What is the relationship between voltage and current?

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2.2 S
Problem — Switch on power supply unit and, starting with 0 V,
Take a series of measurements for voltage and current in increase voltage in increments of 2 V. Measure the
a circuit and determine the relationship between U and I respective current and enter values in Table 1.
with these measurements. — Set voltage back to 0 V and replace the 47 Ω resistor
R1 with the 100 Ω resistor R2.
Equipment — Again, increase voltage in increments of 2 V, measure
Plug-in board 06033.00 1 respective current, and enter in Table 1.
Lamp holder E10 17049.00 1 — Switch power supply unit off.
Filament lamp, 4 V/0.04 A,
E10, 1 pc. 06154.03 (1) Second Experiment
Resistor, 47 Ω 39104.62 1 — Change experiment set-up. Connect a filament lamp to
Resistor, 100 Ω 39104.63 1 the circuit in place of the resistor.
Wire building block 39120.00 1 — Connect direct voltage and increase in increments of
Connecting cables, 25 cm, red 07360.01 1 2 V starting at 0 V, measure respective current, and
Connecting cables, 25 cm, blue 07360.04 1 enter in Table 2.
Connecting cables, 50 cm, red 07361.01 2 — Observe the brightness of the filament lamp during this
Connecting cables, 50 cm, blue 07361.04 2 experiment and note.
Multi-range meter 07028.01 2 — Switch power supply unit off.
Power supply, 0...12 V-, 6 V~, 12 V~ 13505.93 1

Set-Up and Procedure

First Experiment
— Set up experiment as shown in Fig. 1, using the 47 Ω
resistor initially (designated as R1 in Table 1).

Fig. 1

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 S EEP
2.2
What is the relationship between voltage and current?

Observations and Measurement Results

Table 1 Table 2

I U/I U I U/I
U A V/A V A V/A
V
(R1) (R2) (R1) (R2) 0

0 0 0 – – 2

2 4

4 6

6 8

8 10

10

Brightness of filament lamp during experiment:

Evaluation
1. Graph the measurement values from Table 1 for the components R1 and R2 in Fig. 2.
2. What would you guess is probably the relationship between current I and voltage U for each component?
Check your hypothesis by calculating the quotients of U / I from the pairs of measurements and entering the values
in column 3 of Table 1.
What is apparent from the results?
Fig. 2

This relationship between current and voltage is referred to

as Ohm’s Law.

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 What is the relationship between voltage and current?
EEP
2.2 S
3. The quotient of U / I for R1 is about half that for R2. In
other words, R1 obstructs the electrical current about
half as much as R2. Therefore, it makes sense to define
the quotient U / I = constant as electrical resistance R:
U / I = R. The unit for resistance is 1 V/A = 1 Ω.
Calculate the average values of U / I for R1 and R2 and
compare these with the values printed on the compo-
nents used in the experiment.
Why do these values deviate from one another?

Fig. 3

4. Draw the graph resulting from the U and I measurements for the filament lamp (Table 2) in Fig. 3.

5. Calculate the quotients U / I for Table 2 and enter them in column 3.

6. With the results from questions 4 and 5 in mind, answer the following question:
Does Ohm’s Law also apply to the filament lamp?
Why or why not?

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 S EEP
2.2
What is the relationship between voltage and current?

7. While the defining equation R = U / I is always true, as long as I =/ 0, Ohm’s Law only applies under one certain con-
dition. Which one?
(Note: The brightness of the filament lamp is an indication of the temperature of its metallic filament.)

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 Ohm’s Law
EEP
2.2 T
(What is the relationship between voltage and current?)

The students should first recognize Ohm’s Law I ~ U on

the basis of the measurements they’ve taken. Then, they
should determine the condition R = constant for the validi-
R
ty of this law.
To avoid confusion between the words “resistor” (the elec-
trical component) and “resistance” (the physical term), the
components are referred to as R1 and R2, marked 47 Ω
and 100 Ω.
R
Notes on Set-Up and Procedure
The resistance values and the voltage settings are such
that the measurement ranges of 10 V- and/or 300 mA- are
sufficient for these measurements.
Before students switch on the power supply unit, instruct
them how to connect the meters correctly and what mea-
surement ranges they need to set.

Observations and Measurement Results Fig. 2

Table 1
I U/I
U A V/A
Evaluation
V
(R1) (R2) (R1) (R2) 1. See Fig. 2.
2. Probable relationship: The current changes in the same
0 0 0 – – proportion as voltage. I and U are proportional to one
another, I ~ U.
2 0.042 0.019 48 105
Check: See Table 1, column 3.
4 0.086 0.039 48 103 Conclusion: U / I = constant for each component.

6 0.130 0.059 46 102

8 0.173 0.080 46 100 Fig 3
10 0.216 0.100 46 100

Table 2
U I U/I
V A V/A

0 0 –
2 0.037 54
4 0.053 75
6 0.069 87
8 0.082 98
10 0.093 108
Brightness of filament lamp during experiment: The fila-
ment lamp shines very weakly at 2 V and more brightly
with increasing voltage and/or current.

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 T EEP
2.2
Ohm’s Law

(What is the relationship between voltage and current?)

3. Average for R1: U / I = 46.8 V/A = 46,8 Ω Notes

Average for R2: U / I = 102 V/A = 102 Ω The relationship I ~ 1/R when U = constant can be proven
These values are approximately the same as the val- by comparing the values for I and R in Table 1 line for line.
ues printed on the components. The deviations result Fig. 2 shows that the slope of the graph gets steeper as
from measurement errors during the measurement of resistance is decreased.
current and voltage and from the tolerance of the resis- For pure metals, the condition for the validity of Ohm’s
tance values. Law, that R = constant, is the same as the condition
4. See Fig. 3. ϑ = constant. Certain alloys, such as constantan, have a
5. See Table 2, column 3. constant resistance in a relatively large temperature range.
6. Ohm’s Law does not apply to the filament lamp.
Explanation: The graph in Fig. 3 is not a line, and the
quotient U / I is not constant.
7. The condition for Ohm’s Law to apply is: ϑ = constant.

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