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Current Divider with Moderate-Valued Resistors

  1. Obtain two 100 resistors from the parts bin. Designate one of the resistors as and the other as .
  2. Measure the resistor values using the multimeter as an ohmmeter. Be sure to keep track of which resistor corresponds to which value measured!
  3. Build the circuit in Figure gif using the 100 resistors for and .
  4. Set the power supply to 10V. Don't forget to set the voltage using the voltmeter rather than depending on the front panel display of the power supply. Important Note: You built the circuit before you set the power supply voltage to 10V. If the current limiter is set to a value lower than than the current demanded by the circuit, the constant current (cc) indicator will light up and the voltage control knob will no longer adjust the output voltage. If this happens, simply increase the current limiter until you are able to achieve 10V in the constant voltage (cv) mode.
  5. Using the voltmeter, measure the voltage across the 10 k resistor followed by the parallel combination of resistors and . Record these values, as always, and verify Kirchhoff's Voltage Law KVL.
  6. Configure the multimeter to measure current. Remember that this requires two things: Remove the terminal of the red probe from the voltage/resistance measuring receptacle and insert it in the current measuring receptacle on the front panel of the multimeter. Then press the DC current button, also on the front panel of the multimeter.
  7. Measure the current through the 10V source. Remember that you have to break the circuit and insert the ammeter in series with the 10V source to allow the current to flow through the ammeter.
  8. Measure the current through and then the current through .
  9. Verify Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL). Remember that a theoretical value of zero produces a meaningless percent error.
  10. Comment on the accuracy of the voltage measurements made (consider the internal resistance of the voltmeter).
  11. Comment on the accuracy of the current measurements made (consider the internal resistance of the ammeter).


next up previous contents
Next: Current Divider with Up: Using the Multimeter Previous: Using the Multimeter



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