Experiment B: Series and Parallel Resistors

Course: EE 211L Section 04

Spring 2023
Names: Aldrei Mabunga (ID:017221293), Jayden Ceron (ID: 027964701), and Jason
Velazquez (ID:027088670)
Instructor: Dr. Rahnavard
Due: 02/16/2023
Objectives:
- The purpose of this lab is to expose us to the variety of circuits, specifically how resistors
in series and parallel circuits will hold different values. We utilize formulas like I= as
1 1 1 1
well as 𝑅𝑇
= 𝑅1
+ 𝑅2
+ 𝑅3
to calculate the current in the circuit. The voltage should
flow equally throughout the circuit, and the sum of the current flowing through the
resistors should add up to the total current in the system.

List of Components and Instruments Used:

- Digital Multimeter (DMM)
- Resistors: (2) 1k Resistors, (2) 1.5k Resistors, (2) 5k Resistors
- The lab called for a 4.99k Resistor and a 5.1k Resistor; however, we had to
supplement with 5k as we did not have the resistors wanted.
- Wires
- Breadboard

Schematics of Circuits Used in the Experiment:

Theoretical Calculations:
If Resistor 1 = 20Ω, Resistor 2 = 50Ω, and Resistor 3 = 100Ω:

If all resistors are in parallel, then R1 + R2 + R3 = Req.

Therefore, the Req = 20Ω + 50Ω + 100Ω = 170Ω.
 1 1 1 1
If all resistors are in series, then 𝑅𝑒𝑞
= 𝑅1
+ 𝑅2
+ 𝑅3
.
1 1 1 1
Therefore, the 𝑅𝑒𝑞
= 20
+ 50
+ 100
→ 𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 12. 5Ω .
If R2 and R3 are in series while R1 is in parallel with R2 and R3:
1
Therefore, 𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 20 + 1 1 → 𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 20 + 33. 33 = 53. 33Ω.
50
+ 100

For Ohm’s Law, if the voltage is 5V and the resistor is 1000Ω, then the current (I) would be
𝑉 5𝑉
𝐼 = 𝑅
. Therefore, the current in this example would be 𝐼 = 1000Ω
= 5𝑚𝐴.

Results:

1. Component Values
Resistor Nominal Measured Value % Difference

R1 1000 990 1

R2 1500 1490 0.667

R3* 5000 4940 1.002

R4 1000 990 1

R5 1500 1490 0.667

R6* 5000 4940 3.137

* = The Resistor was changed into 5000Ω since we did not have the resistors listed

2. Series Resistors
Calculated Total Resistor: 7200 Ω

Vs I I % Difference
 Volts Calculated Measured

5.0 0.66 0.67 0.5

3. Parallel Series
Calculated Total Resistor: 535.714 Ω

Vs I I % Difference

Volts Calculated Measured

5.0 9.33 mA 9.35 mA 0.157

4. Combinations of Series and Parallel Resistors

Calculated Total Resistor: 2207.792 Ω

Vs Current Calculated Measured % Difference

Volts I1 2.27 mA 2.251 mA 0.837

5.0 I2 1.82 mA 1.853 mA 1.8132

5.0 I3 0.44 mA 0.43 mA 2.344

5.0 I4 0.0881 mA 0.081 mA 8.06

5.0 I5 0.36 mA 0.34 mA 4.44

5.0 I6 0.0881 mA 0.081 mA 8.06

Discussion:

After getting the measured current for part 2, the series circuit appears to be in
𝑉
accordance with the equation 𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + ... 𝑅𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 = 𝑅
. From the calculations,
the total resistance of the circuit is 7500Ω, and the voltage was 5V. When measuring the current,
it was 0.67mA, 0.5% off the calculated value. This could largely be due to the believed resistor
values being slightly off from the actual values.

For the 3rd part of the lab, it appears that the parallel circuit is also in accordance with its
1 1 1 1 𝑉
respective equation, 𝑅𝑒𝑞
= 𝑅1
+ 𝑅2
+... 𝑅𝑛
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 = 𝑅
. From the calculations made prior
to the experiment, the total resistance is about 536Ω, and the voltage stayed the same from part
2, 5 volts. The calculations said the current, I, would be 9.33 mA, only 0.157% off from the
measured value.

The last part of the lab, where both parallel and series resistors are in the circuit, appears
to be very close to their respective equations, Ohm’s Law, and the circuit’s total resistance value.
The calculated value of the total resistance is about 2208Ω. The measured amount of I1, I2, and
I3 is less than 2 percent off their measured value. The remaining three, I4-I6, are a bit off,
ranging in an error percent of about 4-8 percent.

Parts 2 and 3 show that series and parallel resistors and their respective equations work. It
also shows that Ohm’s law is accurate. Part 3 is slightly wrong, though they are rather close in
their current amounts, and several factors could be involved. One could be that the calculated
values were not done correctly. There was rounding off involved in finding the current/voltage,
which appears to increment the percent error as we go through the currents. However, it can be
said that the numbers calculated and measured are not too far off, only carrying a slight
difference in the second or third number. It should be noted that the lab called for a 4990Ω and a
5100Ω resistor. However, the replacement, two 5000Ω, would not affect the lab findings about
parallel and series circuits.

Conclusion:
From observations made during the experiment and the results, we can verify that a series
1 1 1 1 1
of resistors using Rt= R1+R2+R3+…+ Rn and in parallel 𝑅𝑒𝑞
= 𝑅1
+ 𝑅2
+ 𝑅3
+... 𝑅𝑛
result in different total resistance when compared to each other. In a series, the total resistance is
more when compared to the parallel combination. Furthermore, in a series circuit, the current
across each resistor is the same, but when compared to a parallel circuit, the voltage across each
resistor is the same. Utilizing Ohm’s Law to verify our results gave mostly low percentage
errors, but problems arose on the last circuit of the lab. Verifying the possible errors, we can
assume calculations were off or that the circuit was set up improperly. Overall we could verify
the different current and voltage values based on the resistance and type of circuit we were
measuring.