FINAL DATA SHEET

Table 3.1

(Measured Values)

R1

R2

R3

R4

R5

RT

0.678k

0.978k

465.9

468.4

1.002k

2018.80

MEASURED

V1

V2

V3

V4

V5

VT

VALUES

5.088V

7.39V

2.648V

0.85V

1.816V

15.15V

I1

I2

I3

I4

I5

IT

7.4mA

7.4mA

5.8mA

1.9mA

1.9mA

7.4mA

R1

R2

R3

R4

R5

687.57

998.65

456.55

447.37

955.79

RT

I at C

2047.30

-0.3mA

CALCULATED
VALUES

V
ACDBA

CEFDC

ACEFDBA

0.024V

-0.018V

0.006

SAMPLE COMPUTATION

DISCUSSION
Experiment 3 is about Kirchhoffs Laws. Electricians and engineers use
several mathematical formulas to calculate the current and voltage in each part
of a circuit. The most important of these formulas are Ohms Law (which we did
last experiment) and Kirchhoffs Laws. Kirchhoffs Laws was discovered by a
German physicist named Gustav R. Kirchhoff.
Kirchhoffs two basic electrical laws that are universally accepted are:
Kirchhoffs Current law and Kirchhoffs Voltage law. Kirchhoffs Current law states
that the sum if the currents entering any point in a circuit equals the sum of
the current leaving the point. This law is based on the fact that an electric
charge cannot accumulate at any point in a closed circuit. A node or a junction
is a point at which two or more elements have a common connection.
Mathematically

speaking,

Kirchhoffs

Current

law

is

defined

as:

. This is also known as Kirchhoffs First Law or the Law

of Conservation of charge in electric circuits. Kirchhoffs Voltage law states that
the summation of all voltages or potential around a given closed path or loop
is equivalent to zero. In other words, the voltage increases through the sources
by the same amount that it decreases through the output devices. A path is a
set of nodes and elements passed through if no node was encountered more
than once while a closed path or loop is a kind of path wherein the node
where you started is also the node where you will end. Mathematically speaking,
Kirchhoffs Voltage law is defined as:

In this experiment, the same set-up of circuits from experiment 2 was

also used. The only difference is that the aim of this experiment is to
demonstrate the operating principles of Wheatstone bridge circuits, and to

illustrate the different conditions arising from the resistance bridge circuit and
its practical application.
In addition to Kirchhoffs Law, the group also applied the ohms law
(V=IR). The group measured the voltage across each resistor and the power
supply, and the ammeter was used to measure the current flowing at different
branches of the circuit.
In order to verify the Kirchhoffs Voltage law and Kirchhoffs Current law,
the algebraic sum of the voltages in each loop and the algebraic sum of the
current that is flowing into and out of each node must be equal to zero, or at
least must be close to the value of zero. From the result of the experiment, the
summation of current at point C is -0.3mA. The negative value indicates that the
group assumed the wrong direction of the flow of current. 0.3mA is a very small
value that it is considered negligible. The same goes for the voltages at the
first, second and third loop.

CONCLUSION
Ohms law and Kirchhoffs Law are the most basic techniques in analyzing
linear circuits. The main purposes of this experiment are: To demonstrate the
operating principles of Wheatstone bridge circuits, to illustrate the different
conditions

arising

from

the

resistance

bridge

circuit

and

its

practical

applications, and lastly is to familiarize the students with the analysis of basic
bridge circuits used for instrumentation.
Kirchhoffs Current Law (KCL) and Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL) is very
important to analysis a linear circuit. It is mainly deals to relate voltage to
current and resistance. Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (KVL) states that the algebraic
sum of all voltages in a closed loop must be equal to zero. A closed loop is a
path in a circuit that does give a return path for a current. Kirchhoffs Current
Law (KCL) deals with the current flowing into and out of a single node. It states
that the sum of the current flowing into the node and the current flowing out
from the node must equal to zero.
There were five unknown current and voltage in the circuit that needs to
be measured. The group also calculated analytically the values by using
Kirchhoffs law and Ohms law to predict the calculated value and verifying if the
results of the calculated and experimental values are the same. There are some
errors in the groups calculation because the expected (calculated) value is not
zero but is a very small number which can be negligible. The percent error
between the experimental values and calculated values are less that 2 percent.
As a result, it is therefore concluded that Kirchhoffs law and Ohms law are
valid.
An application of these electrical laws is the derivation of different
formulas or equations for several circuit connections.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1.

What is a loop in circuit analysis?

2.

What is a node in a circuit?

3.

A node is the point of connection between two or more branches. It is

indicated by a dot sign.

What are the common applications of Kirchhoffs Laws? Discuss briefly each
application.

4.

A loop is any closed path in a circuit. In circuit analysis, a loop is any

continuous path available for current flow from a given point in a circuit
and back to that same point in the circuit from the opposite direction
that it left without crossing or retracing its own path. It may or may not
contain a source voltage.

It is used to determine the direction and value of current, to determine

the potential difference, and to determine the value of resistance.
The current distribution in various branches of a circuit can be easily
found out by applying Kirchhoffs Current law at different nodes or
junction points in the circuit. After that Kirchhoffs Voltage law is applied,
each possible loop in the circuit generates algebraic equation for every
loop. By solving all these equations, one can easily find out different
unknown currents, voltages and resistances in the circuit.

Find Ix and Vab in the given circuit below.

Solving Ix by KVL:

Solving Vab By KVL:

5.

The total current flowing through the circuit is 70A. Determine branch currents
flowing through the circuit below.
A

At branch A:

6.

At branch B:

At branch C:

At branch D:

From the figure below, determine the current I and the voltage across Terminals
A and B.

RT = (

= 22.22

REFERENCES

http://www.engineersblogsite.com/what-is-node-branch-and-loop-in-acircuit.html
http://www.nptel.ac.in/courses/Webcoursecontents/IIT%20Kharagpur/Basic%20Electrical%20Technology/pdf/L04(GDR)(ET)%20((EE)NPTEL).pdf
http://www.tina.com/course/13kirch/kirch
http://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/dccircuits/dcp_4.html