Resistors in series and parallel Essay Example for Free

Resistors in series and parallel Essay Resistors are used in various real life applications to perform tasks that involve: limiting the current that goes through a section of a circuit, introducing a voltage drop in a circuit, generating heat and the protection of components of a circuit. It is important to calculate the resistance of resistors so that the electrical circuits produced using them will perform in the manner that their manufacturer wanted them to. If the wrong resistance/resistor is used then delicate components that need only a relatively small amount of current may be destroyed. All resistors have a level of tolerance. This is to allow for imperfections in the manufactured object. It was determined through experimentation that all of the resistors that were used in this experiment were within their tolerance range with the exception of R4 (See Table 1). This resistor had a nominal value of 1600 ohms and a tolerance of +/-5%. This means that this resistor should have had a value within the range of 1520-1680 ohms, however  the actual resistance was found to be 1798 ohms. It is possible that this may have been due to a manufacturing fault or a labelling error. The total predicted resistance was determined by using the series and parallel resistor laws and the resistance values of the various components of the circuit. The tolerance range for the circuit was predicted to be between 1847.3-2319.2 ohms. Through experimentation the actual total resistance for the circuit was 2216.62 ohms, this value was within the predicted range. The actual resistance value of component 1 was 263.26 ohms; this was within the predicted range (271.36-245.51 ohms). The actual resistance value of component 2 was 1764.26 ohms; this was within the predicted range (1664.24-1846.36 ohms). The actual resistance value of component 3 was 2216.62 ohms; this was within the predicted range (2319.20 and 1847.3 ohms). The actual resistance of the resistors was found by using a multimeter. Some systematic error may have occurred in this experiment if the multimeter was not calibrated correctly during testing. Temperature fluctuations may have caused inconsistencies in this experiment. The reason why resistance occurs is that a metal consists of lattice of atoms that each has a shell of electrons. The metal is a conductor because the electrons are free to dissociate from their parent atoms and travel through the lattice. When a voltage is applied the electrons drift from one side of the metal to the other. In real material imperfections scatter the electrons resulting in resistance. Temperature is able to affect resistance because temperature causes the atoms to vibrate more strongly creating even more collisions and further increasing the resistance. Conclusion: The aim of the experiment was to compare the predicted and actual resistance in the circuit of resistor combinations in series and parallel. The results of this experiment found that the series and parallel resistor laws were reasonably good indicators of the real world values of resistance for circuits that contained resistors in series and parallel. One example of this was that the total resistance of the circuit made was found to be 2216.62 ohms which was within the predicted range (this predicted range was calculated by using the upper and lower tolerance values for the resistors used in the circuit. From the data obtained it can therefore be seen that all three resistor laws stated in the Background section of this report are quite useful in calculating theoretical values for the resistance of circuits in series and parallel that are close to the real world values. Bibliography: resistor. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2005. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/resistor-1 24 Jul. 2005. resistor. WordNet 1.7.1. Princeton University, 2001. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/resistor-1 24 Jul. 2005. resistor. Electronics. Twysted Pair, 2001. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/resistor-1. 24 Jul. 2005. Storen, A and Martine, R. (2000) Nelson Physics VCE Units 3 and 4. Nelson Publishing: Sydney. (pp 221-226)