Gina Hong

Period 5
4/5/13
Lab Patners- Rachel Cao, Shannon Yap, and Shraddha Singh
Ohms Law Lab

Purpose

The purpose of the lab was to determine the relationship between the current, potential
difference, and the resistance. We also compared the potential and the current behavior of a resistor for
a circuit with a light bulb to see if Ohms law is applied to any situations. The independent variable
would be the current in amperes and the dependent variable is the voltage in volts.

Apparatus

Wires LabQuest Current and Differential Voltage Probe

Clips Light Bulb Adjustable 5 volt DC power supply

Two resistors

Procedure

1. Connect the current and differential voltage probe to the Lab Quest
2. Connect the power supple, 10 ohm resistor, wires and clips as shown above in the circuit.
3. When there is no current flowing and with no voltage applied, wait for the readings to stabilize,
and then zero all sensors from the sensors menu (should be close to zero).
4. Using the 10 ohm resistor, find the value of the current flowing through the circuit with the
voltage from the LabQuest. Start with zero volt and increase by 0.5 volt increments up to 5 volts.
Record all data.
 Gina Hong
Period 5
4/5/13
Lab Patners- Rachel Cao, Shannon Yap, and Shraddha Singh
5. Repeat the process using 51 ohm resistor instead. Start with zero volt and increase by 0.5 volt
increments as well up to 5 volts. Record all data using the voltages from the LabQuest and their
corresponding current.
6. Repeat the process with a light bulb, Start with zero volts and increase by 0.2 volt increments up
to 1 volt. Then form 1 increase by 0.5 increments up to 4 and then increase by 0.2 increments
up to 5 volts. Record all data using the voltages from the LabQuest and their corresponding
current.

Data

10 Ohm Resistor

Current (A) Voltage (V)

0 0
.0436 .444
.1025 .967
.1505 1.834
.2402 2.278
.2871 2.686
.3398 3.189
.3947 3.187
.4458 4.080
.4888 4.493

51 Ohm Resistor

Current (A) Voltage (V)

0 0
.0203 1.010
.0398 1.967
.0604 2.956
.0797 3.909
.0993 4.912

Light Bulb

Current (A) Voltage (V)

0 0
.0336 .125
.0412 .212
.0461 .305
.0554 .451
.0575 .492
 Gina Hong
Period 5
4/5/13
Lab Patners- Rachel Cao, Shannon Yap, and Shraddha Singh
.0635 .702
.0727 .921
.1053 1.823
.1349 2.851
.1576 3.737
.1623 3.945
.1672 4.166
.1707 4.324
.1744 4.498

Evaluation of Data

10 Ohm Resistor

51 Ohm Resistor
 Gina Hong
Period 5
4/5/13
Lab Patners- Rachel Cao, Shannon Yap, and Shraddha Singh
Light Bulb

Form the data of the 10 Ohm resistor we notice that the graph shows a linear function, which
also using the data from the 51 Ohm resistor we notice the graph is also linear. From our data and our

graph from the 10 Ohm resistor, the graph can be described as = 8.744 . In the equation V
symbolizes the voltage in volts and I represent the current in amperes. From the data from the 51 Ohm

resistor and the graph, we got the equation of = 49.25 , where v represent the voltage in volts
and I represent the current in amperes. From the data of the light bulb we derived a graph, but unlike
the other two graphs, this graph is more shaped in a parabola than in a straight line. We then know that
the graph is a quadratic function instead of an linear function, unlike the other two resistors.

Conclusion

The purpose of this lab was to determine the relationship between the current, potential
difference, and the resistance. Based off of our data from the 10 Ohm resistors and the 51 Ohm
resistors, we know that the graphs are linear making the voltage directly proportional to current. The
slopes in both of these graphs are important, because they show close to how many Ohms of resistor
we used, since the slopes are very close in value to the resistance. Basically the slope should be equal to
the resistance because the Ohms of the resistor are volts per amperes. As you can see from the
equations of the resistors, the slope doesnt really equal the resistance, which could be caused by the
possibility the wires in the circuit could also cause resistance or that the resistors arent as resistant.
These causes could also cause for us to obtain a y-intercept but if you were to have zero volts then you
should have zero amperes. Looking at the data from the light bulb, the graph is not a straight line like
the other two, but more a parabola shaped. So, the relationship would be that the voltage I directly
proportional to the current squared. This then shows us that the light bulb does not follow Ohms law.