Investigating voltage dividers
In this activity you will investigate how voltage is divided between components in a circuit and how this property can be used in electronic circuits.
Equipment
6V hobby battery
2 identical globes
100 ohm resistors
500 ohm potentiometer
Digital Multi Meter (DMM)
Connecting wires
masking tape and pen
Test 1
Use the DMM to measure and label the resistances of the three globes on each globe.
Resistances: Globe 1: Globe 2:
Set up the circuit as below:
Predict what the voltages across the globes might be:
Measure the voltages around the circuit using the DMM.
Source:
Globe 1:
Globe 2:
1. How do the globe voltages relate to the source voltage?
Test 2
Build the following circuit
1. What will be the out put voltage when the pot is set to 500 ohm?
Check by measuring
2. Change the resistance on the pot. What happens to the output voltage?
3. What is the range of the output voltage for this circuit?
4. How could you change the circuit to achieve a range from 0 - 1 volts?