Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Principles of Engineering Complete the steps of the activity, and fill in the blanks below. Practice Calculations Step 2: On a camping trip, you decide to use a cordless air pump to inflate an inflatable mattress. If the air pump is powered by a 9-volt battery with a resistance of 18 ohms, what is the amount of current flowing through the circuit? Circuit Schematic Calculations Current= 9v/18 Ohms Current = 0.50Ampere Step 3: A DJ uses a 110-volt outlet to plug in a strobe light. If the current flowing through the light is 0.050 amps, how much resistance is within the circuit? Circuit Schematic Calculations A = v/c 0.050 = 110/x Resistance = 5.5 Ohms Step 4: You finally found the earbuds you have wanted for months. While you are waiting in the checkout line, you read the back of the packaging. The manufacturer has guaranteed that the earbuds will perform consistently with a resistance of 42 ohms and a current of 0.020 amps. What voltage is necessary to get the best performance from your earbuds? Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Circuit Schematic Principles of Engineering Calculations 0.1 = x/40 Voltage = 4 volts Constructing Circuits Creating a Series Circuit Step 20: Use Tinkercad Circuits to model the series circuit shown in Figure 7. Include the following components in your Tinkercad Circuits model: ● Power supply set to 9.00 V ● Breadboard Small ● Push-button switch ● 330 Ω resistor ● Blue LED ● Red LED ● Multimeters set to Voltage Mode across each LED ● Wire connections Step 21: Start the simulation. Measure the voltage across the power supply, across the 330ohm resistor, and across each diode with the circuit open and with the push button depressed, closing the circuit. Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Principles of Engineering Note: Move the leads of one of the multimeters to measure the voltage across the resistor. To edit your circuit model’s components, stop the simulation. Voltage in a Series Circuit Circuit Open Voltage across power supply Voltage across 330 Ω resistor Voltage across blue LED 1 Voltage across red LED 2 _____ V _____ V _____ V _____ V Circuit Closed (Push Button Depressed) Voltage across power supply _____ V Voltage across 330 Ω resistor _____ V Voltage across blue LED 1 _____ V Voltage across red LED 2 _____ V a. How do the values of the voltage drops across the components along the circuit’s path compare to the voltage supplied by the power supply? It goes from 87.4 to 2.03 b. In a series circuit, Kirchhoff's Voltage Law states that the sum of all voltage drops equals the total applied voltage. Does your data support that your model is a series circuit? Why or why not? Yes because the values between voltages are different c. What happens if you remove the resistor from the circuit and replace it with a section of wire? Why do you think this happens? The lights explode d. How can you measure the resistance value of the resistor? By switching the voltage to ressistance Current in a Series Circuit Step 20: Use Tinkercad Circuits to model the series circuit shown in Figure 7. Include the following components in your Tinkercad Circuits model: ● Power supply set to 9.00 V ● Breadboard Small ● Push-button switch ● 330 Ω resistor ● Blue LED ● Red LED ● Multimeters set to Voltage Mode across each LED ● Wire connections Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Principles of Engineering Step 21: Start the simulation. Measure the voltage across the power supply, across the 330ohm resistor, and across each diode with the circuit open and with the push button depressed, closing the circuit. Note: Move the leads of one of the multimeters to measure the voltage across the resistor. To edit your circuit model’s components, stop the simulation. Circuit Open Circuit Closed (Push Button Depressed) Voltage across power supply _____ V Voltage across power supply _____ V Voltage across 330 Ω resistor _____ V Voltage across 330 Ω resistor _____ V Voltage across blue LED 1 _____ V Voltage across blue LED 1 _____ V Voltage across red LED 2 _____ V Voltage across red LED 2 _____ V Answer the following questions: a. How do the values of the voltage drops across the components along the circuit’s path compare to the voltage supplied by the power supply? Answer here… b. In a series circuit, Kirchoff’s Voltage Law states that the sum of all voltage drops equals the total applied voltage. Does your data support that your model is a series circuit? Why or why not? Answer here… c. What happens if you remove the resistor from the circuit and replace it with a section of wire? Why do you think this happens? Answer here… d. How can you measure the resistance value of the resistor? Answer here… Current in a Series Circuit Step 23: Reconfigure the circuit to place a multimeter set to Amperage Mode between the two LEDs as shown in Figure 8. Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Principles of Engineering Start the simulation. Measure the current between the diodes with the circuit open and with the push button depressed, closing the circuit. Also, read the current delivered by the power supply. Circuit Open Circuit Closed (Push Button Depressed) Current delivered by power _____ A Current delivered by power _____ A supply supply Current between LEDs _____ A Current between LEDs _____ A Answer the following questions: a. In a series circuit, current can flow in only one path. Is the current equal as it flows through every component in the model? How do you know? Answer here… b. Describe a test you can perform using Tinkercad Circuits to evaluate whether the circuit is a series circuit. Perform the test and record your test protocol and results. Answer here… Step 25: Duplicate your Tinkercad Series Circuit model and rename the file. Reconfigure the circuit components to form a series circuit without a breadboard component. Recall from Introduction to Electricity that components in a series circuit are connected end to end. Share a snapshot of your series circuit model design. Insert image here… Creating a Parallel Circuit Voltage in a Parallel Circuit Step 27: Use Tinkercad Circuits to model the circuit shown in Figure 9. Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Principles of Engineering Step 28: Start the simulation. Measure the voltage across the power supply, across the 330ohm resistor, and across each diode with the circuit open and with the push button depressed, closing the circuit. Note: Move the leads of one of the multimeters to measure the voltage across the resistor. Circuit Open Circuit Closed (Push Button Depressed) Voltage across power supply _____ V Voltage across power supply _____ V Voltage across 330 Ω resistor _____ V Voltage across 330 Ω resistor _____ V Voltage across blue LED 1 _____ V Voltage across blue LED 1 _____ V Voltage across red LED 2 _____ V Voltage across red LED 2 _____ V Answer the following questions: a. What is the total voltage across the resistor and LED 1 when the push button is depressed? How does the voltage compare to the voltage across the power supply? Answer here… b. What is the total voltage across the resistor and LED 2 when the push button is depressed? How does the voltage compare to the voltage across the power supply? Answer here… c. What conclusion can you draw about the total voltage in a parallel circuit? Answer here… Current in a Parallel Circuit Step 30: Reconfigure the circuit to place a multimeter set to Amperage Mode in series with each LED as shown in Figure 10. Step 31: Start the simulation. Measure the current through each LED branch with the circuit open and with the push button depressed, closing the circuit. Also, read the current delivered by the power supply. Circuit Open Circuit Closed (Push Button Depressed) Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Current delivered by power supply Current through blue LED 1 Current through red LED 2 _____ A _____ A _____ A Principles of Engineering Current delivered by power supply Current through blue LED 1 Current through red LED 2 _____ A _____ A _____ A Answer the following questions: a. In a parallel circuit, Kirchoff’s Current Law states, the sum of all the currents in each branch is equal to the total current. Does your data support that your model is a parallel circuit? Why or why not? Answer here… b. Describe a test you can perform using Tinkercad Circuits to evaluate whether the circuit is a parallel circuit. Perform the test and record your test protocol and results. Answer here… Step 32: Duplicate your Tinkercad Parallel Circuit model and rename the file. Reconfigure the circuit components to form a parallel circuit without a breadboard component. Recall from Introduction to Electricity that all components in a parallel circuit are connected within the same set of electrically common points. Share a snapshot of your parallel circuit model design. Insert image here… Creating a Combination Circuit Let’s combine components in both a series configuration and a parallel configuration within a circuit to create a combination circuit. Step 33: Review the circuit schematic in Figure 11. If the Total Voltage (VT) is 5.00 V, and the Total Current (IT) is 156 mA, predict the voltage across and current through each bulb. Note: Review your calculation from step 16 to estimate the resistance, R, of a single light bulb. Step 34: In Tinkercad Circuits, create a model of the circuit shown in Figure 11 with the readings of all of the currents and voltages. Take a screenshot and enter it here. Activity 1.2.3: Electrical Circuits – Simulation Insert image here… Step 35: Calculate total resistance for the combination circuit. ● In a series circuit ● In a parallel circuit Answer here… Principles of Engineering
