FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL

ENGINEERING
EEEN 211: FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING I

LAB 1: RESISTORS IN PARALELL & SERIES

BENJAMIN K. MOILWA 20001139
ISAGO TLHOIWE 20001346
Programme: Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering

1
 Introduction
The aim of the test is to; determine the current going through every resistor in a parallel and
series circuit, measure and record the aggregate resistance and contrast it with the calculated
value. Decide the voltage across every resistor, decide the equivalent resistance dependent on
the circuit current and voltage and show Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL) & Voltage Law
(KVL). KCL expresses that for an parallel path the absolute current entering a circuits
intersection is actually equivalent to the complete current leaving the same intersection. KVL
expresses that "in any shut circuit, the complete voltage around the circuit is equivalent to the
amount of all the voltage drops inside the same circuit" which is likewise equivalent to
nothing.

Objective
 To investigate Kirchhoff`s current and voltage laws.

 To determine the current passing through components in a series and parallel circuits

 To measure the equivalent resistance of a series resistance circuit and compare the
measured value with the calculated value.

 To determine the equivalent resistance of a series resistance circuit based on the

circuit current and voltage.

 To determine the voltage across resistors in a series and parallel circuits.

Apparatus
0 assorted resistors

1 connecting wires

2 dc voltage supply

3 one multimeter

Theory
At least two circuit components are in series if the electric current(I) is something very
similar in each component. The same opposition (Req) of a blend of resistors in series is
equivalent to the amount of the singular resistors hence.
Req=R1+R2+R3

Presently the normal current(I) in every one of the resistors can be settled from Ohm's law;
V=IReq in this manner I=V/Req.

2
From Kirchhoff's voltage law and Ohm's law we have.
V= V1 + V2 + V3

Where V1 = IR1, V2 = IR2 and V3 = IR3

Figure 1

Figure 2

Parallel circuits
Two or more circuit elements are in parallel if they are individually connected between the
same two points and the voltage is the same across every element. A parallel circuit provides
more than one path for current. The inverse of the equivalent resistance of a combination of
resistors in parallel is equal to the sum of the inverses of the individual resistors;
1/Req = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

3
Now the equivalent resistance can be deducted from Ohm`s law by dividing the voltage
applied across the parallel resistors by the total current entering the parallel resistance
combination; V=IReq therefore Req =V/Iab
From Kirchhoff`s current law and Ohm`s law we have;
I= Iab + Ibd + Ibe
Where Iab = V/R1, Ibd = V/R2 and Ibe = V/R3

figure 3

figur
e4

Results and discussion

Series circuit
4
The circuit in figure 1 was associated and the aggregate resistance (Req) was estimated
utilizing the multi-meter and recorded.
Req =R1+R2+R3

=6KΩ
The equivalent resistance (Req) was then calculated and recorded as follows.

Req = R1 + R2 + R3

= (1+2+3) KΩ = 6KΩ

The circuit was connected as in figure 2 . Currents I ab, Icd and Ief and voltages Vbc, Vde and Vfg
were recorded as follows;

Currents(A) Voltages(V)

Iab=0.002 Vbc=2.000

Icd=0.002 Vde=4.000

Ief=0.002 Vfg=6.000

Step4

The source current was calculated based on the equivalent resistance (Req) calculated in step
2 and the value of the voltage source as follows;

I = V/Req = 12V/6KΩ =0.002A = 2mA

Question 3.1

a) The calculated and the measured current are both 0.002A that concludes that the is no
difference which is typical of a series circuit.

Current in R2 (I2) was calculated based on the voltage across R2 as follows;

I2= V/R2

I2=4V/2KΩ= 0.002A= 2mA

Current in R3 (I3) was calculated based on the voltage across R3 as follows;

I3= V/R3

I3=6V/3KΩ= 0.002A= 2mA

Question 3.1

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b) The calculated and the measured current for both I, I2, I3, is 0.002A that concludes that the
is no difference which is typical of a series circuit.

Step 5

The equivalent resistance (Req) of the series circuit was calculated based on the circuit current
Iab and the voltage V as follows;

Req=V/Iab

Req = 12V/0.002A= 6000Ω=6KΩ

a.) Req in step 8 was the same as in step 1

The sum of the voltages Vbc, Vde and Vfg were calculated as follows;

V= 2V + 4V + 6V= 12V

a.) V-source was the same as the sum of the voltages across the circuit. This follows
Kirchhoff’s law which states that, voltage across the circuit should be the same as the source
voltage.
b.) The three resistors follow Ohm’s law, current is the same.
Discussion
Equivalent resistance measured in step 1 was 6KΩ and the calculated resistance was 6KΩ.
Current across the 3 resistors was 0.002A, 0.002A and 0.002A respectfully. The calculated
currents were also 0.002A, 0.002A and 0.002A across R1, R2 and R3 respectfully. While the
voltages estimated were 2V, 4V and 6V respectfully.
Conclusion
The measured equivalent resistance of 6KΩ was the same as the calculated (expected )
value of 6000Ω . The current was the same in the all the resistors .Kirchhoff’s voltage law
states that the sum of the voltages across a series circuit should equal to zero. This theory
was confirmed by adding the voltages in the entire circuit .These results show that the
experiment was successful.

6
 EXPERIMENT 4

Parallel circuits
Circuit in figure 3 was connected and the equivalent resistance was measured with a
multimeter and recorded as follows.

Req=2.5KΩ

The equivalent resistance was now calculated and recorded as follows.

1/Req = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

1/Req =1/ 5000 +1/ 10000 + 1/ 10000

1/Req =0.0002+0.0001+0.0001

Req = 1/0.0004=2500Ω=2.5KΩ

a) The equivalent resistance of the measured and calculated was the same which was
2.5KΩ

Circuit in figure 4 was connected and the following currents and voltages were recorded.

Currents(A) Voltages(V)

Iab = 0.004 Vcg = 10.000

Ibc = 0.002 Vdg = 10.000

Ibd = 0.001 Veg =10.000

Ibe=0.001

a) The voltage between Vcg, Vdg, Veg , is the same which was 10V.
b) Voltage in parallel is the same throughout the circuit.

The source current (Iab) was calculated based on the equivalent resistance calculated in step 2
and value of the voltage source as follows;

Iab=V/Req

= 10V/2500Ω= 0.004A

 Iab was the same as the current in step3

The current in R1(Ibc) was calculated based on the voltage across R1 and the resistance of R1 as
follows;

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Iab=V/R1

=10/ 5000 = 0.002A

 Ibc was the same as current in step 3

The current in R2(Ibd) was calculated based on the voltage across R 2 and the resistance of R2 as
follows;

Ibd=V/R2

=10/ 10000 = 0.001A

 Ibd was the same as current in step 3.

The current in R3(Ibe) was calculated based on the voltage across R 3 and the resistance of R3
as follows;

Ibe=V/R3

=10/ 1000 = 0.001A

 Ibe was the same as the current in step3.

The equivalent resistance of the parallel circuit was calculated based on the circuit current
and voltage V as follows;

Req =V/Iab

=10V/0.004A=2500Ω=2.5KΩ

 Req in Step 8 was the same as resistance measured in step 1.

The sum of the currents Iab, Ibd and Ibe were calculated as follows;

I= Iab + Ibd + Ibe

=0.002A+0.001A+0.001A=0.004A

a.) Iab and Sum of Ibc, Ibd and Ibe was the same.
b.) It confirms Kirchhoff’s current law. The current in Iab should be the same as the sum of the
currents Ibc, Ibd and Ibe .

8
Discussion

In Figure 3 roughly equivalent to the calculated resistance of 2.5KΩ. Currents in the 3

resistors in Figure 4 were 0.002A, 0.001A and 0.001A and respectfully. The sum of these
currents was 0.004A while the current in Iab was 0.004A . Theory expresses that the voltage
across resistors in an equal circuit will consistently be something very similar. This was
affirmed since voltage in the 3 resistors was 10V.

Conclusion
KCL states that total current entering a junction should be equal to total current leaving that
very same junction. Iab 0.004A and the total current from the 3 resistors was 0.004A. The
equivalent resistance of 2.5KΩ in step 1 was the same as the calculated value 2.5KΩ using
Ohm’s law. As such the experiment proved to be a success.
References
 https://www.nde-
ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/EddyCurrents/Physics/currentfl
ow.htm

 HUGHES ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY TWELTH

EDITION

 https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/dccircuits/kirchhoffs-current-law.html

 https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/dccircuits/kirchhoffs-current-law.html
 https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/dccircuits/dcp_4.html