Date Course Name Instructor Name Student(s) Name

Measurement of Resistance: Ammeter Voltmeter Methods and Wheatstone Bridge Method

The magnitude of resistance can be measured by different methods. One method is to measure the voltage drop V across a resistance n a circuit with a voltmeter and the current I through the resistance with an ammeter. Then using Ohms Law, R V!I. "owever the ratio of the measured voltage and current does not give an e#act value of the resistance because of the resistance of the meters. This problem is eliminated when one compares the resistance with a standard resistance in a $heatstone %ridge circuit. In this e#periment, the two methods for measuring the resistance will be investigated. &mmeter ' Voltmeter (ethods) Two circuits will be used to measure the resistance using this method.

In this circuit, the current measured by the ammeter divides between the resistance R and the voltmeter in parallel. The voltmeter is a high resistance instrument and draws little current as long as the voltmeter resistance Rv is much greater than R. Thus, if Rv * R +or a more accurate measurement, the resistance of the voltmeter must be ta,en into account. The current drawn by the voltmeter is Iv V!Rv and the total current measured by the ammeter is
R V / I

I IR - Iv The true current through the resistance is IR I ' Iv and from Ohms Law

R=

V V V = = I R I IV I V

RV

&nother circuit is shown below.

In this case, the ammeter measures the current through the resistance alone, but the voltmeter measures the voltage drop across both the resistance and the ammeter. .ince the ammeter is a low resistance instrument, then the voltage drop across the ammeter /Va I Ra0 is small compared to that across R. Then if Ra 1 R where Ra is the resistance of the ammeter.
R V I

If the resistance of the ammeter is ta,en into account, then VR - Va IR - IRa I/R - Ra0 I R R - Ra. .ince R V!I, then R R ' Ra V!I 2 Ra V

where R

$heatstone %ridge (ethod) The $heatstone %ridge circuit consists of four resistors, a battery and a galvanometer. The basic circuit is shown below and the values of R3, R4, and Rs are all ,nown and R# is un,nown. $hen the circuit is closed, the bridge is balanced by ad5usting the standard resistance Rs until there is no current through the galvanometer branch /galvanometer reads 6ero0. $hen the bridge is

balanced, points b and c in the circuit are at the same potential7 current I3 flows through both Rs and R# and current I flows through both R3 and R4. &lso the voltage drop across Rs is e8ual to the voltage drop across R3 Vab Vac and Vbd Vcd This can also be written as I3 R# I4 R4 I3 Rs I4 R3 9ividing one e8uation by the other, one gets
R2 Rx = R Rs 1

.o when the bridge is balanced, the un,nown resistance R # can be obtained in terms of the ,nown resistances. The slide wire form of the $heatstone bridge is shown below. The line ad represents a wire and : is a contact ,ey that slides along the wire to divide the wire into L3 and L4. .ince the resistance of the wire segments are proportional to the lengths of the wire, then R 2 L2 = R1 L1 and
L2 Rx = L Rs 1

STUDENT OUTCOMES Through this e#periment, students will learn) 2 two ways of measuring resistance with an ammeter and a voltmeter and e#plain how they differ 2 how to connect ammeter and a voltmeter in a circuit 2 the basic principle and operation of the $heatstone %ridge 2 relative accuracy of the measured resistance when using the ammeter2voltmeter methods and the $heatstone %ridge MATERIALS ;ower .upply &mmeter Voltmeter Rheostat Resistance %o# Vernier :ircuit %oard $heatstone %ridge <alvanometer $ires

PRELIMINARY

!E"#I$N":

3. $hen one is measuring resistance with an ammeter and voltmeter, is the resistance given e#actly by R V!I= >#plain. 4. Is an ammeter connected in series or parallel with a circuit component= >#plain. ?. Is an voltmeter connected in series or parallel with a circuit component= >#plain. @. $hy is the $heatstone %ridge called a AnullB instrument=

C. $hen the galvanometer in a $heatstone bridge circuit shows no deflection, why are the voltages across opposite branches on each side of the galvanometer necessarily e8ual=

PR$%E&!RE: Ammeter Voltmeter Method

3. .etup the first circuit, where R is the un,nown resistance and Rh is the rheostat /variable resistance0. 9o not connect the power supply until the instructor!peer mentor has chec,ed it. /Dse the 3E ohm resistor on the circuit board for R0. 4. +amiliari6e yourself with the ammeter and voltmeter. There are three scale connections with the blac, binding post common for the three scales. It is good practice to start with the highest scale to prevent damaging the instrument. The scale setting may be changed to a lower scale after the general magnitude of the measurement is ,nown. &ttention should also be given to the proper connection of the meters. :onnect - to - and ' to 2. 9o not connect the power supply until the instructor!peer mentor has chec,ed it. ?. The current in the circuit is changed by varying the rheostat resistance Rh. This is done by sliding the rider to a new position. &ctivate the circuit and ta,e three different readings of the ammeter and the voltmeter corresponding to the different rheostat settings. %e sure to use one scale setting for the three data points. Record the data in 9ata Table 3. 9eactivate the circuit. @. Record the resistance of the voltmeter for the scale setting used in the ac8uisition of the data. C. .et up the second circuit. This can be accomplished by changing only one wire in the first circuit. F. Repeat step ? and record data in 9ata Table 4. G. Repeat steps 3 ' F for the C3 ohm resistor on the circuit board. Record its accepted value and record data on 9ata Table ? and @. Wheatstone Bridge: 3. .et ' up the $heatstone %ridge as shown above. Dse the 3E ohm resistor as R#. The wires connecting the resistances and the bridge should be as sort as possible. The decade resistance bo# will be used for Rs. .et Rs to be initially e8ual to R#. "ave the instructor!peer mentor chec, the circuit before activating the power supply. 4. Turn on the power supply and balance the bridge by moving the slide wire contact until the galvanometer reads 6ero. 9isconnect the power supply from the circuit and record L3, L4, and Rs. Record your values in Table C.

?. Repeat steps 3 24 for Rs setting of /a0 ?R# and /b0 E.? R#. @. Repeat steps 3 ' ? for R# Table F. &A#A #ABLE: T&%L> 3) R HHHHHHohms Rv HHHHHHHOhms C3 ohms. Record your values in

Rheostat Setting 1 2 3 _____________ _______________ T&%L> 4) R

V ( Volts)

I (Ampere)

R (ohms)

Average R = % error = HHHHHHohms

Rheostat Setting 1 2 3 _____________ _______________ T&%L> ?) R

V ( Volts)

I (Ampere)

R (ohms)

Average R = % error = HHHHHHohms Rv HHHHHHHOhms

Rheostat Setting 1

V ( Volts)

I (Ampere)

R (ohms)

2 3 _____________ _______________ Average R = % error =

T&%L> @) R

HHHHHHohms

Rheostat Setting 1 2 3 ____________

V ( Volts)

I (Ampere)

R (ohms)

Average R =

_______________ Table C) &ccepted value of R# HHHHHHHHHHHH ohms

% error =

Rs (

L1 (

L2 (

R (

Table F) &ccepted value of R#

HHHHHHHHHHHH ohms

Rs (

L1 (

L2 (

R (

ANALY"I": 3. Dsing Ohms Law, compute the value of R for Tables 3 ' @. +ind the average value and the I error. 4. +or Tables 3 and ?, will the computed value of R be closer to the actual value if the resistance of the voltmeter was ta,en into account= >#plain. If it does, what will be the computed value of R for each table= ?. +or Tables 4 and @, will the computed value of R be closer to the actual value if the resistance of the ammeter was ta,en into account= >#plain. 9educe the ammeter resistance. @. +or Tables C and F, compute the value of R# and find the average value. :ompare the average value with the accepted value by finding the percent error. !E"#I$N": 3. The ideal ammeter would have 6ero resistance and an ideal voltmeter would have an infinite resistance. $hy would this be the ideal case= >#plain. 4. $hich circuit arrangement in the ammeter ' voltmeter methods had the smallest error= >#plain. ?. The true resistance is measured by considering the ammeter resistance and the apparent resistance is measured using Ohms Law. Is the true resistance larger or smaller than the apparent resistance in Tables 4 and @= >#plain. @. The true resistance is measured by considering the voltmeter resistance and the apparent resistance is measured using Ohms Law. Is the true resistance larger or smaller than the apparent resistance in Tables 3 and ?= >#plain.

C. $hy should the wires connecting the resistances and the $heatstone bridge be as short as possible= >#plain. F. $hy is does one need to turn off the circuit in2between measurement when using the $heatstone bridge= >#plain. G. If the power supply was connected in reverse, where the positive terminal is connected to d instead of a, will the outcome be different= >#plain. J. .uppose the slide wire on the bridge does not have a uniform cross sectional area. "ow would this affect your measurement= K. :ompare the two methods for measuring resistances. .tate the advantages and disadvantages of each method.