Design

How Resistance of Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) varies with Light Intensity

Introduction

My aim of this experiment is to investigate how effective is the Resistance of LDR with the

intensity of light. To practically work the experiment a series circuit will be built with the use of

an LDR, Ammeter, Resistor, batteries and etc. The idea popped up when I was walking down the

streets of China with my friends on a foggy day, back in 2018. What caught my eye were the

street lights turning on automatically. This got stuck in my mind, and when I got to my hotel, I

searched on the internet that how does this process happen. Then I came to know that LDR is

used in a circuit of street lights to make it work. Basically what happened is that in that foggy

evening it got dark, the resistance in the circuit of street light got increased which caused the

current flow to stop. The relay also got deactivated hence automatically turned the street lights

on. So this research got me to ask myself how the resistance of LDR varies with the light

intensity.

In order to answer the question I built a series circuit consisting of a 12V battery (PD), 1kΩ

resistor for R, Ammeter to measure Current (I), a Voltmeter to measure Voltage(V) LDR (Ω)

and Intensity Meter to measure intensity in lux. The design of the circuit is shown in figure 1.

To check the Resistance (R) variations, a torch was shed on LDR. It was decided to approach the

experiment in different ways. In the first situation, ‘Height (cm)’ from touch shed was an

independent and ‘LDR type’ was a dependent variable. In the second situation, the height (cm)

was kept constant with different types of LDR. To differ between types of LDR, it was wrapped
with two different types of paper, Aluminum and Black-colored Paper. The paper types were

holed with a constant rate and then resistance values were calculated with the increase of the

number of holes in each type of LDR wrapped.

LDR 1kΩ

The diagram above is made

through Microsoft Word Shapes.

Hypothesis

LDR is also known as Photoresistor is a resistor which has resistance depending on an amount of

light falling on LDR (Bhattacharya). Basically, it is a photocell that works with the rule of

photoconductivity. The resistor in LDR is a passive component whose resistance value decreases

when light intensity decreases (.K et al.). In this process of photoconductivity when photons fall

(light falls) on the device, the valance band of semiconductor material are excited to the

conduction band. These photons have more energy than the bandgap of semiconductor in order

to jump to a higher level of the conduction band (Electrical4U). And with enough energy hitting

the device, increasing number of electrons are excited to the conduction band resulting in a
bigger number of charge carriers. This causes more current flow which decreases the resistance

of the device (Electrical4U).

Regarding the experiment, there are two scenarios. In one, the light will be an independent

variable and LDR will be dependent. After researching online, I hypothesize that as we increase

the height of light from the LDR, the intensity of light should decrease which will cause

Resistance to increase. With the increasing height, the current flow in the circuit also decreases.

In the second scenario, the height of the light source is kept constant. And the LDR type is

changed. The LDR will be wrapped with two different types of materials, Type A, Black glace

paper (reflective) and Type B, Aluminum (absorbing material). Then resistance will be noted by

increasing the number of holes in the wrapped LDR. In this scenario, the Resistance will keep

decreasing with the number of holes but LDR with black paper-wrapped should have greater

resistance comparatively to aluminium wrapper LDR because Temperature is directly

proportional to resistance. As the black paper is an absorbing material and aluminium is

reflective material, the resistance must be greater in Type A of LDR.

Mathematical model

Ohms Law

V=IR

The formula represents the potential difference (E/V) between two points or Voltage of a current.

In this formula, Voltage is current (in Ampere) per unit resistance (in ohms). From the formula it

can be deduced that;

Voltage (V) is also proportional to Current (I) as long as resistance is constant. In the figure

below, the gradient represents constant Resistance (R/Ω), x-axis represent voltage (V/V), and the

y-axis represents current (I/A) (Chew et al).

Voltage (V) is directly proportional to resistance when the current is constant.

When we make current (I) subject we will get formula:

V
I=
R

From the formula, it can be deduced that current (I) is inversely proportional to Resistance.

When Current flow increases, the resistance decreases and vice versa. So it can be said that “I”

1
proportional to (Chew et al).
R
Light Intensity and its relationship with distance

The relationship of Intensity of light and distance from its source is inversely squared. The

relationship can be understood by the diagram below. When distance increases the beam angle

increases, it spread widely in surface hence decreases the intensity of light. So the light intensity

at L0 is higher than at L0/25 (NASA).

(NASA)
 Design

Variables

Situation 1
Variable Name Variable Type How measured Uncertainty of Why controlled

instrument
Height of the Independent Meter Rule ±0.01m

Bulb
LDR Type Dependent - - LDR type has to be same, in

order to calculate variations in

resistance by changing the

height of light source falling on

LDR
Voltage (V/V) Independent Voltmeter ± 0.1 V P.D in circuit must be constant

so the variations in Resistance

is calculated
Current(I/A) Dependent Ammeter ±0.01 A Current in the circuit must also

be constant so that different

values of Resistance is

calculated. V=IR
Dependent Intensity meter ±500 lux

Situation 2
Number of Independent - -

Holes

Correspondin Dependent Resistance meter ±0.001 mΩ -

g Resistance
Height Independent Meter rule ±0.1 cm

(Constant)
Battery 12V Dependent - -

(Constant)
Voltage (V/V) Independent Voltmeter ± 0.1 V

(Constant)
Current(I/A) Dependent Ammeter ±0.01 A

(Constant)
Intensity of Dependent Intensity lux ±500 lux

Light meter
Table 1

Materials

 LDR

 Battery (12V)

 Aluminum Foil

 Paper-black

 1kΩ Resistor

 Ammeter

 Voltmeter

Photos
Raw data

SITUATION-1
 The Data in the below table shows the experiment 1 in resistance of circuit was analyzed by

increasing the height of the light source in the circuit. In order to get the resistance, Voltage and

Current readings were taken out.

Height/cm Intensity/lux Readings for Trail 1 Trail 2 Trail 3 Average Uncertainty

V&I Max−Min
( ¿
2
10 cm 20500±500 Voltage (V/V) 1.07 1.09 1.10 1.09 0.02

Current 10.91 10.87 10.93 10.90 0.03

(I/mA)
20cm 5131±500 Voltage (V/V) 2.06 2.05 2.09 2.07 0.02

Current 9.95 9.94 9.93 9.94 0.01

(I/mA)
30cm 1900±500 Voltage (V/V) 2.61 2.63 2.64 2.63 0.02

Current 9.39 9.41 9.38 9.39 0.02

(I/mA)
40cm 1208±500 Voltage (V/V) 2.72 2.71 2.74 2.73 0.02

Current 9.28 9.27 9.29 9.28 0.01

(I/mA)
Table 2

With the help of ohm’s Law, we will calculate the resistance of the circuit when the light

was shed with the height of 10, 20 and 30 cm.

Ohms Law
V=IR

V=Voltage or PD (V)

I= Current in Ampere (A)

R= Resistance (Ω)

Before we calculate it should be noted the values of reading of Current are noted are in mill

ampere (mA). Before starting calculations the values should be converted into Amperes

1mA= 1/1000 A

Height/cm±2 Average Average A± Resistance Intensity/Lux

V ± Uncertainty Uncertainty
10cm 1.09±0.02 0.01009±0.00003 108±2 20500±500

20cm 2.07±0.02 0.00994± 0.00001 272±3 5131±500

30cm 2.58±0.02 0.00939±0.00002 1900±500

40cm 2.73±0.02 0.00928±0.00001 294±3 1308±500

Table 3

SITUATION-2

Type A- Black Glace paper

N# Readings Trail Trail Trail Average Uncertainty

Holes 1 2 3
1 Voltage(V/V) 7.01 7.04 7.03 7.03 0.02
 Current 4.49 4.50 4.48 4.49 0.01
(I/mA)
2 Voltage(V/V) 6.56 6.52 6.54 6.54 0.02

Current 5.44 5.44 5.43 5.44 0.01

(I/mA)
3 Voltage(V/V) 5.71 5.70 5.72 5.71 0.01

Current 6.99 7.00 6.98 6.99 0.01

(I/mA)
4 Voltage(V/V) 4.41 4.45 4.44 4.43 0.02

Current 7.59 7.60 7.61 7.60 0.01

(I/mA)
5 Voltage(V/V) 3.85 3.88 3.87 3.87 0.01

Current 8.15 8.16 8.13 8.15 0.01

(I/mA)
6 Voltage(V/V) 2.77 2.78 2.76 2.77 0.01

Current 9.23 9.24 9.21 9.23 0.01

(I/mA)
7 Voltage(V/V) 2.74 2.73 2.72 2.73 0.01

Current 9.26 9.25 9.24 9.25 0.01

(I/mA)
8 Voltage(V/V) 2.71 2.70 2.69 2.70 0.01

Current 9.30 9.29 9.31 9.30 0.01

(I/mA)
9 Voltage(V/V) 2.67 2.65 2.64 2.65 0.01

Current 9.33 9.35 9.34 9.34 0.01

(I/mA)
10 Voltage(V/V) 2.59 2.58 2.57 2.58 0.01

Current 9.41 9.43 9.44 9.43 0.01

(I/mA)
Table 4
Type B- Aluminum

N# Readings Trail Trail Trail Averag Uncertainty

Holes 1 2 3 e
1 Voltage(V/V) 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.21 0.01

Current 4.80 4.79 4.77 4.79 0.02

(I/mA)
2 Voltage(V/V) 6.93 6.92 6.91 6.92 0.01

Current 5.07 5.06 5.08 5.07 0.01

(I/mA)
3 Voltage(V/V) 6.60 6.59 6.58 6.59 0.01

Current 5.40 5.39 5.41 5.40 0.01

(I/mA)
4 Voltage(V/V) 6.21 6.22 6.20 6.21 0.01

Current 5.79 5.80 5.77 5.79 0.02

(I/mA)
5 Voltage(V/V) 5.81 5.82 5.80 5.81 0.01

Current 6.19 6.18 6.20 6.19 0.01

(I/mA)
6 Voltage(V/V) 5.31 5.30 5.32 5.31 0.01

Current 6.69 6.70 6.71 6.70 0.01

(I/mA)
7 Voltage(V/V) 4.77 4.78 4.79 4.78 0.01

Current 7.23 7.21 7.24 7.23 0.02

(I/mA)
8 Voltage(V/V) 4.07 4.06 4.08 4.07 0.01

Current 7.93 7.92 7.91 7.92 0.01

(I/mA)
9 Voltage(V/V) 3.30 3.29 3.31 3.30 0.01
 Current 8.70 8.71 8.69 8.70 0.01
(I/mA)
10 Voltage(V/V) 2.76 2.74 2.77 2.76 0.01

Current 9.23 9.21 9.24 9.23 0.01

(I/mA)
Table 5

Data process, Graphs and Analysis

V
Now =R will be used to calculate Resistance (R/Ω).
I

Working for 10 cm± 2 cm

1.09± 0.02
=R
0.01009± 0.00003

(0.02/1.09)+ (0.00003/0.01009)

Fractional uncertainty of the Resistance

0.01834862385+0.002973240833=0.02132186468

Answer= 0.02

1.09
Resistance= =108.03
0.01009

Absolute Uncertainty

R×(Fractional uncertainty)

108.03×0.02=2.16

R=108±2 Ω
Working for 20 cm ±2 cm

2.07 ±0.02
=R
0.00994 ± 0.00001

Fractional uncertainty of the Resistance

(0.02/2.07)+ (0.00001/0.00994)

Answer =0.01

2.07
Resistance= =271.63
0.00994

Absolute Uncertainty

R×(Fractional uncertainty)

271.63×0.01

Answer=2.72

R=272±3 Ω

Working for 30 cm± 2 cm

2.63 ±0.02
=R =273.3050847±0.02002
0.00934 ± 0.00002

Fractional uncertainty of the Resistance

(0.02/2.63)+ (0.00001/0.00939)

Answer =0.00973

2.63
Resistance= =281.5845
0.00939

Absolute Uncertainty

R×(Fractional uncertainty)

281.5845×0.00973=2.7410
R=282±3Ω

Working for 40 cm± 2cm

2.73± 0.02
=R =273.3050847±0.02002
0.00928± 0.00001

Fractional uncertainty of the Resistance

(0.02/2.73)+ (0.00001/0.00928)

Answer =0.0084

2.73
Resistance= =294.1810
0.00928

Absolute Uncertainty

R×(Fractional uncertainty)

294.1810×0.0084=002.4711

R=294±3Ω

In order to know how Light Dependent Resistor produces variations with the light intensity, the
graph will be drawn of Height (cm) vs. Resistance (Ω) and Intensity vs. Resistance will be
drawn

Height/cm±2 Resistance/ Ω Absolute

Uncertainty/±
10cm 108 2

20cm 272 3

30cm 282 3

40cm 294 3
 Table 6

Height vs Resistance graph

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Figure 1

The x-axis on the graph represents the height of the light that was shed on the LDR and y-axis

represents the Resistance of the circuit. It can be analyzed from this graph that the relationship

between the two components is not linear. However, it can be deduced that with an increase in

height, as the source of light increases its distance from the LDR, the resistance of the circuit

increases but eventually, then there is a curve in the graph after 20 cm, which shows us that

resistance eventually is got decreased. When the source is brought near to the photo-resistor, the

light intensity shed on LDR increases. To prove that light intensity vs. Resistance graph will be

plotted.
 Intensity/Lux Resistance

±500
20500 108
5131 272
2225 282
1308 294

Table 7

Intensity vs Resistane Graph

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000

Figure 2

The graph above drawn is a practical proof that Light intensity is inversely proportional to the

Resistance, because when light intensity is injected into the LDR, it adds photons into the circuit,

increasing the current flow and reducing the Potential difference in the circuit. This causes the

Resistance to decrease.
Situation 2 Calculations

Similar steps will be followed to calculate R=V/I

First fractional uncertainty will be calculated to find the absolute uncertainty

TYPE-A-Black Paper

For 1 hole;

Fractional Uncertainty

( 0.02
7.03 ) +(
0.01
4.49 )
=0.00507

Absolute uncertainty

R×(0.00507)

7.03
R= = 1565.7015
0.00449

1565.7015×0.00449=7.938

R=1566±8

N# of Resistance /Ω Absolute Percentage Uncertainty/ %

Holes uncertainty/±
1 1566 8 0.5

2 1202 6 0.5

3 817 3 0.4

4 583 3 0.5

5 472 2 0.4

6 300 1 0.3

7 295 1 0.3

8 290 1 0.3

9 284 1 0.4

10 274 1 0.4
Table 8
 # of Holes VS Resistance graph
1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Figure 3
Figure 3 above shows the data of table 8. The relationship between the numbers of the hole

produced in wrapped paper versus the Resistance in the circuit can be deduced from plotted data

on the graph. It can be noted that when as the number of holes are increased than the value of

Voltage decreases and current in circuit increases, the Resistance in the circuit decreases. Before

holes, no light was shed on the LDR that means no photons were injected in the circuit through

LDR. As the holes were created in the wrapper, the light had access to the photo-resistor,

allowing the photons to be added into the circuit. It has been observed that when the holes

increase, the light striking on photo-resistor increases and the resistance in circuit reduces.

TYPE-B Aluminum

For 1 hole;

Fractional Uncertainty

( 0.01 0.02
7.21 ) ( 5.79 )
+ =0.0048

Absolute uncertainty

R×(0.0048)

7.21
R= = 1245.25
0.00579

1245.25×0.0048=

R=1245±6

Same steps will be continued for further calculations

First fractional uncertainty will be calculated to find the absolute uncertainty

 N# of Resistance /Ω Absolute Percentage Uncertainty/%
Holes uncertainty/± %
1 1505 8 0.5
2 1241 4 0.3
3 1220 5 0.4
4 1072 5 0.5
5 939 3 0.3
6 793 3 0.4
7 661 3 0.5
8 514 2 0.4
9 379 2 0.5
10 299 1 0.3
Table 9

The graph of the above table is drawn in the next page

 Chart Title
1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Figure 4
Figure 2 shows data of type B experiment. The situation here is similar to the Type A, as with

increasing number of holes, the potential difference across the LDR decreases and the current

increases. This caused the Resistance across the circuit to decrease. For example, when 2 holes

were plotted, the resistance was 1241Ω, and at with the 10 holes the, resistance decreases to

299Ω with a difference of 942Ω. The Resistance, when compared to the Type-A data (Type A,

No. of Holes=1, R= 1566Ω), is lower (Type B, No. of Holes=1, R=1505Ω). That is because in

the case of black paper when light goes through the holes, it gets absorbed by the black paper,

but in Aluminum the light reflects the edges of the holes, of the shininess, and the photons

injection reduces as less light hitting LDR, causing less effect on Voltage to decrease and

Current to increase, hence reduction of resistance in circuit decreases.

Conclusion

The circuit was built with the help of wire, power supply, 1k ohm resistor, and Multimeter. After

that, the source of light attached on the stand, with measured distance from LDR and the source

of light. Two situations were tested in the experiment. In the first one, light’s distance was varied

from the LDR. And the relationship of LDR and light distance vs Resistance was shown. In the

second situation, height was kept constant and the LDR type was changed (Aluminum and Black

paper). Holes in wrapped LDR were created and the relationship between Number of holes and

resistance was shown. In the first experiment, the results showed that Height is inversely

proportional to the Resistance of the circuit. Similarly, when the number of holes was created,

the light shed on LDR was increasing, and the resistance was affected as it was decreasing. The

black wrapped LDR circuit had more Resistance than Aluminum wrapped LDR circuit because
when the light was shed inside the holes, the black paper on the edges of the holes absorbed the

light and hence decreasing the reduction of Resistance in the circuit.

Evaluation

Strengths

Firstly, I was able to conduct multiple trials easily in my experiment. This increased the accuracy

and of my data. With this, the uncertainty of the data was also improved. The experiment was

faster to conduct as few changes were implemented as the different scenarios were created. The

resistor (1KΩ), and Power Supply of 12V was kept constant in the circuit. In addition, the light

of 1200 lumens was shed in the whole experiment. Lastly, the height from which the source of

light shed on LDR was kept the same. The whole experiment was conducted in a cupboard so

that no extra light strikes other than the source of light implanted.

Limitations

The graphs in the second scenario Type B graph was not trendy, this happened because the holes

created may be wide or short, which could be a reason for the graph to be not uniform. The

uncertainty found in Intensity lux meter was also large. Moreover, regardless of an attempt to

darken the surrounding so that no light should reach LDR except the LED light, there was some

incoming light that shed on LDR.

Recommendations

The experiment can be improved by the following methods. Firstly, the number of trials can be

increased to increase the precision, accuracy and uncertainty. Secondly, the size of the hole could

have been created with a constant material like a pin whose diameter could have been measured
through the micro-screw gauge. This method can have an improvisation on graphs with more

promising results.

Work Cited

Bhattacharya, Dr. Bishakh. Introduction to Photo Sensors,

https://nptel.ac.in/courses/112104158/lecture39.pdf. PowerPoint Presentation.
Chew, Dr Charles, and Chow Siew Foong. “Electricity and Magnetism .” Physics Matters, edited
by DR Ho Boon Tiong, 4th ed., Marshall Cavendish Education, 2013, pp. 332–337.
Electrical4U. “Light Dependent Resistor | LDR And Working Principle Of LDR |
Electrical4U”. Electrical4U, 25 Jan. 2019, https://www.electrical4u.com/light-dependent-
resistor-ldr-working-principle-of-ldr/.
.K, A., Â R. Bute, and A. Ranjan. “Light Dependent Resistors (LDR) ”. CircuitsToday , 1 Nov.
2018, http://www.circuitstoday.com/ldr-light-dependent-resistors.
NASA. Imagine the Universe!. NASA,
https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/yba/M31_velocity/lightcurve/images/one_over_r_s
q.gif. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.

Appendix