Illuminate
To
You

Reflection
This acrostic poem is for children learning about electricity. The original written piece was a lab
report I did last semester for my engineering class. I was able to take the fundamental
components of electricity and make it easier to understand for younger kids. This is less formal
language so it allows the kids to understand it. The change in genre is pretty large in the way that
I turned something that was formally written for a lab report and made it so a child could read it
and understand the basics of electricity. The audience is not only children, it is for anyone who
wants to know what electricity is without reading a long report of it. The acrostic is the word
electricity and I broke it down to where each letter helps the reader understand more about the
work and the role it has around us. The remixed version of the original is simplified to a point
where anyone can understand what the lab report ment without reading it.