Day 14 Lab 04/16/14

DC Circuits:

In this lab we used our prior knowledge on circuits to continue to build on by adding resistors into the circuit. The circuits can be simple or complex with many variations of series and parallel circuits with resistors. In a conceptual problem in circuits we must find equivalent resistance in complex circuits to make them easier and be able to make the problem an easier one. Throughout the experiments in the lab we learned how the resistors work, building a circuit, and being able to make complex circuits into simple circuits.

This is the lab set up to make the light bulbs as dim as possible by making a parallel circuit with the batteries and series with the bulbs to keep the bulbs dim.

By using a voltmeter in a circuit we can use many tools that it has to measure many values of a circuit like the current, resistance and the voltage. Now with the new knowledge of using the tool we were able to do the activity in the image below showing the different circuits.

This is the activity when we place the voltmeter in the circuit when making a series with one and two batteries, and also a parallel with one and two batteries. The image shows the values of what the reader gave when place in the circuit looking for the values.

A circuit with the battery and the light bulbs in parallel causing the light of each bulb to have the same brightness proving that it is a parallel circuit.

The calculation or understanding of reading a resistor using the colors on the resistor and be able to see the actual value of the material.

However to the statement of the image above the colors give the actual resistance of the circuit but when measure using the equipment it didn't come out to the actual value because of the internal resistance and other properties.

A problem showing a complex circuit of having both a series and parallel in it and now being able to use what we learned to make the circuit easier by finding an equivalent resistance to make it easier to read and solve.

Using a loop to make the circuit easier to read and find the missing variables using differential equations in order to complete the circuit.

Able to use the calculator to find the missing current values in the circuit using the loop, nodes and power supply with the prior knowledge and saw how the DC circuits are ran to work.

This building the resistance using the resistors to prove the value we calculated in a few images prior in order to actually measure it and prove that it holds truth to using tricks like finding equivalent resistance and find the value that was measured.