current divider
PARTS AND MATERIALS
Calculator (or pencil and paper for doing arithmetic)
6-volt battery
Assortment of resistors between 1 KΩ and 100 kΩ in value
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Voltmeter use
Ammeter use
Ohmmeter use
Use of Ohm’s Law
Use of Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL)
Current divider design
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM
ILLUSTRATION
Normally, it is considered improper to secure more than two wires under a single terminal strip screw. In this illustration, I show three wires joining at the top screw of the rightmost lug used on this strip. This is done for the ease of proving a concept (of current summing at a circuit node), and does not represent professional assembly technique.
The non-professional nature of the “free-form” construction method merits no further comment.
INSTRUCTIONS
Once again, I show different methods of constructing the same circuit: breadboard, terminal strip, and “free-form.” Experiment with all these construction formats and become familiar with their respective advantages and disadvantages.
Select three resistors from your resistor assortment and measure the resistance of each one with an ohmmeter. Note these resistance values with pen and paper, for reference in your circuit calculations.
Connect the three resistors in parallel to and each other, and with the 6-volt battery, as shown in the illustrations. Measure battery voltage with a voltmeter after the resistors have been connected to it, noting this voltage figure on paper as well. It is advisable to measure battery voltage while its powering the resistor circuit because this voltage may differ slightly from a no-load condition.
Measure voltage across each of the three resistors. What do you notice? In a series circuit, current is equal through all components at any given time. In a parallel circuit, voltage is the common variable between all components.
Use Ohm’s Law (I=E/R) to calculate current through each resistor, then verify this calculated value by measuring current with a digital ammeter. Place the red probe of the ammeter at the point where the positive (+) ends of the resistors connect to each other and lift one resistor wire at a time, connecting the meter’s black probe to the lifted wire. In this manner, measure each resistor current, noting both the magnitude of the current and the polarity. In these illustrations, I show an ammeter used to measure the current through R1:
Measure current for each of the three resistors, comparing with the current figures calculated previously. With the digital ammeter connected as shown, all three indications should be positive, not negative.
Now, measure total circuit current, keeping the ammeter’s red probe on the same point of the circuit, but disconnecting the wire leading to the positive (+) side of the battery and touching the black probe to it: