Practical No.

6:
Practical to verify the Ohm’s law.
Theory:
Ohm's law states that the current through a conductor between two points is
directly proportional to the voltage across the two points. Introducing the constant of
proportionality, the resistance one arrives at the usual mathematical equation that
describes this relationship:
V = I*R
where I is the current through the conductor in units of amperes, V is the voltage
measured across the conductor in units of volts, and R is the resistance of the conductor in
units of ohms.

Current (I):
When an electric conductor is connected across a battery, electric potential is applied to it.
This will make the electrons flow from negative terminal to positive terminal of the battery.
The free electrons which move while supplying kinetic energy are responsible for conducting
property of an element. This movement of electrons which are actually charge carriers
produces current. Thus, electric current is the rate of flow of electric charge through a
conductor with respect to time.
Electric current is denoted with the symbol ‘I’. Charge of charge carriers is denoted by ‘Q’.
Therefore, I=Q/t
Unit of Electric Current:
Electric current is the amount of charge passing through a conductor with respect to time.
Unit of charge is coulomb and time is seconds. So, the formula for current is given by C/s or
we call it Ampere.
1 Ampere of electric current means 1 coulomb of charge passing through a conductor in 1
second.
Types of Electric Current:
Basically, there are two types of current.
Alternating current: Alternating current (AC) is the flow of charges that changes its direction
periodically. This type of supply is used to power buildings, offices, etc. You get the AC power
supply from the mains socket at your home.
Direct current: Direct current (DC) is the flow of charges in only one direction. In DC source,
electrons emerge from negative terminal and move towards positive terminal of the battery.
We power most of the low power devices with DC power. If we want to supply these devices
from the mains socket, you need to convert it into Direct Current (DC) supply first.

Voltage (V):

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Voltage is the pressure from an electrical circuit's power source that pushes charged
electrons (current) through a conducting loop, enabling them to do work such as illuminating
a light.
In brief, voltage = pressure, and it is measured in volts (V). The term recognizes Italian
physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), inventor of the voltaic pile the forerunner of today's
household battery.
In electricity's early days, voltage was known as electromotive force (emf). This is why in
equations such as Law, voltage is represented by the symbol E.
Example of voltage in a simple direct current (dc) circuit:

 In this dc circuit, the switch is closed (turned ON).

 Voltage in the power source—the "potential difference" between the battery's two
poles—is activated, creating pressure that forces electrons to flow as current out the
battery's negative terminal.
 Current reaches the light, causing it to glow.
 Current returns to the power source.

Voltage is either alternating current (ac) voltage or direct current (dc) voltage. Ways they
differ:

Alternating current voltage (represented on a digital Multimeter by ):

 Flows in evenly undulating since waves, as shown below:

 Reverses direction at regular intervals.
 Commonly produced by utilities via generators, where mechanical energy rotating
motion powered by flowing water, steam, wind or heat is converted to electrical
energy.
 More common than dc voltage. Utilities deliver ac voltage to homes and businesses
where the majority of devices use ac voltage.
 Primary voltage supplies vary by nation. In the United States, for example, it's 120
volts.
 Some household devices, such as TVs and computers, utilize dc voltage power. They
use rectifiers (such as that chunky block in a laptop computer's cord) to convert ac
voltage and current to dc.

Resistance (R):
Resistance is the opposition that a substance offers to the flow of electric current. It is
represented by the uppercase letter R. The standard unit of resistance is the ohm,
sometimes written out as a word, and sometimes symbolized by the uppercase Greek letter
omega:
When an electric current of one ampere passes through a component across which a
potential difference (voltage) of one volt exists, then the resistance of that component is one

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ohm. (For more discussion of the relationship among current, resistance and voltage,
see Ohm's law.)
In general, when the applied voltage is held constant, the current in a direct-current (DC)
electrical circuit is inversely proportional to the resistance. If the resistance is doubled, the
current is cut in half; if the resistance is halved, the current is doubled. This rule also holds
true for most low-frequency alternating-current (AC) systems, such as household utility
circuits. In some AC circuits, especially at high frequencies, the situation is more complex
because some components in these
systems can store and release energy, as
well as dissipating or converting it.
The electrical resistance per unit length,
area, or volume of a substance is known
as resistivity. Resistivity figures are often
specified for copper and aluminium wire, in ohms per kilometre.
Opposition to AC, but not to DC, is a property known as reactance. In an AC circuit, the
resistance and reactance combine vectorially to yield impedance.

Experiment:
Apparatus:
 3 varied value of resistors
 Power supply
 Connecting wires
 Multimeter

Procedure:
 Connect the resistor on the breadboard.
 Connect the source to the breadboard.
 Connect the ammeter in series.
 Connect the voltmeter in parallel.
 Increase the voltage step-by-step from 0 to5 V and note the voltage/current.
 Change the resistors.
 Then Note the readings in table.

Calculations:
For:
Resistance = 100Ω
Voltage (volts) 1 2 3 4 5
Current (milli ampere) 10 20 30 40 50

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For:
Resistance = 270Ω
Voltage (volts) 1 2 3 4 5
Current (milli ampere) 3.7 7.5 11.5 15.3 18.8

For:
Resistance = 470Ω
Voltage (volts) 1 2 3 4 5
Current (milli ampere) 2.1 4.4 6.5 8.6 11.0

Precautions:
 All the connection should be tight.
 Ammeter is always connected in series in the circuit while voltmeter is parallel to the
conductor.
 The electrical current should not flow the circuit for long time, otherwise its
temperature will increase and the result will be affected.
 Maximum reading of voltmeter should be greater than the electromotive force of the
cell.
 It should be care that the values of the components of the circuit is does not exceed
to them ratings (maximum value).