JACOBS UNIVERISTY BREMEN

Natural Science Laboratory

Electrical Engineering Module I
Fall Semester 2016
Lab Experiment 2 Ohms Law
Ha Eun Bumm
Mailbox Num: 779

Experiment Conducted by : Ha Eun Bumm and Muhammad Ahmed Leghari

Place of Execution : Teaching Lab EE
Date of Execution : 3 November, 2016
1. Introduction
Objective:
o In this experiment, we are going to demonstrate the relationship between current (I),
the resistance (R) and voltage (V), keeping other factors same.
Theory Used:
o The main theory behind this experiment is Ohms law which states that current in a
circuit is proportional to the voltage of the circuit and inversely proportional to the
resistance of the circuit. Things that follow this relationship are ohmic conductors.
o As the Ohms law states, the resistance of the resistor in the circuit is inversely
proportional to the current of the circuit. While there can be resistance in a resistor
itself, when measuring the resistance of an object, the formula R = p(l/A) is used. The
l represents the length of the object and A represent the cross-sectional area of the
object. The p in this situation is a constant, according to what type of material the
resistance is being measured from. Because we used a copper wire to find the
resistance, the p was 0.0195mm2/m. With this equation, we were able to find the
resistance of the copper very easily!
o Another object we found the resistance of was the PTC resistor. The PTC resistor is
short for Positive Temperature Coefficient which changes the resistance according to
the temperature. As the temperature increases, the resistance increases. To find the
resistance of the PTC resistor, the formula RT = RT0(1 + T) is used. The RT
represents the resistance at temperature T. The RT0 is the initial temperature which is
0C and 1000 in this case. T is the difference between RT and RT0. The is the
temperature coefficient which is equal to 3.85 * 10-3 C-1. With this, you can find the
resistance of a PTC resistor according to the temperature and/or vice versa.
o Like the PTC resistor, the experiment also used a NTC resistor. The NTC resistor is
short for Negative Temperature Coefficient which is like the PTC resistor in which it
changes the resistance according to the temperature. Unlike the PTC resistor in which
the resistor increases as the temperature increases, the NTC resistor makes the
resistance decrease as the temperature increases. The formula to find this for the NTC
1 1
( )
resistor is RT = R0 * 0 . The RT is the resistance at temperature T. T0 is the
reference temperature which is 298.15K. T is the actual temperature. R0 is the
resistance at the reference temperature which is 1000. The B is a constant which is
3480K. With this, you can find the resistance of the NTC resistor according to the
temperature and/or vice versa.
2. Execution
2.1 Experiment Setup
Workbench No.11

Used tools and instruments:

Tool box and Components from Workbench
Multimeter Tenma Ser.No. 72-6203
WishBoard No.206
ELABO from Workbench
Wisher Jumper Cables
NTC
PTC
1 meter Copper Wire

2.1.1 Experiment Part 1 Setup

For this experiment, we had to measure the resistance of a 1m long copper wire.
Test Circuit:

The ELABO multimeter was set to both V and DC with the starting range of 0.2 V for the
best results.

2.1.2 Experiment Part 1 Execution and Results

With voltage supply at 10V and the current source at 1A, we recorded the voltage
according to the ELABO multimeter and the current according to the TENMA multimeter.
Afterwards we removed the copper wire and measured the resistance of it.
Results:

Voltage/mV Current/A Resistor of Copper Wire/

69 1.008 0.1
Diagram generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.
2.2.1 Experiment Part 2 Setup
For this experiment, we tried to see the behaviour of the resistor according to different
voltage values.
Test Circuit:

The ELABO multimeter was set to V and DC with the starting range of 0.2V which we
increased according to the entered voltage value.

2.2.2 Experiment Part 2 Execution and Results

With voltage supply starting from 0V to 15V in 1V steps, we measured the voltages and
currents.

Results:

Entered Voltage/V Output Voltage/V Output Current/mA

0 0 0
1 1.0858 1.06
2 2.04 2.04
3 3.036 3.04
4 4.073 4.08
5 5.028 5.04
6 6.114 6.13
7 7.068 7.09
8 8.056 8.08
9 9.108 9.14
10 10.072 10.1
11 11.053 11.06
12 12.049 12.08
13 13.021 13.06
14 14.026 14.04
15 15.023 15.07
Diagram generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.
 Output Voltage and Current (Experiment 2)
16
14
Ourput Current/mA 12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Outpur Voltage/V

Diagram generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.
2.3.1 Experiment Part 3 Setup
For this experiment, we tried to find the resistance of a PTC resistor that makes the
resistance change according the temperature of the device.
Test Circuit:

The Elabo multimeter was set to V and DC with the starting range of 0.2V which we
increased according to the entered voltage values.

2.3.2 Experiment Part 3 Execution and Results

For this experiment, we had to find the voltage and current with the entered voltage values
starting from 0V to 16V in 2V steps. Every time we changed the entered voltage value, we
had to wait 5 minutes so that the PTC resistor could have time to decrease its temperature.
We had to do this because the temperature would change the resistance value which
would ultimately change the output voltage and current values.
Results:

Entered Voltage/V Output Voltage/V Output Current/mA

0 0 0
2 2.113 1.93
4 4.09 3.72
6 6.088 5.48
8 8.084 7.18
10 10.076 8.82
12 12.039 10.36
14 14.041 11.86
16 16.096 13.3
Diagram generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.

Output Voltage and Current (Experiment 3)

14

12
Output Current/mA

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Output Voltage/V

Diagram generated with measured data by Excel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.
2.4.1 Experiment Part 4 Setup
For this experiment, we tried to find the resistance of a NTC resistor that makes the
resistance change according the the temperature of the device.
Test Circuit:

The Elabo multimeter was set to V and DC with the starting range of 0.2V which we
increased according to the entered voltage values.

2.4.2 Experiment Part 4 Execution and Results

For this experiment, we had to find the voltage and current with the entered voltage values
starting from 0V to 8V in 1V steps. Every time we changed the entered voltage value, we
had to wait 5 minutes so that the NTC resistor could have time to decrease its temperature.
We had to do this because of the reason as the same as the PTC resistor.
Results:

Entered Voltage/V Output Voltage/V Output Current/mA

0 0 0
1 0.9879 0.91
2 1.8993 1.76
3 2.841 2.71
4 3.716 3.6
5 4.644 4.76
6 5.503 5.86
7 6.311 7.45
8 7.163 9.29
Diagram generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.

Output Voltage and Current (Experiment 4)

10
9
8
Output Current/mA

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Output Voltage/V

Diagram generated with measured data by Excel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.
3. Evaluation
3.1 Evaluation Experiment Part 1: Resistance of a Wire
Answer for question 1:

R = p and p = 0.0195mm2/m and L = 1 m and A = 0.25 mm2 are the equation and
values needed to find the theoretical resistance of the wire.
Theoretical Resistance Calculated:
1
R = 0.0195mm2/m 0.25 2 = 0.078
Answer for question 2:
R = V/I and V = 0.069V and I = 1.008A are the equation and values needed to find
resistance of the wire.
Resistance of the Wire Calculated:
0.069
R= = 0.0685
1.008
Answer for question 3:
| |
Relative Error: 100%

First Relative Error Calculated:
|0.068450.078|
Valmeas = 0.06845 Valtrue = 0.078 => 100% = 12%
0.078
Answer for question 4:
Some errors would be that the length of the copper wire could not exactly be 1 meter and
the area could have not exactly been 0.25 mm2. Another thing would be that the
calculations such as rounding almost all the values caused errors and that the wire could
not have been purely made out of copper.
Answer for question 5:
The resistance from the multimeter is 0.1. The resistance from the calculation was
0.06845. The values we got were not the correct value from the multimeter. This is
because there is a methodical error in the multimeter when changing the circuit when it is
attached. Another error is due to the reading on the multimeter being rounded off to one
decimal place. In the four-wire method, the errors are avoided as the circuit on 4 wire
method nothing new is added like the multimeter itself. Because of this the circuit is not
altered as well as in the four-wire method we can calculate our value correct to many
significant figures as we need.
3.2 Evaluation Experiment Part 2, 3, 4: Resistance of different components
Answer for question 1:

Orange Line (Part 1) Gray Line (Part 2)

Output Current/mA Resistance/ Output Current/mA Resistance/
0 0 0 0
1.06 1.0243 1.93 1.0948
2.04 1 3.72 1.0995
3.04 0.9987 5.48 1.111
4.08 0.9983 7.18 1.126
5.04 0.9976 8.82 1.1424
6.13 0.9974 10.36 1.1621
7.09 0.9969 11.86 1.1839
8.08 0.997 13.3 1.2102
9.14 0.9965
10.1 0.9972
11.06 0.9994
12.08 0.9974
13.06 0.997 These tables were generated with
14.04 0.9969 measured data from the experiments by
15.07 0.9969 Excel. Transferred via Copy and Paste

Blue Line (Part 4)

Output Current/mA Resistance/
0 0
0.91 1.0856
1.76 1.0791
2.71 1.0483
3.6 1.0322
4.76 0.9756
5.86 0.9391
7.45 0.8471
9.29 0.771
 R = f(I)
1.4
1.2
Resistance in
1
0.8
0.6 Part 2
0.4 Part 3
0.2 Part 4

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Output Current in mA

Diagram generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.
Answer for question 2:
The graphs show the behaviour that we had expected it to give. The orange line, which
represents the ohmic behaviour as a resistance, was supposed to stay a constant. The grey
line, which represents the PTC in non-ohmic behaviour, is increasing in resistance and
current. The blue line, which represents the NTC in non-ohmic behaviour, is decreasing in
resistance and increasing in current.
Answer for question 3:
Temperature: RT = RT0(1 + (T))
First Temperature Solved:
RT0 = 1000 = 3.85 10-3 C-1 RT = 1094.8
T = RT RT0/RT0 => T = 1094.8-1000/3.85 C-1 = 24.62 C-1

Table:
Resistance/ Temperature/C-1
0 0
1094.8 24.62
1099.5 25.84
1111 28.83
1126 32.73
1142.4 36.99
1162.1 42.10
1183.9 47.77
1210.2 54.6
Table generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.
 Part 3: Temperature and Resistance
60

50
Temperature/C-1
40

30

20

10

0
1080 1100 1120 1140 1160 1180 1200 1220
Resistance/

Graph generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste.

Answer for question 4:

Temperature: RT = R0(e((1/T) (1/T0)))
First Temperature Solved:
R0 = 1000 = 3480K T0 = 298.15 K
1094.8 = 1000(e3480K((1/T) (1/298.15K)))= 296.12 K

Table:
Resistance/ Temperature/K
0 undefined
1085.6 296.12
1079.1 296.27
1048.3 297
1032.2 297.39
975.6 298.83
939.1 299.81
847.1 302.5
771 305
Table generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste
 Part 4: Tempertature and Resistance
306
305
304
Temperature/K 303
302
301
300
299
298
297
296
295
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Resistance/

Graph generated with measured data by Exel. Transferred via Copy and Paste
Answer for question 5:
The NTC resistor could possible heat up and short the circuit because it heats up. When
the resistor heats but the current of the circuit could increase thus making the circuit to
short.
Answer for question 6:
The copper wire is a nonohmic resistor but it acts like an ohmic resistor at low
temperatures. It follows the Ohms Law and has a constant resistance. It acts like a
nonohmic resistor when it is at high temperatures and does not follow the Ohms Law. It
does however behave like a PTC. The resistance increases because the temperature
increases when the current increases. The consequences include that the circuit will
become shorted when the resistor becomes too hot.
4. Conclusion
Results:
o The results of this experiment are to show us all the different types of conductors.
For example, when we look at the experiment with the PTC it shows us the
behaviour of a nonohmic resistor which is shown by the non-linear shape of its
graph. Then we move on to see other nonohmic resistors such as the NTC and see
nonohmic resistors where the relationship is no longer linear. There is also the
case of the ohmic resistor called metal film resistor. In conclusion, different
resistor behave differently in different conditions depending on their nature.
Evaluation vs. Theory:
o Comparing to the theory of ohm Law we see that some resistors obey ohms law
such as the metal film resistor while some do not obey it such at PTC and NTC.
And the copper wire obeys it or at least acts like it obeys it in normal temperature
but not as high temperature.
Errors:
o Some errors come from wrong usage of instruments, wrong ranges of instruments,
too many wires on the circuit, and the resistors not being constant.
Appendix: Experiment 3
Part 1
Table of the found values:
V AB/V I AB/mA

-4.018 -12.08

Part 2
Table of the found values:
Vt /V Ino/mA Rth / Rno/

-5.673 -40.79 137.62 137.62

Part 3
Table of the found values:
Vth/V I5/mA V5/V Rth/

-5.673 -12.06 -3.983 138

Part 4
Table of the found values:
Current on Elabo/mA Current on Tenma/mA

-40.8 -12
Reference
Electrical Engineering I Lab Manual
Skeleton Lab Report
ELABO Accuracy Multimeter PDF