North South University

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)

Lab Report:

Course Title: Electrical Circuits I Lab

Course Code: EEE141.L
Section: 19
Course Instructor: Dr. Monir Morshed
Experiment Number: 05
Experiment Name:
Verification of Superposition Theorem

Experiment Date: 2.11. 24

Date of Submission: 23.11.24
Submitted To:
Group Number:
Submitted By
Score
S Name NSU Id
1
2
3
4
5
6

Lab 5: Verification of Superposition Theorem

Objective:
 To verify Superposition Theorem.

List of Equipment
 Trainer Board
 DMM
 1 x 3.3kΩ resistor
 1 x 4.7kΩ resistor
 1 x 1KΩ resistor

Circuit Diagram:

Circuit 1:
Circuit 2:

Circuit 3:
Data Collection:

Table 1:

I2 I’2

2.7 mA 1.99 mA
Table 2:
VR1 V’R1 V’’R1 V’R1+ V’’R1

7.296 7.9 -0.698 7.316

Table 3:
VR2 V’R2 V’’R2 V’R2+ V’’R2

2.69 1.970 0.690 2.68

Table 4:
VR3 V’R3 V’’R3 V’R3+ V’’R3

2.29 -1.980 4.330 2.30

Questions and Answers:

1. What is Superposition Theorem?

answer:
Superposition Theorem:
When a circuit contains two or more independent sources, one method to find the
value of a specific variable (such as voltage or current) is by using techniques like
nodal analysis or mesh analysis. However, an alternative and often simpler approach
is to calculate the contribution of each independent source separately while
deactivating all other sources. Afterward, the individual contributions are added
together to obtain the total effect. This method is formally known as the
superposition theorem, widely used in linear circuits for simplifying complex
analyses.

2. Theoretically Calculate all values of Table 1 to Table 4. Show all the steps in detail.

Answer:

Table 1:

To find I2, I’2, and I’’2 we have to build 2 equations using KVL, KCL, and ohm’s law.

-10V+3.3I1 +I1 -I2 =0

5+I2 -I1 +4.7I2 =0

From these 2 equations we get I1 =2.211, and I3=-.489

and from I1 – I2 we get I2 =2.7
I1 =2.211
I2 =2.7
I3=-.489

Now,
RT = 3.3+(1||4.7)
E
Is = RT
Is =2.42 mA
R3
I’2 = R 2+ R 3 ¿ IS
¿

I’2 = 1.99 mA

Now, I’’2 :
E
Is =
RT
Is = 0.914 mA

R1
I’’2 = R 2+ R 1 ¿ IS
¿
I’’2 = .70144 mA

I2 =2.7 mA
I’2 = 1.99 mA
I’’2 = .70144 mA
I’2 + I’’2 = 2.6918 mA

Table 2:

I1 in circuit 1 is 2.211 mA

I1 in circuit 2:

RT in circuit 2 is 4.12 kΩ
I1 = 10/4.12 mA
= 2.42 mA

I1 in circuit 3:

RT in circuit 3 is 5.467 kΩ
Is= 5/5.467 mA
= 0.91mA

R1
I’2 = I
R 1+ R 2
3.3
=.91* mA
4.3
= .69 mA

I1= .91- .69 mA

= .211 mA

VR1=I1R1
= (2.211 *3.3) V
= 7.2963 V

V’R1= I1 R1
= (2.42 *3.3) V
= 8.009 V
V’’R1= I1 R1
=(-0.21 *3.3) V
=- 0.693 V

V’R1 + V’’R1 = (8.009 + - 0.693) V

=7.316 V

Table 3:

I2 in circuit 1 is 2.7mA

I2 in circuit 2 is 1.99 mA

I2 in circuit 3:

RT in circuit 3 is 5.467 kΩ
Is= 5/5.467 mA
= 0.91mA

R1
I’2 = I
R 1+ R 2
3.3
=.91* mA
4.3
= .69 mA
VR2=I2R2
= (2.7 *1) V
= 2.7 V

V’R2= I2 R2
= (1.99*1) V
= 1.99 V
V’’R2= I2 R2
=(.69 *1) V
=-.69 V

V’R2 + V’’R2 = (1.99 + 0.69) V

= 2.68 V

Table 4

I3 in circuit 1 is -0.489 mA

I3 in circuit 2:
I3 = I- I2
= 2.42-2 mA
= 0.43 mA

I3 in circuit 3:

RT in circuit 3 is 5.467 kΩ
Is= 5/5.467 mA
= 0.91mA

R1
I’2 = I
R 1+ R 2
3.3
=.91* mA
4.3
= .69 mA

VR3=I3R3
= (0.489 *4.7)V
= 2.298 V

V’R3= I3 R3
= (-0.42 *4.7) V
 = -1.974 V
V’’R3= I3 R3
=(.91 *4.7) V
=4.277 V

V’R3 + V’’R3= (-1.974 + 4.277) V

= 2.303 V

3. Using measured data, show that your circuit followed superposition

theorem.

Answer:

The superposition theorem states that the algebraic sum are equal to the measured
attribute when both sources are on such that,

I2 = I’2 + I’’2
2.7 mA ≈ 2.6918 mA

VR1 = V’R1 + V’’R1

7.2963 V ≈ 7.316 V

VR2 = V’R2 + V’’R2

2.7 V≈ 2.68 V

VR3 = V’R3 + V’’R3

2.298 V ≈ 2.30 V

The measured values are very close, so our circuit followed the superposition
Theorem.

4. Find the % Error between your theoretical and experimental values.

2.7−2.6918
The % Error in I2 = | *100| ≈ 0.303%
2.7

7.2963−7.316
The % Error in VR1 =| *100 ¿ ≈ .2699%
7.2963

2.7−2.68
The % Error in VR2 = | *100 ¿ ≈ .74%
2.7
 2.298−2.30
The % Error in VR3 = | *100| ≈ .08%
2.298

Discussion:
In this experiment, we successfully proved the concept of the superposition theorem. We not
only learned how it works but also how to implement it practically and understand it
accurately.

We followed the instructions in the lab manual and built the circuit, which included resistors
and multiple voltage sources. To gather data for the experiment, we carefully measured
everything, doing our best to achieve accurate results. Although there were a few deviations
in some of the values, most of the results aligned with the theorem since the summed values
were almost identical.

While there were minor errors, we didn’t face any significant issues with the resources. The
percentage error was very low. Despite some challenges, we had enough resources and
support from our instructor to complete the lab task properly.

Overall, the experiment verified the superposition theorem. We observed that the voltage
remained consistent when individual sources (V1 and V2) were turned on and off. The
combined voltage (V1 +V2) matched the expected total.