Adama Science and Technology University

School of Electrical Engineering and Computing

Course Title: Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering
Course Number: PCE2101
Lab: Laboratory Experiment No - 3
Title: DC circuit Analysis

Section: 06
Group: 11
Name of student ID .No
1. Beamlak Tamrat UGR/22580/13
2. Usman Ali UGR/22943/13
3. Remedan Hyeredin UGR/22718/13
4. Eyob Ermiyas UGR/23751 /13
5. Ebasa Mokonin UGR/23095/13
Submitted to: Mr. Endriyas
Date of conduction: march 20/ 2022
Date of submission: March 29/ 2022
 Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge our lct. Endriyas for his support and explanation in the
laboratory. Through the group work and experiment we were able to comprehend the topics
that were raised and able to communicate with each other well.

Theoretical Background
Kirchhoff’s first law is based on the law of conservation of charge, which requires that the
algebraic sum of charges within a system cannot change. Kirchhoff’s current law (KCL) states
that the algebraic sum of currents entering a node (or a closed boundary) is zero.

In the above equation N is the number of branches connected to the node and in is the nth
current entering (or leaving) the node. By this law, currents entering a node may be regarded as
positive, while currents leaving the node may be taken as negative or vice versa. This law
indirectly implies that the sum of the currents entering a node is equal to the sum of the
currents leaving the node.
Kirchhoff’s second law is based on the principle of conservation of energy. Kirchhoff’s voltage
law (KVL) states that the algebraic sum of all voltages around a closed path (or loop) is zero.

In the above equation M is the number of voltages in the loop (or the number of branches in
the loop) and vm is the mth voltage. KVL can be applied in two ways: by taking either a clockwise
or a counterclockwise trip around the loop. Either way, the algebraic sum of voltages around
the loop is zero. KVL indirectly implies that:
Sum of voltage drops = Sum of voltage rises

Figure 1: A singe loop with two resistors connected in series

To determine the voltage across each resistor in figure 1, we have the following formula:
Notice that the source voltage v is divided among the resistors in direct proportion to their
resistances; the larger the resistance, the larger the voltage drop. This is called the principle of
voltage division or voltage divider rule (VDR), and the circuit in figure 1 is called a voltage
divider. In general, if a voltage divider has N resistors (R1, R2, R3… RN) in series with the source
voltage v, the nth resistor (Rn) will have a voltage drop of:

Figure 2: Two resistors in parallel

To find the branch currents we have the following formula:

The above two equations show that the total current i is shared by the resistors in inverse
proportion to their resistances. This is known as the principle of current division or current
divider rule (CDR), and the circuit in figure 2 is known as a current divider. Notice that the
larger current flows through the smaller resistance.

Lab – 3: DC circuit Analysis

Objectives:

 To verify ohms law.

 To practice the two (series and parallel) connection of resistors
 To prove the VDR, CDR, KVL & KCL.
Apparatus Used:

 3 Fixed Resistors of different values

 1 DC power supply
 Figure 3: DC power source

 Connectors
 1 Digital Multimeter (DMM)

Figure 4: Digital Multimeter

Procedures
i. Series Circuit
1. We first received three different resistors and placed them on a good surface.
2. Then by using a digital Multimeter (DMM) we measured their resistances.
3. Following the above we adjusted our DC power supply by using a DMM. We
place the probes of the DMM on the output of the source and adjusted the
supply until we got the reading we wanted which was 12 V.
4. Then we connected the three resistors in series as shown in figure 5.
5. Thereafter we calculated the total resistance, total current and individual voltage
by using formulas and then we measured the total resistance, total current and
individual resistance by using a DMM. To measure the total resistance of a circuit
we can simply place the probes of the DMM at the lines where the power supply
is connected.
6. Finally we used VDR (voltage divider rule) to find the individual voltages by using
formulas.

ii. Parallel Circuit

1. In the beginning we adjusted the DC power supply to 12V.
2. Thereafter we connected the 3 resistors in parallel as shown in figure 6.
 3. Then we calculated the total resistance, total current, and individual current by
using formulas. After this we measured the total resistance, total current and
individual current by using a DMM.
4. Then we applied CDR (current divider rule) and calculate the individual current
by using formulas.

iii. Series – Parallel Circuit

1. Just like before we adjusted the power supply to 12 V.
2. We connected the two resistors in parallel first and the third in series with them
as shown in figure 7.
3. Then we calculated the total resistance, total current, individual current and
individual voltage by using formulas. Then we measured the above values by
using a DMM.
4. Finally we used CDR to calculate the individual currents and VDR to calculated
the individual voltages.

Result and Discussion

From the experiments we have done we have obtained the following measurements. The
calculated values are obtained by using the formulas expressed for the corresponding concept
in the Theoretical Background section of this report.

Figure 5: Resistors in series

R1 R2 R3
Measured Value 332 (Ω ) 466 (Ω ) 100 (Ω )

Resistors in Series
RT (Ω ) IT (mA) V1 (V) V2 (V) V3 (V)
Calculated value 898 13.4 4.436 6.224 1.34
Measured value 898 13.3 4.43 6.23 1.34
 Here by using VDR we obtained the individual voltages for the 3 resistors. And thus we
proved that the summation of these voltages gives the total voltage (Vs).
Vs = V1 + V2 + V3 Vs = 4.436 + 6.224 + 1.34 = 12 V (true)
 Figure 6: Resistors in parallel

Resistors in Parallel
RT (Ω ) IT (mA) I1 (mA) I2 (mA) I3 (mA)
Calculated value 65.97 182 36 25.7 120
Measured value 66.3 180.1 36.3 25.9 121.5
 Here by using CDR we obtained the individual branch currents for the 3 resistors. And
thus we proved that the summation of these currents gives the total current (IT).
IT = I1 + I2 + I3 IT = 36 + 25.7 + 120 = 181.7 mA ≅ 182 mA (true)

Figure 7: Resistors in series and parallel

Resistors in Series and Parallel
RT (Ω ) IT (mA) I1 (mA) I2 (mA) I3 (mA) V1 (V) V2 (V) V3 (V)
Calculated 414.23 29 29 5.1 23.8 9.63 2.39 2.39
value
Measured value 414 29.3 29.3 5.2 24 9.61 2.4 2.4
 Here by using CDR and VDR we obtained the individual branch currents and voltages for
the 3 resistors. And thus we proved that the summation of these currents and voltages
gives the total current (IT) and the total voltage (Vs) respectively.
IT = I1 = I2 + I3 IT = 5.1 + 23.8 = 28.9 mA ≅ 29 mA (true)
Vs = V1 + (V2 = V3) Vs = 9.36 + 2.39 = 12.02 V ≅ 12 V (true)
 Conclusions and Questions
1. In what type of connection is that the resistance value is higher
(maximum)? How about the current? Which type of connection is better to
have higher power?
 We found that the total resistance obtains its highest value in a series Circuit.
 On the other hand the current reaches its peak in a Parallel Circuit.
Power = (Current) x (Voltage)
Let P1 = the power for a series circuit P2 = the power for a parallel circuit
P3 = the power for a series – parallel circuit
P1 = IV = (12) x (0.0134) = 0.161 W P2 = (12) x (0.182) = 2.18 W
P3 = (12) x (0.029) = 0.35 W
 From the above calculations we observed that a parallel circuit is where we can harvest
a high power.

References
 Fundamentals of Electric Circuits, C. K. Alexander and M. N. O. Sadiku

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