NMK10103 ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS

(UniMAP)

NMK10103
ELECTRIC CIRCUITS
LAB 1

INTRODUCTION TO BASIC LABORATORY EQUIPMENT

NAME PROGRAMME

GROUP
MATRIK # DATE

MARKS:

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TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO BASIC LABORATORY EQUIPMENT

OBJECTIVE

1. To acquaint students with the skill to read resistor and capacitor values based on color
code and digital/alphabet code.
2. To familiarize students in using multimeter to measure resistance, voltage and current
as a basic tool in measurement.
3. To make students understand how to do real connections or wiring in the laboratory
based on the given schematic diagram using breadboard to easily connect components
together to build circuits.

INTRODUCTION

a) Resistor Coding

The color code technique is used to show resistance values of carbon resistors without
having to measure it. In this technique color bands are printed on the resistor. The
procedure for determining the resistance of a color-coded resistance is described in Table
1. The first two bands determine the first two digits of the resistor value, while the third
band determines the power of 10-multiplier. For the resistor with value less than 10  the
third band is either silver or gold. The forth band is the percent tolerance for the chosen
resistor. If resistors have only three bands, it means the forth band has no color. Sometimes
a fifth band is employed for some high precision resistor where the first three bands
represent the significant digit. The forth band is the multiplier while the fifth band is the
tolerance. In the other case, for some standard 4-band code, a fifth band may indicate the
manufacturer’s special code for some physical characteristic or failure rate of the
component.

For increasing wattage, the size of resistor will increase accordingly. The larger sized
resistors from about 5 W and up or wire winding resistors are not color-coded but are using
digital and alphabet code printed on its body. In writing the value of resistors: k stands for
multiplier “kilo” and M for multiplier “mega”. The alphabet written after the resistor value
shows the tolerance: F = 1%, G = 2%, J = 5%, K= 10% and M = 20%.

Resistance should never be measured in a live network due to the possibility of damaging
the meter with excessively high currents and obtaining readings that have no meaning. In
a constructed circuit, to measure a single resistance value, just take off one end of its
terminal to avoid the effect of other resistances in the circuit. This applies in the same
manner to the other components such as capacitor and inductor.

The standard code is adopted by manufacturer through their trade association, the
Electronic Industries Association (EIA).

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4th Band
1st Band 2nd Band 3rd Band
Color st nd (Tolerance)
(1 Significant Digit) (2 Significant Digit) (Multiplier)
Black 0 0 1
Brown 1 1 101 1%
Red 2 2 102 2%
Orange 3 3 1 03 3%
Yellow 4 4 104 4%
Green 5 5 105
Blue 6 6 106
Violet 7 7 107
Grey 8 8 108
White 9 9 109
Gold - - 0.1 5%
Silver - - 0.01 10%
No
- - - 20%
Color

Table 1

Reading from left to right

Example 1:
The value of this resistor is 25 x 101±
10% = 250± 10% ohms

Minimum value – 225 

Maximum value – 275 
Example 2:

R33F = 0.33 ±1% 

4k7 = 4.7 x 103 
10R0 = 10 
200R = 200 
50M = 50 x 106 
6k8J = 6.8 x 103  ±5%
R39 = 0.39 
2k2M = 2.2 x 103 ±20%
1R0 = 1 

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b) Capacitor Coding

Same as resistors, most of the capacitors have their nominal value printed directly on them
using digital/alphabet code according to the EIA coding system. This code is generally
given in picofarads (pF), which means that we need to manipulate the value if we want the
value in microfarads (F) or nanofarads (nF). Some capacitors have polarity (positive and
negative) which must be connected according to their polarity in order for the capacitor to
operate such as the electrolytics capacitors. Normally the negative leg of electrolytics
capacitor could be recognized by the white stripes at the body and/or the negative leg is
shorter then the positive leg.

Some types of capacitors are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Example 3:

Capacitor marked 104 has value of 10 with 4 zeroes after it, or 100,000pF (equivalent to
100 nF or 0.1 F)
Capacitor marked 681 = 68 with single zero or 680 pF
Capacitor marked 472 = 47 with 2 zeroes or 4700 pF (equivalent to 4.7nF)

Alternatively, the value may be given directly in nanofarads with three significants digits
but the thirds generally ‘0’. In this case there is generally also a small ‘n’ which can be
used in place of decimal points.

Example 4:

Capacitor marked 220n has 220nF capacitances (equivalent to 0.22F)

Capacitor marked 3n3 has 3.3nF capacitances (equivalent to 3300pF)

Some of the capacitors have a capital letter to indicate their tolerance rating. Below is
capacitor tolerance marking codes:

F G J K M Z
 1%  2%  5%  10%  20% -20%, +80%

Example 5:

104K = 0.1F  10%, 4n7J = 4.7nF  5%

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c) Breadboard

When building a "permanent circuit" the components can be "grown" together (as in an
integrated circuit), soldered together (as on a printed circuit board), or held together by
screws and clamps (as in house wiring). In lab, we want something that is easy to assemble
and easy to change. We also want something that can be used with the same components
that "real" circuits use. Most of these components have pieces of wire or metal tabs sticking
out of them to form their terminals.

A breadboard is used to make up temporary circuits for testing or to try out an idea. No
soldering is required so it is easy to change connections and replace components. Parts will
not be damaged so they will be available to re-use afterwards. Figure 2 shows a front look
of a typical small breadboard used in the laboratory.

Figure 2

The breadboard has many strips of metal (copper usually) which run underneath the board.
The metal strips are laid out as shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3

When wiring, it is important to keep your work neat! This will save time in debugging
when your circuit doesn’t work. Here are some tips: Keep your wires short, do not loop
wires over the chip, use the bus lines for Ground or a DC supply voltage (e.g. VCC) and
sometimes to get cleaner signals, short the metal base of the breadboard to the circuit’s
ground.

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d) Multimeter

Multimeter is a basic tool in electric and electronic fields. It is a multipurpose device to

measure voltage, current and resistance. Basically there are two types of multimeter used
either in the education or industrial field based on the electronic circuits inside them: analog
and digital meters. The analog meter, broadly known as VOM (volt-ohm-miliammeters)
uses a mechanical moving pointer which indicates the measured quantity on a calibrated
scale. It requires the user a little practice to interpret the location of the pointer. The digital
meter broadly known as DMM (digital multimeter) used number or numerical display to
represent the measured quantity. It has high degree of accuracy and can eliminate usual
reading errors compared to the analog meters. Students should be adept at using both
meters throughout their studies.

Resistance Measurement: For VOM always reset the zero-adjust whenever you change
scales. In addition always choose the range setting that will give the best reading of the
pointer location. As an example, to measure a 500- resistance, choose function switch
resistance with a range setting of X 1k. Finally do not forget to multiply the reading by the
proper multiplication factor. If you are not sure about the value always starts with the
highest range and going downwards until appropriate scale is chosen. For DMM remember
that any scale marked “k” will be reading in kilo-ohms and any with “M”scale in
mega-ohms and so on. There is no zero-adjust on a DMM meter but make sure that the
resistance reads zero when shunting both leads. Polarity does not concern in resistance
measurement. Either lead of the meter can be placed on either terminal end of the
component, it will be the same.

Voltage Measurement: When measuring voltage levels, make sure the meter is connected
in parallel with the element whose voltage is to be measured. Polarity is important because
the reading will indicate up-scale or positive reading for correct connection and down-scale
or negative reading if reverse connection of the meter test leads to the resistor’s terminals.
Therefore a voltmeter is not only excellent for measuring voltage but also for polarity
determination. Choose the correct function switch for example DCV to measure dc voltage
and turn to the range switch that has slightly bigger value than the voltage to be measured.

Current Measurement: When measuring current levels, make a series connection between
the meter and the component whose current is to be measured. In other words, disconnect
the particular branch and insert the ammeter. The ammeter also has polarity marking to
indicate the manner they should be hooked-up in the circuit to obtain an up-scale or positive
measurement. For analog meter pay attention that reversing the polarity of the meter may
cause damage to the pointer. Again always start with higher range going downwards to
avoid damaging the instrument.

The connection of the multimeter to measure different electrical quantities is shown in both
schematic diagram and real wiring illustration in the laboratory in Figure 4 and 5.

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Vs V/
A

Figure 4: Schematic Diagram.

Figure 5: Real wiring diagram for illustration

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EQUIPMENT/COMPONENT

Multimeter (1)
DC power supply (1)
Resistor (1/4 W) – 1 k , 2.2 k, 4.7 k, 10 k, 6.8k,
Breadboard (1)

PROCEDURE

Part A: Reading resistor by colour coding

Determine the nominal value or colour bands of a particular resistor based on colour coding
technique for each case given in Table 2. Check your answers with the measured values in
the laboratory.

COLOUR BAND
Within
Nominal Measured
No. Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Tolerance?
Value Value ()
YES/NO
1. Yellow Violet Red Gold
2. Brown Black Red Gold
3. Brown Black Orange Gold
4. Red Red Red Gold
5. Blue Grey Red Gold
Table 2

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Part B: Resistance, Voltage and Current Measurements

Exercise 1:

Using the supplied equipments/components in the laboratory, hook-up the series resistive
circuit as in Figure 5. As a common practice, always measure the actual value of the
resistors used in the circuit and set the source value using multimeter to reduce errors from
the expected results. Perform the following instructions;

1. Measure currents I1 and IT. Should they be the same? Give your reason.
Answer:

I1 = ________ mA IT = ________ mA

Comment:
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2. Measure voltage drop across resistor R1.

Answer:

VR1 = ________ V

3. Measure voltage drop across the combination resistors R2 and R3.

Answer:

VR2R3 = ________ V

4. Disconnect the power supply and measure the total resistance in the circuit, Req.
Answer:

Req = ________ 

Measured values:
R1 = ________ 
R2 = ________ 
R3 = ________ 

Figure 5: Series resistive circuit

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Exercise 2:

Modify the previous series circuit connection to reconstruct a parallel resistive connection
as in Figure 6. Perform the following instructions;

Figure 6: Parallel resistive circuits

1. Measure currents I1, I2 and I3 as indicated in the above diagram using miliammeter.
Answer:

I1 = ________ mA I2 = ________ mA I3 = ________ mA

2. Measure the total current, IT. Do you get the same value as in Exercise 1?
Answer:

IT = ________ mA

Comment:
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3. Use the ohmmeter to measure the equivalent resistance Req of this circuit. Does the
result equal to the one measured in Exercise 1?
Answer:

Req = ________ 

Comment:
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4. Measure voltage drop across R1, R2 and R3. What can you conclude from these results?
Answer:

VR1 = ________ V VR2 = ________ V VR3 = ________ V

Comment:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

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DISCUSSION:
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CONCLUSION:
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