Lab: Kirchoffs Law
Purpose: To experimentally discover Kirchoffs Laws.
Materials: Circuit Construction Simulator
Procedure:
Part 1: Series Circuits
1) Build a simple circuit with one battery and one bulb:
2) Draw the equivalent schematic diagram.
3) Select ‘Voltmeter’ and ‘Non-contact Ammeter’ from the right side menu.
4) Measure the voltage and current of the bulb and battery. Record this information on the
schematic diagram.
5) Repeat experiment with circuits now including 2 bulbs in series and 3 bulbs in series.
Part 2: Parallel Circuits
1) Build a circuit with one battery and two bulbs in parallel.
2) Draw the equivalent schematic diagram.
3) Select ‘Voltmeter’ and ‘Non-contact Ammeter’ from the right side menu.
4) Measure the voltage and current of each bulb and battery. Record this information on the
schematic diagram.
5) Repeat experiment with circuits made of 3 bulbs in parallel and 4 bulbs in parallel.
Part 3:
1) Build a circuit with one battery and three bulbs. 1 bulb should be in parallel with 2 other bulbs.
2) Draw the equivalent schematic diagram.
3) Select ‘Voltmeter’ and ‘Non-contact Ammeter’ from the right side menu.
4) Measure the voltage and current of each bulb and battery. Record this information on the
schematic diagram.
Analysis:
Part 1:
1) State what happens to the current in a series circuit.
2) State what happens to the voltage provided by the battery in a series circuit.
Part 2:
1) State what happens to the current in a parallel circuit.
2) State what happens to the voltage provided by the battery in a parallel circuit.
Part 3:
1) What is the relationship between the voltage of the individual bulb compared to the voltages of
the other two bulb?
2) What is the relationship between the current moving through the individual bulb, the other two
bulbs and the battery?