Jhon Jasper D.

Apan
Department of Physics
PHYS101L/A22 – E109
jhonjasperapan@gmail.com

ANALYSIS

Electricity is a direct consequence of the motion of charged particles. The flow of these charged
particles can be understood by a simple analogy –a hose connected to a faucet. In this set-up, the water is the
charged particles. Current is the flow of the charged particles which is similar to the amount of water flowing.
However, the water will not flow through the hose without the pressure of water coming from the faucet. In
circuits, this is considered as the voltage. It must be noted that the greater the water pressure is, the greater and
faster the flow of the water in the hose will be, and voltage works the same way. However, the flow of the
water is also dependent on the hose. If the hose has a small width, less water will flow through it. There seems
to be something that impedes the current flow. In circuits, this is called the resistance. The greater the force
that impedes the motion of the charged particles is, the less amount of current is generated. The two
correlations mentioned are quantified into a single equation by Ohm’s law which states that the amount of
current is directly proportional to the voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance.
In a simple circuit, voltage, resistance, and current are present. The voltage is generated by a battery;
resistance from resistors cause the voltage to drop; and the current flows through the wires that connects the
battery to the resistors. When two or more resistors are in series, the charged particles flow from one resistor to
another. Meanwhile, in parallel resistors, the current diverges into several pathways.

CONCLUSION

In this experiment, the voltage and current, across and flowing through resistors in series and parallel,
is measured.

In the series circuit, the amount of current flowing through the resistors is found out to be constant
which is accurate since the charged particles flow through a single pathway that is closed. Furthermore, it was
found out that the voltage drop on one resistor is greater which is accurate since some voltage is already
dropped on the first resistor before reaching the second resistor. Furthermore, the sum of voltage drops on the
two resistors is almost equal to the voltage generated by the battery.

In the parallel circuit, the voltage drop in each resistor is found out to be similar with the voltage
gained by the battery which seems accurate because the force that sends the electric current through the
resistors both comes from the battery, unobstructed. However, since the current is split, the current flowing
through one resistor is different from the other. Furthermore, the total current is found out to be almost equal to
the sum of the current flowing through the two resistors.
 Jhon Jasper D. Apan
Department of Physics
PHYS101L/A22 – E110
jhonjasperapan@gmail.com

ANALYSIS

Ohm’s law can only be used if the resistors in a circuit can be can be visualized into a single resistor.
However, most circuits cannot be reduced to a simple series-parallel combination. However, we can still solve
circuit problems of that case using Kirchhoff’s Law. Kirchhoff’s Law has two component rules – the junction
rule and the loop rule.
Junctions can be found between two circuit elements, and the junction rule states that the amount of
current entering a junction is equal to the amount of current leaving the junction. If the current is entering the
junction, the sign is positive, and negative otherwise. Hence the sum of the current through any junction is
equal to zero. This is a direct consequence of the law of conservation of charge.
Meanwhile, in any circuit, the resistors cause the voltage supplied by the battery to drop. The loop rule
expands this concept by means of loops. Loops are created whenever a current that leaves from one terminal of
the battery returns to the battery through the other terminal. In loop rule, it states that the voltage of the battery
is equal to the sum of the individual voltage drops in the resistors of the circuit. This law is a consequence of
the law of conservation of charge and energy.
From these rules, we can see that the Kirchhoff’s rule is just a generalization of the Ohm’s Law.

CONCLUSION

In this experiment, two batteries and three resistors are used to make a circuit that cannot be reduced
to a simple series-parallel combination circuit.
The junction rule and the loop rule are used to compute for the current through the three resistors. The
values of the resistance and the voltage are used to come up with the values of the current through the
respective resistors.
The amount of current through the resistors are measured experimentally. The acquired values are
then compared to the theoretical values computed.
The minimal difference between the theoretical and experimental values allows us to confirm that
Kirchhoff’s law, along with the junction rule and loop rule, is an accurate representation of the electric
phenomenon happening on circuits