Lab Report 3 - Transistor As A Switch

LABORATORY REPORT 3 – TRANSISTOR AS A SWITCH
ECNG101L
MEMBERS:
DOBLON, JERALD T.
MANN, KARL CEDRIE J.
PARAN, ABEL JOHN B.
BSME-2A
MAY 10, 2023

LABORATORY REPORT NO. 3
OVERVIEW
This lab report presents and discusses the experiment regarding the concept
and usage of a transistor as a switch, performed on last Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
The report contains the initial observations obtained during the execution of the
experiment. The students that are members of the group involved in the creation of
this lab report aims to provide a conclusion based on their unified insights based on
the learnings they obtained and concepts they understood upon doing the said
experiment/activity.
I. MATERIALS
 1x Battery snap connector
 1x Breadboard
 Copper Wires
 5x Jumper Wires
 2x Resistors (100 kΩ & 560 Ω)
 1x Battery (9 V)
 1x Multimeter Tester (Digital)
 1X Transistor (2N2222)
II. OBSERVATION
Upon doing the experiment/activity, here is a summary of the group’s observations:
 As the students made the circuit in series connection, the circuit functions
and behaves as a series circuit. The difference this time compared to the other
past experiment/activity that they did is that a transistor was used/installed in
the circuit.
 In step number one of the experiment, the students noticed that the proper
connection of the wires, transistor, resistors, LED, and up to the battery must
be observed for the circuit to function properly. Since there is a transistor
installed, the connections in the base, emitter, and collector to the respective
components must be checked correctly. Incorrect connections of the
components and orientation/installation of the transistor can lead to the
circuit being faulty at best – which is what happened to the circuit that the
students made in their first attempt at making it.
 The LED lit up despite the high amount of voltage of the battery that we used
(9 V). The first time the students used to hook up an LED to a 9 V battery (in
laboratory 1), it did not light up due to it being short circuit – so at this time,
the students thought that the transistor was the one that enabled the LED to
light up properly.
 As the LED could only take a certain amount of current for it to light up, the
students observed that it was only able to function properly despite the high
voltage-bearing battery that we used thanks to the transistor installed in the
circuit.
 After the students did the steps number two and three, they noticed that the
current flowing to the transistor is slightly larger than the current that goes
into the LED, based on each respective component’s current values that they
measured.
 In step number four, when the students disconnected the one end of the circuit
and connected it again this time using their fingers, the LED lit up although
only a little bit – it could be due to the low conductivity that their fingers
have.
 When the students disconnected the one end of the circuit and connected it
again this time using their wet fingers, the LED lit up a little bit brighter than
before – still, it could be due to the low conductivity that they fingers have.
 The students observed that the pressure applied in their fingers also affects
the conductivity of it as they use it in connecting the wires of the circuit –
which then affects the brightness of the light emitted by LED when
connected/turned on. As they vary the pressure they apply in their fingers in
the experiment, the brightness of the light emitted by the LED also varies
significantly.
 The students also thought that the resistors used were also a key factor that
affects the brightness of the light emitted by the LED. A low resistance-
inducing resistor will allow more current to flow through the LED, making
it to lit up brighter, while a high resistance-inducing resistor will limit the
current flowing to the LED – making it to lit dimmer than normal.
III. CONCLUSION
As the students conducted the experiment/activity, they believe that they
learned more about the nature of transistor-particularly of it behaving like a switch.
In summary, a transistor as a switch controls the current passing through it by
switching between cutoff mode and saturation mode, and the amount of current that
can flow through the transistor when it is in saturation mode is controlled by the
voltage at the base. Specifically, as the voltage at the base increases, the current
flowing through the transistor also increases. This is because the base-emitter
junction of the transistor behaves like a diode, and as the voltage at the base
increases, the junction becomes forward-biased and allows more current to flow.
They also found out that the biasing is also a significant factor to look out for upon
the execution of the activity. It is necessary to observe proper biasing of the
transistor to ensure reliable switching of the LED and for the circuit to function
properly.
Regarding the measured current values from the experiment, they observed
that the current flowing to the controlling base (in the transistor) is slightly greater
than the current flowing to the LED. From what they know - in a series circuit, the
current flowing to all of the components installed in the circuit (e.g. resistor & LED)
have all the same current value. However, in the experiment, the circuit this time
involves a 2N2222 transistor. Based on the measured current value of the transistor
and the LED, a slightly higher current is supplied to the transistor than the current
that further went to the LED. The students conclude that the reason behind the
difference in terms of current value observed between the transistor and LED is that
the transistor controls how much voltage should go to the components that are
connected next to it; as it alters the voltage input that goes into it, it also happens to
alter the current input-although just a little bit, causing the current to flowing to the
LED to be slightly lesser than the current input that went first to the transistor. This
significant observation further proves how the transistor acts as a kind of
electrically-controlled switch, as it switches the current on and off to the LED at the
command of a much smaller current signal conducted through its base terminal.
In addition, a transistor - aside from it functioning as a switch, is also capable
of functioning as a variable amplifier. In the activity/experiment that the students
executed (particularly in the step number five of the activity), by varying the contact
pressure of fingers with the two points in the circuit, the amount of resistance in the
controlling current's path can be changed. The change in resistance affects the
amount of current flowing through the LED, which in turn affects its brightness.
The change in the LED’s brightness at the time that the contact pressure is varied
indicates that the transistor at that time is acting as a variable amplifier, not just as
a switch.
Overall, it may be said that the experiment/activity performed is a simple yet
effective practical example that demonstrates the basic concept of how a transistor
functions as a switch (and also as a variable amplifier) which helped the students to
understand it on a significant level and serves as a stepping stone for them as they
engage in advanced, complex applications of it in the future.
DOCUMENTATION

Lab Report 3 - Transistor As A Switch

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lab Report 3 - Transistor As A Switch

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lab Report 3 - Transistor As A Switch

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

LABORATORY REPORT 3 – TRANSISTOR AS A SWITCH

MAY 10, 2023

You might also like