University of Tennessee, ChattanoogaPHYSICS 1140Lab 5 Circuits with Resistors

Document Content and Description Below

Lab 5: OHM'S LAW AND EQUIVALENT RESISTANCES PT 2 Resistors may be placed in a circuit in different configurations with respect to voltage sources, called series and parallel wiring. In series wirin... g (see Figure 2), the same current runs through each device. Thus if the current is disrupted at any point in the pathway, no resistor receives current. In series wiring, the voltage supplied by the battery is divided between the resistors. The division of energy between the resistors is only equal if the devices have equal resistance. More current will flow through the path of least resistance. Since the same current flows through the series resistors, then where RS is the equivalent resistance in series: In parallel wiring, resistors are connected in such a way that the same voltage is applied across each device. In this case, the current splits in its pathway and branches at junctions, so that part of the current travels through one part of the circuit and another part travels through a different conducting wire. If the path is broken along one path, current still flows through the alternate pathway. Each resistor receives current produced by the voltage supply as if the other resistors were not present. The total current from the battery must be the sum of all the currents that travel through each resistor, or I I1 I2 I3 V R1 V/ R2 V /R3 V (1/R1 R2 R3) V (1/Rp) , where RP is the equivalent resistance for the resistors in parallel. Since the current drawn from the battery is greater for multiple resistors in parallel than it is for a resistor alone with the same voltage, a smaller equivalent resistance is implied. The smallest resistance has the largest impact on the equivalent resistance for resistors in parallel. Procedure and data analysis: Part A – Series Circuits Problem: What is the electric potential and electric current relationships in series circuits? The electric potential is [Show More]

Last updated: 1 year ago

Preview 1 out of 7 pages