PHSICS

Investigatory
Project

Made by-
Aaryan Chandra
Class- 12th science
Roll No- 24
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled “To

investigate the types of circuits and methods to
find the basic needs of a circuit such as voltage
provided to the circuit, current passing through
the circuit, the value of resistance and
capacitance used” is being submitted by Aaryan
Chandra during the academic year 2024-25 for
the physics investigatory project under the
guidance of Jimna ma’am in partial fulfillment of
the curriculum of CENTRAL BOARD OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION leading to the award
of annual examination of the year.

 SUBJECT TEACHER:
 EXTERNAL EXAMINER:
 PRINCIPAL:
 VICE PRINCIPAL:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks to my

Physics Teacher as well as our principal who
gave me the golden opportunity to do this
wonderful project on the topic “To investigate
the types of circuits and methods to find the
basic needs of a circuit such as voltage provided
to the circuit, current passing through the
circuit, the value of resistance and capacitance
used” which also helped me in doing a lot of
research and I came to know about so many
new things I am really thankful to them.

Secondly, I would also like to thank my parents

and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing the
project within the limited time frame.
 INDEX

1. Certificate
2. Acknowledgement
3. Capacitors and capacitance
4. Series combination of capacitors
5. Parallel combination of capacitors
6. Resistance and resistivity
7. Series and Parallel combination of
resistors
8. RC circuit
 Charging
 Discharging
9. Metre bridge
 Introduction

The aim of this project is to enlighten the reader

about the devices that are most commonly used
in the circuits that is under the class 12
syllabus. In this project I have given all the
important information that one can give about
resistances, resistivity, capacitance, different
types of capacitors, basic formulas and their
derivation that one needs to understand the
way how different types of circuits work. The
different types of circuits that we are going to
see in this file are RC circuit and Metre Bridge.
CAPACITORS AND CAPACITANCE

A capacitor is a system of two conductors separated by an insulator. The conductors

have charges, say Q1 and Q2, and potentials V1 and V2. Usually, in practice, the two
conductors have charges Q and – Q, with potential difference V = V1 – V2 between them.
We shall consider only this kind of charge configuration of the capacitor. (Even a single
conductor can be used as a capacitor by assuming the other at infinity.) The conductors
may be so charged by connecting them to the two terminals of a battery. Q is called the
charge of the capacitor, though this, in fact, is the charge on one of the conductors – the
total charge of the capacitor is zero.
The electric field in the region between the conductors is proportional to the charge Q.
potential difference V is the work done per unit positive charge in taking a small test
charge from the conductor 2 to 1 against the field. Consequently, V is also proportional
to Q, and the ratio Q/V is a constant:
C=Q/V
The constant C is called the capacitance of the capacitor. C is independent of Q or V, as
stated above. The capacitance C depends only on the geometrical configuration (shape,
size, separation) of the system of two conductors.

Capacitors are of two types in our syllabus-

1) Spherical capacitors

2) Parallel plate capacitor

Series Combination of Capacitors

When capacitors are connected in series, the magnitude of charge Q on each capacitor is
the same. The potential difference across C1 and C2 is different, i.e., V1 and V2.
 Q = C1 V1 = C2 V2

Parallel combination of capacitors

When capacitors are connected in parallel, the potential difference V across each is the
same and the charge on C1 and C2 is different, i.e., Q1 and Q2.
Resistance
Resistance is a measure of the opposition to the flow of current in an electrical circuit. It
is influenced by the material's properties, length, cross-sectional area, and temperature
Resistance is measured in ohms, symbolized by the Greek letter omega (Ω). Ohms are
named after Georg Simon Ohm (1784-1854), a German physicist who studied the
relationship between voltage, current and resistance. He is credited for
formulating Ohm's Law.
Types of Materials and Their Resistance
All materials resist current flow to some degree. However, when it comes to resistance,
most materials fall into one of two broad categories:

 Conductors: Materials that offer very little resistance allow electrons to move
easily. Examples: silver, copper, gold, and aluminum.
 Insulators: Materials that have high resistance restrict the flow of electrons.
Examples: Rubber, paper, glass, wood, and plastic.

Resistivity
A characteristic property of each material, resistivity is useful in comparing
various materials on the basis of their ability to conduct electric currents.
High resistivity designates poor conductors.

Resistivity, commonly symbolized by the Greek letter rho, ρ, is

quantitatively equal to the resistance R of a specimen such as a wire,
multiplied by its cross-sectional area A, and divided by its length l; ρ = RA/l.
The unit of resistance is the ohm. In the metre-kilogram-second (mks)
system, the ratio of area in square metres to length in metres simplifies to
just metres. Thus, in the metre-kilogram-second system, the unit of
resistivity is ohm-metre. If lengths are measured in centimetres, resistivity
may be expressed in units of ohm-centimetre.
RC circuit

 Charging
Time Constant

The time constant (τ) during the charging of the capacitor is the time required to
increase the charge on the capacitor by 37% of its final charge. It is the measure of how
fast the capacitor can be charged.

The time constant (τ) = RC

 Discharging
Energy stored in a capacitor
Metre Bridge

A meter bridge, also called a slide wire bridge, is an instrument that

works on the principle of a Wheatstone bridge. A meter bridge is used to
find the unknown resistance of a conductor as that of in a Wheatstone
bridge.

A Wheatstone bridge is a kind of electrical circuit used in measuring an

electrical resistance which is unknown by balancing the two legs of the
bridge circuit, where one of the legs includes an unknown component.
Samuel Hunter Christie created this instrument in the year 1833, and it was
improved and also simplified by Sir Charles Wheatstone in the year 1843.
The digital multimeters in today’s world provide the simplest forms of
measuring resistance. The Wheatstone bridge can still be used in measuring
light values of resistances around the range of milli-Ohms .

To verify the laws of combination (series) of resistances

using a metre bridge

Aim
To verify the laws of the combination of resistances using a meter bridge.

Apparatus/Materials Required
 Meter Bridge
 Leclanche cell
 Resistance Box
 Galvanometer
 Jockey
 Sand Paper
 Connecting wire
 Two resistance wires
 A set square
Circuit Diagram

Theory
(i)The resistance of a resistance wire or a coil is given by

Where R is the resistance from the resistance box in the left gap, and l is the length of
the meter bridge wire from zero ends up to the balance point.

(ii) When two resistors r1 and r2 are connected in series, their combined resistance is
given as follows:

Rs = r1 + r2

Procedure
1. Mark the two resistance coils as r1 and r2.
2. To find the value of r1 and r2 use the unknown resistance experiment
3. Connect two coils r1 and r2 in series as shown in the figure.
 4. Record the observations as given in the table below.

Resistanc Sr No Known Balancing 100- Ba. Resistanc

e coil resistanc length length e
e
1 20 56.8 43.2 15.2

R1 and R2 2 10 39.4 60.6 15.3

in
series(Rs) 3 25 37.6 62.4 15.06

4 30 33 67 14.8

Verification
R1 + R2 = 15

Mean Rs = 15.09

To verify the laws of combination (parallel) of resistances

using a metre bridge

Aim
To verify the laws of combination (parallel) of resistances using a metre bridge

Materials Required:
1. 2 different resistances (carbon or wire-wound resistors),
2. Metre bridge,
3. Galvanometer,
4. A cell or battery eliminator,
5. A jockey,
6. A rheostat,
7. A resistance box,
8. A plug key,
 9. Sandpaper and
10.Thick connecting wires.

Circuit Diagram

Theory
(i) The resistance of a resistance wire or a coil is given by

(ii) When connected in parallel, the resistance of the combination is given by R p

Procedure
1. Set up the circuit as shown in the figure above.
2. To find the value of R1 and R2 use the unknown resistance experiment
3. Connect two coils R1 and R2 in parallel as shown in the figure.
 4. Record the observations as given in the table below

Resistanc Sr No Known Balancing 100- Ba. Resistanc

e coil resistanc length length e
e
1 20 82.7 17.3 4.8

R1 and R2 2 7 63.5 36.5 4.0

in
Parallel(Rp 3 5 57.8 42.2 3.6
)
4 4 50.9 49.1 3.8

Verification
Using formula, R=3.33

Mean Rp = 4.05