NAME: Brianne Winter-Grant DATE: 17/7/21

SCHOOL: Trinity College East / Bishop Anstey High School East

SECTION 1: ELECTRICAL PRINCIPLES AND MEASUREMENT

ACTIVITY SHEET

Project Name: Voltage Divider Circuit

Context: Voltage divider circuits are one of the most fundamental circuits in electronics. It is a
simple circuit which turns a large voltage into a smaller one. Using just two series
resistors and an input voltage, an output voltage that is a fraction of the input can be
created.

Project: You are required to design and build an appropriate circuit than can be used to verify the
Voltage Divider Rule and illustrate the effects of a load on a voltage divider circuit. The
circuit should include the use of a SPST switch, fixed resistors (1.2kΩ, 4.7kΩ), a
potentiometer (10kΩ), multimeter and a D.C power supply (10V).

Objectives: At the end of the exercise, you should be able to:

▪ Understand the voltage divider rule.

▪ Determine analytically the effects of a load on the voltage relationships in a
resistive voltage divider circuit.
▪ Confirm experimentally the results of a load on the voltage relationships in a
resistive voltage divider circuit.
▪ Connect a multimeter in a circuit to accurately measure voltage, current and
resistance.
▪ Accurately record observations for each measured value

1
PROJECT DESIGN:
In this lab, the voltage divider law is being tested in a circuit to confirm the effects that a load has on the
initial voltage supplied to produce the amount of voltage that is outputted at each resistor. A practical
example of this circuit is found in potentiometers.

THEORY & RESEARCH:

1. Define Voltage Divider Rule and state its equation.

The voltage divider rule states that when the input voltage is applied across a pair of resistors the output
𝑅1
voltage will appear from the connection between them. This rule uses the formula 𝑣1 = 𝑣 × 𝑅 +𝑅 where
1 2
V is the voltage supplied and R is the resistances found in the circuit.

2. What type of circuit can the voltage divider rule be applied to?

The voltage divider rule can be applied to a series resistor circuit.

3. Describe a practical use of the voltage divider rule.

A practical use of the voltage divider rule is a potentiometer, which is a device that limits the passage of
electrical current, resulting a voltage drop. Due to the voltage being able to change, it allows the control
of different devices.

APPARATUS & MATERIALS:

1 SPST switch, fixed resistor (1.2kΩ), fixed resistor (4.7kΩ), potentiometer (10kΩ), 1 ground, 3
ammeters, 2 voltmeters, 1 D.C power supply (10V), 2 voltage reference probes, wires.

2
DIAGRAM:

PROCEDURE:

1. Multisim.com was opened on a google chrome tab.

2. A D.C power supply was selected and placed on the grid and the voltage was changed to 10V.
3. A SPST switch was selected and placed on the grid.
4. A fixed resistor was selected and placed on the grid and its resistance was changed to 1.2kΩ.
5. A fixed resistor was selected and placed on the grid and its resistance was changed to 4.7kΩ.
6. The following components were connected in series.
7. A potentiometer was connected to the series circuit, parallel to the 4.7 kΩ resistor, creating a
series-parallel combination circuit and the value of the potentiometer was changed to 10kΩ.
8. A ground was connected to the negative side of the circuit.
9. Voltage reference probes were placed after each fixed resistor.
10. Voltmeter probes were placed before each fixed resistor.
11. The first ammeter probe was placed between the two fixed resistors after the connecting junction.
12. The second ammeter probe was placed on the connection with the potentiometer.
13. The third ammeter probe was placed after the SPTS switch.
14. The SPST switch was closed to turn on the circuit and allow the current to flow.
15. The percentage of the potentiometer was changed to get the corresponding current load values.
16. The circuit stimulation was turned on and all voltage readings and current readings were recorded.
17. Steps 14-15 were repeated 8 more times to gather all necessary readings.

3
RESULTS & OBSERVATIONS:

Table of Results:

Measured Values
Supply Load Current, Voltage, Voltage, Potentiometer % Resistance,
Voltage, Current, I1/mA Vbc/V Vab/V RL/Ω
V/V IL/mA

10.0 0.0 1.5 2.7 7.3 100.0 10000.0

10.0 1.0 1.5 3.0 7.0 70.0 7000.0

10.0 2.0 1.3 3.9 6.1 30.5 3050.0

10.0 3.0 1.1 4.9 5.1 17.0 1700.0

10.0 4.0 887x10-3 5.8 4.2 10.5 1050.0

10.0 5.0 686x10-3 6.8 3.2 6.5 650.0

10.0 6.0 482x10-3 7.7 2.3 3.8 380.0

10.0 7.0 281x10-3 8.7 1.3 1.9 190.0

10.0 8.0 68x10-3 9.7 319x10-3 0.4 40.0

How does the circuit operate?

The circuit is powered by a 10V D.C power supply and when the SPST switch is closed, the circuit is on
which allows the current to pass throughout the circuit. When the current reaches the first resistor (R1) it
creates a voltage drop across that section of the circuit which is measured by the voltmeter (V1) and the
second resistor (R2) creates another voltage drop in the circuit which is measured by the second voltmeter
(V2). The potentiometer is also known as the resistance load (RL) and when the percentage of the
potentiometer increases the added resistance increases which results in a drop in the current load, whereas
when the percentage on the potentiometer is low the added resistance is also low resulting in an increase
in the load current. The voltmeters (V1 and V2) measure the change in voltage and the ammeters (I1, I2
and IL) measure the change in current throughout the circuit.

4
Screen shot of Circuit:

5
DATA ANALYSIS:

1. What type of circuit is this (series, parallel or series-parallel combination)? Explain.

This circuit is a series-parallel combination circuit because the D.C power supply, the SPST switch, and
the two fixed resistors are connected in series and the potentiometer is connect onto that circuit creating a
series-parallel combination circuit.

2. Explain how the load current varies with the load resistance.

When the percentage of the potentiometer is high, the resistance load is high, resulting in a low value load
current and when the percentage of the potentiometer is lowered, the resistance load decreases resulting in
a higher value load current.

3. What is the effect of I1 as the load current IL increases?

As IL increases, the value of I1 decreases which suggests that they are inversely proportional to each
other. This is because the current splits at the junction where the parallel section of the circuit, R2 and RL,
is formed. As the resistance of RL decreases, the current through IL increases due to there being less
resistance in that branch and due to R2 having a higher resistance than RL the current passing through
that branch would decrease.

4. Explain the effect of Vab and Vbc at the divider taps as the load current increases.

Vbc is proportional to IL, meaning as IL increases Vbc also increases because in series, current and
voltage are proportional to each other. Whereas Vab and IL are inversely proportional meaning as IL
increases Vab decreases due to there being a higher resistance in R2 compared to the resistance in RL and
the current splitting and having a higher value where there is less resistance.

5. If R2 is open-circuited, what will be the effect on the voltage across RL and why?

If R2 is open-circuited, RL will then be connected to the circuit in series which means the voltage going
across RL would be the voltage drop of the resistor R1.

CONCLUSION:

At the end of this lab, the voltage divider rule was confirmed where it states that when the input voltage is
applied across a pair of resistors the output voltage will appear from the connection between them. When
there is additional resistance or a load added to the circuit, the voltage drop across that part of the circuit
will be greater. When the additional resistance increases, it was confirmed that the current load decreases
whereas when the additional resistance decreases the current load increases which indicates that they are
inversely proportional to each other.

6
FORMAT FOR WRITING-UP THE PROJECT DESIGN SBAs
The following sections MUST be produced when writing – up ALL Project Design SBAs:
(1) PROJECT DESIGN
Here you will simply re-state the challenge given to you. You should attempt to do so in
your own words as far as practically possible. It is useful to come up with a practical
application of this circuit.

(2) SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

This is a description in point form of what the students will have to do or achieve.

(3) SCHEMATIC AND/OR WORKING DRAWINGS

You will only have a schematic diagram, which should be neatly drawn and properly
labeled.

(4) LIST OF TOOLS AND MATERIALS

List ALL the tools and materials you used in carrying out the activity. Use separate sub-
headings.

(5) PROCEDURES
List ALL the procedures carried out in performing the activity. You can number them in
sequential order. Someone should be able to follow your procedures to repeat the activity
exactly as you did it. Remember to include the tests you carried out. Should be written in
PAST PASSIVE TENSE.

(6) OBSERVATIONS
Your Observations should include:
- The results of testes carried out.
- Any observable changes that occurred during the exercise.
- How the circuit functioned/operated.

(7) RELEVANT THEORY

The relevant theory should include a description of the circuit built and a brief explanation
of how it works. Since your circuit will have two meters connected in it, you will have to
talk about how these meters ought to be connected.

(8) CONCLUSIONS
Your conclusions should encapsulate ALL the activities done. For example, you will
say:
• At the end of this lab, it was found that….
• At the end of this lab, all objectives were achieved…