Faculty of Architecture and Engineering

Department of Computer Engineering

Bachelor in Computer Engineering

Lab 01

Ohm’s Law, Series DC Circuits, Parallel DC Circuits

Group Members:
Objective
This lab examines:
1. Ohm’s law, one of the fundamental laws governing electrical circuits. It states
that voltage is equal to the product of current times resistance.
2. Basic series DC circuits with resistors. A key element is Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law which
states that the sum of voltage rises around a loop must equal the sum of the voltage drops. The
voltage divider rule will also be investigated.
3. Basic parallel DC circuits with resistors. A key element is Kirchhoff’s Current Law which
states that the sum of currents entering a node must equal the sum of the currents exiting that
node. The current divider rule will also be investigated.

Material required for the lab

Protoboard/Breadboard

The protoboard (in the past most commonly called a breadboard) that will be used in this lab
is a very simple plastic block with holes onto which circuit elements are plugged in and
interconnected. In order to use it properly, you must understand its construction. This
particular protoboard has two lines of holes on each long side of the board. 0n each long side,
one is identified with a red line (labeled with a +), and one with a blue line (labeled -). All the
holes in each long line of holes are connected together underneath the board. Each line of
connection is known as a node. In other words, there is a short circuit between any two holes
on any long outside line that is identified with red or blue. In the middle (running the long
way), there is an indentation in the board. This indentation separates the two halves of the
board. Each line of 5 holes on either side of the indentation is a short circuit. Each five holes
on either side of the indentation are connected together.
Introduction to Multisim

Circuit simulation software allows us to predict circuit behavior by modeling and simulating
an electronic circuit. It is used to find errors and make corrections to the circuit before we
even build or manufacture the circuit under study.
Many circuit simulation tools are based on SPICE which is an acronym for Simulation
Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis. SPICE is a general-purpose circuit simulation
program for DC,AC and transient analyses. Circuits may contain resistors, capacitors,
inductors, independent voltage and current sources, as well as switches, semiconductor
diodes, and BJTs, JFETs,Transistors. SPICE was originally developed at the Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science Department of the University of California at Berkeley.
PSpice is a free version of this program.
There are a variety simulation software packages available including PSpice, Circuit Maker
and Multisim. We will look at Multisim.
Multisim is a schematic capture and simulation application that assists you in carrying out the
major steps in the circuit design flow. Multisim can be used for both analog and digital
circuits and also includes mixed analog/digital simulation capability, and microcontroller co-
simulation.
Simulating the circuits before building them, catches errors early in the design flow, saving
time and money. The Multisim’s user interface and its main elements can be seen in figure
below:
Menu Bar
Menu bar contains the tabs or commands for all main functions: File, Edit, View, Place,
MCU, Simulate, Transfer, Tools, Reports, Options, Window, and Help

Standard Toolbar
The standard toolbar contains buttons for commonly-performed functions: New, Open,
Open Sample, Save, Print Circuit , Print Preview, Cut, Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, Zoom In,
Zoom Out, Zoom to Specific Area, Zoom Sheet, and Full Screen button

Component Toolbar
Component toolbar contains button that launches to the component browser of a selected
Group: Source, Basic, Diode, Transistor, Analog, TTL (Transistor-Transistor-Logic),
CMOS (Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor), Mixed, Indicator, Power
Component, Miscellaneous, Advance peripherals, RF, Electromechanical, Educational
resources, and Connectors button
Simulation Toolbar
Simulation toolbar contains the buttons to run, pause, or stop the simulation of the circuit.

Active Bar
Active bar shows the current workspace.

Circuit Window
Circuit window is the active workspace where the circuit is built.

Instruments Toolbar
Instruments toolbar contains buttons that place a specific instrument on the workspace:
Multimeter, Function generator, wattmeter, oscilloscope, four channel oscilloscope, bode
plotter, frequency counter, word generator, logic converter, logic analyzer, IV analyzer,
distortion analyzer, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, Agilent function generator,
Agilent multimeter, Agilent oscilloscope, Tektronics oscilloscope, and LABView
instruments.
Equipment
1. Adjustable DC power supply
2. Digital Multimeter
3. Breadboard
4. Resistors of different values (range of kOhms)
5. Wires

Lab Exercises
Exercise 1
Series and parallel combination of resistors.
Choose two resistors in the range of kOhms. Combine them in series and in parallel using the
breadboard. For both cases measure the equivalent resistance. Which combination has the
smaller equivalent resistance.

Exercise 2
Ohm’s law
Build the circuit as given in the figure below using a resistor of your choice (in kOhms).

Changing the value of voltage source measure the current and fill the given tables with the
obtained values :
E (volts) I theory I measured Deviation
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Using the measured currents from the table, create a plot of current versus voltage (I measured).
Does Ohm’s Law appear to hold in this case? Is there a linear relationship between current and
voltage?

Same exercise repeat using Multisim (simulation). Compare the values found in Multisim
with the values found from the measurements.

Exercise 3
Build the circuit as given in the figure below using two resistors of your choice (in kOhms).

The voltage source should be 5V. Measure the currents and voltages for both resistors and fill the
tables:
R1

Voltage (theory) Measured voltage Current (theory) Measured Current

R2
Voltage (theory) Measured voltage Current (theory) Measured Current

Find the absorbed power for each resistor.

Substitute two resistors with the equivalent resistor. Does the current change ?
Repeat the same exercise using Multisim.
What is the cost of your circuits’ operation for 30 days (power costs 9.5 leke/ kWh)
Exercise 4
Build the circuit as given in the figure below using two resistors you used in exercise 3.

The voltage source should be 5V. Measure the currents and voltages for both resistors and fill the
tables:
R1
Voltage (theory) Measured voltage Current (theory) Measured Current

R2
Voltage (theory) Measured voltage Current (theory) Measured Current

Find the absorbed power for each resistor.

Substitute two resistors with the equivalent resistor. Does the voltage change?
Repeat the same exercise using Multisim.
What is the cost of your circuits’ operation for 30 days (power costs 9.5 leke/ kWh).

In terms of power which combination would you choose parallel or series?

Ideally what should be the resistance of ammeter, voltmeter? Explain your answer.