Circuits

How To Use The Circuits

Turning Circuits On/Off

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Multimeter Settings

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Toggling Between Views

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Instructions and Circuits for Question Set #3 (Part 1)

Use the circuit below to determine how voltage and current work differently in series and parallel circuits. The circuit may be easier to view by opening it in 123D Circuits. You can also zoom in and out using the mouse wheel or touch pad (hold one finger on the pad and slide the other up or down).

1. Determine which circuit is in series and which is in parallel. The best way to accomplish this would be to change to the schematic view. The circuit in the center is there as a control.
2. For the next steps, you must be in the lab view.
3. Turn the circuit on.
4. Set all multimeters to volts (V).
5. How does the voltage of the series and parallel circuits compare to that of the control circuit?
6. Change all of the multimeters to amperes (A).
7. How does the current of the series and parallel circuits compare to that of the control circuit?
8. From this information, what can you infer about how current and voltage work in series and parallel circuits?

Instructions and Circuits for Question Set #3 (Part 2)

Use the circuit below to determine how resistance works differently in series and parallel circuits. The circuit may be easier to view by opening it in 123D Circuits. You can also zoom in and out using the mouse wheel or touch pad (hold one finger on the pad and slide the other up or down).

1. Determine which circuit is in series and which is in parallel. The best way to accomplish this would be to change to the schematic view.
2. For the next steps, you must be in the lab view.
3. Turn the circuit on.
4. Set all multimeters to Ohms (R).
5. All of the resistors used are 100 ohm resistors.
6. Which circuit has higher resistance, series or parallel?
7. Keeping in mind that each resistor is 100 ohms, what would you have to do to get the resistance shown for the series circuit? (What do you think the equation might look like)
8. What would have to be done to get the resistance shown for the parallel circuit? (What do you think the equation might look like)
9. From this information, what can you infer about how resistance works in series and parallel circuits?

Instructions and Circuits for Question Set #4

Use the circuit below to determine how the drops across each component in this series circuit. The circuit may be easier to view by opening it in 123D Circuits. You can also zoom in and out using the mouse wheel or touch pad (hold one finger on the pad and slide the other up or down).

1. The multimeters needed to answer the questions regarding this circuit are already in place and the circuit is set up.
2. To complete step 3, you will need to duplicate this circuit in 123D Circuits. The resistor is 400 ohms.
3. Attach each multimeter to a component (positive to positive and negative to negative).
4. Turn the circuit on.
5. Follow the instructions in the problem set.
6. Answer the questions regarding data collected from this circuit.

Instructions and Circuits for Question Set #5

Use the circuit below to determine how the drops across each component in this parallel circuit. The circuit may be easier to view by opening it in 123D Circuits. You can also zoom in and out using the mouse wheel or touch pad (hold one finger on the pad and slide the other up or down).

1. The multimeter needed to answer the questions regarding this circuit is already in place and the circuit is set up.
2. To complete step 3, you will need to duplicate this circuit in 123D Circuits. The resistors are 56 ohms, 180 ohms, and 220 ohms.
3. Images depicting how to properly hook up the multimeter to get accurate readings can be found below (under the circuit).
4. Turn the circuit on.
5. Follow the instructions in the problem set.
6. Answer the questions regarding data collected from this circuit.

Measuring Total Current

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Measuring Total Resistance

**The battery must be disconnected for this step**

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Measuring Current Running Through R1

**The resistor must be temporarily relocated for this step**

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Measuring Current Across R2

**The resistor must be temporarily relocated for this step**

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Measuring Current Across R3

**The resistor must be temporarily relocated for this step**

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