Experiment No.

1 Date: 18-08-2022

Title: Basic DC-Circuits

1. Objectives:

a. To get familiar with basic DC elements and measurements.

b. Understand I-V curves of passive & active elements.
c. Understand the role of voltage and current divider
d. Verify Thevenin’s theorem
You will be required to build 4 different circuits, and experimentally measure the voltage
drop across and current passing through different points across the circuit. You must then
tally these results with hand calculated values.

2. Introduction:

Before we build the circuits let’s recall the basic laws:

 Kirchoff’s voltage law states that the directed sum of the electrical potential differences
(voltage) around any closed circuit is zero.
 Kirchoff’s current law states that at any node (junction) in an electrical circuit, the sum of
currents flowing into that node is equal to the sum of currents flowing out of that node
 Ohm’s law states that the current (I) through a conductor between two points is directly
proportional to the potential difference (V) across the two points, and inversely proportional to
the resistance (R) between them i.e., V = IR or I = V/R.

For example, let us consider the following circuit:

By KVL, Vi = V1+V2
By KCL, I1=I2
By Ohms law, V1=I1R1 and
V1=I2R2

Thus we have, Vi = I1R1+I1R2

I1 = Vi/(R2 + R2)
V1 = Vi R1 /(R1 + R2)
V2 = Vi R2 /(R1 + R2)

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3. Circuit schematics:

a. I-V curves of passive circuit elements b. I-V curves of active circuit

elements

Fig. a Fig. b

c. Voltage divider circuit d. Current divider circuit

Fig. c Fig. d

Circuit Design
Circuit a:
1) Resistance = 1 k
2) X= Low current LED, 10K ohm, 6.8V zener diode, Light bulb
3) Variable voltage DC power supply (-15 to +15V)

Circuit b:
1) 1 k potentiometer (RL)
2) Source: 50mA current source, DC power supply

Circuit c:
1) RL = 10 k Potentiometer
2) R1 = R2 = 1k
3) DC power source

Circuit d:
1) Resistances = 10 k and 20 k
2) DC power source

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4. Experiment:

Procedure

Wire the circuit on the bread board correctly. Do not switch on the power supply.
Check if you have connected the positive and negative terminals of the power supply
as per the circuit diagram. Have the instructor check your wiring before switching
on the power supply.

Circuit-a (passive elements):

 Increment supply voltage from -15 to +15 VDC in steps of +3V.

 Reversing the orientation of the element allows you to do measurements from -

15 to +15 volts on the supply.

 For every supply voltage setting, measure current through (Ix) and voltage drop
across the load (Vx).

 Tabulate Ix, Vx and power dissipation for the following loads: Low current
LED, 10K ohm, 6.8V zener diode, Light bulb.

Table 1 Voltage and current measurements of LED for varying supply voltage.

SI No. Vin [Volt] Vx [Volt] Ix [Amp] Power dissipated, Px [Watt]

Each load should have a separate table. Plot the I-V curves of the passive elements.

Circuit-b (active elements):

 A circuit for measuring the I-V curve of active elements is shown in Fig b. A
circuit connected to a power source is often called the load on the power source
and in this case the single resistor, RL.

 The load resistance (RL) can be varied by turning the knob of the potentiometer
(variable resistor). Start at RL= 100 and increment by 100 till 1000.

 Measure Is and Vs for the following power sources by varying the load
resistance:
1. 9V constant power supply DC source
2. 50 mA current source:
i. Connect a DC power supply with an open circuit at the output
terminals, set the voltage knob to 10V

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 ii. Set the current limit knob to zero
iii. Connect a 10 resistor across the output terminals, and then set the
current limit knob to 50 mA
iv. Remove the 10 resistor and use the output terminal as current
source
 Wire the circuit as per circuit diagram in Fig b. Tabulate measurements for each
power source and plot the I-V curve of active elements.

Table 2 Voltage and current measurements of load connected to constant DC power

supply.

SI No. Vin [Volt] Vs [Volt] Is [Amp] RL [] Power dissipated, PL

[Watt]

Circuit-c (voltage divider):

 Wire the circuit as in Fig c.

 Set 10V DC input
 Measure voltage drop across resistors R1, R2 without connecting the load resistor.
Verify measurements using voltage divider equation.
 Connect the load resistor (RL=10k) across R2 as in Fig c.
 Measure current (IL) through and voltage (VL) across RL as you vary RL from 1 to
10 k in steps of 1k. Tabulate the measurements and plot the load curve.

Circuit-d (current divider):

The circuit in Fig d is a R-2R ladder resistor network used in analog-to-digital

converters. This circuit can be analyzed in terms of voltage and current division rule.
 Start by simply putting a 20k on the board starting at node D as shown in Fig d.
Measure the resistance from the point D to ground. We refer to this as looking to
the right into the load.

 Now add the resistors as shown below and measure the resistance looking to the
right into the load (C to ground).

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  Continue to add pairs of resistors and measuring the resistance looking into the
load, (B and A to ground)
 Add the final pair of resistors and measure the resistance between the terminals to
which the voltage source will be connected. Do not connect the power supply yet.
 Connect the 10 V DC power supply and measure drop at each node (A, B, C and D).
Compare the measured value with voltage divider equation.
The above circuit can be replaced by an equivalent circuit of the form, using
Thevenin’s theorem.

 Let us measure Thevenin’s equivalent resistance and voltage. You can measure the
open circuit voltage (Voc) by measuring the voltage across the + to – terminal of Fig
d.
 Place an ammeter across the + and – terminal and measure the short circuit current
(Isc). Rth=Voc/Isc.
 Compare measured values of Vth and Rth with theoretical values.

5. Results

 Attach tabulated data.

 Attach graphs for measurements.
 Compare with theoretical curve.

6. Discussion

Comment on circuit response, deviation from theoretical prediction, and knowledge

gained.

Note:

 Circuit diagram should be properly annotated with appropriate variables, symbols.

 Tables should have caption and columns with appropriate units.
 Figures should have caption, legend, labels with units and a meaningful title.

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Figure 1 Example of figure.