Electronics Lab

EXPERIMENT NO. 4

AIM: To measure voltage and current in a combination of series and parallel circuit.

Apparatus/ Components Required:
S.No Item Required Specification Quantity
1. Power Supply 3-18 V 1
2. Resistors 100 , 120 , 330 , 270 4
3. Connecting wires 5
4. Bread board 1
5. Multimeter/Ammeters 1

Theory:
Most electronics circuits are not just series or just parallel circuit. Instead they may contain
combinations of components. Many circuits can be analyzed by applying the ideas developed for
series and parallel circuits to them. Remember that in a series circuit is through all components,
and that the total resistance of series resistors is the sum of the individual resistors. By contrast,
in parallel circuits, the applied voltage is the same across all branches and the total resistance is
given by the reciprocal formula.
In this experiment, the circuit elements are connected in composite circuits containing
both series and parallel combinations. The key to solve these circuits is to form equivalent
circuits from the series or parallel elements. You need to recognize when circuit elements are
connected in series or parallel in order to form the circuit. The answer of two questions will help
to identify a series or parallel connection:
1. Will the identical current go through both components? If Yes, the components are in
series.
2. Are both ends of one component connected directly to both ends of the another
component? If yes, the components are in parallel.
The components that are in series or parallel may be replaced with an equivalent component.
This process continuous until the circuit is reduced to simple series or parallel circuit. After
solving the equivalent circuit, the process is reversed in order to apply the solution to the original
circuit. This idea is studied in this experiment.

Electronics Lab
Procedure:
1. Measure and record the actual values of the three resistors listed in Table 4-1.
Table 4-1
Componet Listed Value Measured Value
R1 100
R2 120
R3 330
R4 270


2. Connect the circuit as shown as in Figure 4-1.


Figure 4-1

Then answer the following questions:
i) Are there any resistors for which the identical current will go through the
resistors? Answer yes or no for each resistor.

R1.......................................R2.......................................R3.......................R4............
...

ii) Does any resistors have both ends connected directly to both ends of another
resistor? Answer yes or no for each resistor.

R1.......................................R2.......................................R3.........................R4..........
...
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3. Now you can begin solving for the currents and voltages in the circuit by replacing
resistors that are either in series or in parallel with an equivalent resistor. In this case,
begin by replacing R1 and R2 with an equivalent resistor labeled R1,2 and replacing R3
and R4 with an equivalent resistor labeled R3,4. In Figure 4-2 double slash (//) symbols
represent "parallel" ,Write the solved values in the table 4-2.


Figure 4-2


4. The circuit you drew in step 3 is a simple series circuit. Compute the total resistance of
this equivalent circuit as shown in figure 4-3. and enter it in Table 4-2. Then disconnect
the power and measure the total resistance to confirm your calculation.

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Figure 4-3

Table 4-2
Computed Values Measured values
R1
R2
R3
R4
R1 // R2
R3 // R4
RT
IT

1. Now, total circuit current can be determined by applying Ohm's Law
IT = Vs /RT

2. Record the computed current in the table 4-2.
3. Now, knowing the current through the equivalent resistors R
1
//R
2
and R
3
//R
4
, we can
apply Ohm's Law (V = IR) to find voltage drops across them as shown in figure 4-4.
Because we know R
1
//R
2
and R
3
//R
4
are parallel resistor equivalents, and we know that
voltage drops in parallel circuits are the same.

Figure 4-4
4. Record the computed current in the table 4-3.

Table 4-3

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R1 R2 R3 R4 R1 // R2 R3 // R4 RT
Calculated (V)
Measured (V)

5. Calculated all the values of resistors, voltages and current in the given figure 4-5.


Figure 4-5



Results:
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Conclusion:
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Electronics Lab
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Precautions:
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