North South University

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

LAB REPORT
Course Code: EEE141L
Course Title: Electrical Circuits I Lab
Course Instructor: Dr. Mohammad Abdul Matin (Mtn)
Experiment Number: 2
Experiment Name:

KCL, Current Divider Rule with Parallel and Ladder Circuit

Experiment Date: 11/3/2021

Date of Submission: 17/3/2021
Section: 3
Submitted To: Tabia Hossain
Submitted By Score

Student Name and ID:

1. Md. Rifat Ahmed - 1931725042
Objectives:

• Validate the current divider rules.

• Verify Kirchhoff’s current law.
• Verify KCL and KVL in ladder circuit.

List of Equipment:

• OrCAD Software
• PSpice Software
• Resistors (1k, 3.3kΩ, 4.7kΩ, 5.6kΩ, 10k)
• Connecting Wires

Theory:

Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL):

Kirchhoff’s current law states that the algebraic sum of all the currents entering
and exiting a node or a closed loop circuit is zero.
Alternatively, it could also be said that the total amount of currents entering a
node is equal to the currents exiting from that node.

Figure – 1
For example, if we apply KCL to Figure-1 the algebraic sum of all the currents
entering and exiting should be equal to zero. And if we consider the currents
exiting from the node as negative, we get,
I1 + I3 + I5 - I2 - I4 = 0

Or, if we consider the alternative form of KCL the sum of the currents entering
the node (I1, I3, I5) there should be equal to the currents exiting (I2, I4) from it. So,
I1 + I3 + I5 = I 2 + I4

Current Division Rule:

The current division rule states that the current entering the node of a parallel
circuit is divided into the resistors of the branches in inverse proportion to their
resistances.

So, when the current is flowing in a circuit if it encounters parallel branches it’ll
get divided into the resistors in those branches of the circuit.

For a circuit with two resistors in parallel the current flowing through each
resistor will be, “the resistance in the opposite branch divided by the total
resistance and multiplied by the total current” and the formula to calculate the
currents divided into the resistor will be as following,
R2
I1 = x IS
R1+R2
R1
I2 = x IS
R1+R2

Figure – 2
For a circuit with three resistors in parallel the formula to calculate the currents
divided into the resistors is a bit different from the formulas used for the circuit
with two parallel resistors. They’ll be,

1
Req = [ 1 1 1 ]
+ +
R1 R2 R3
Req
I1 = x IS
R1
Req
I2 = x IS
R2
Req
I3 = x IS
R3

Figure – 3

So, the technique is to take the total resistance in the parallel circuit and divide
it by the resistance of the resistor that we’re trying to find the current flow of
and multiply it with the total current.

Ladder Circuit:

A ladder circuit is the kind of circuit that we commonly use which is a mixture of
both series and parallel circuits unlike the previous circuits we’ve seen where
it’s either only series or only parallel connections.
Circuit Diagram:

Circuit – 1

Circuit – 2
Data, Readings and Results:

Table 2:

Experimental readings Theoretical values

IS (mA) IR1 (mA) IR2 (mA) IR3 (mA) IS (mA) IR1 (mA) IR2 (mA) IR3 (mA)
4.098 1.789 1.256 1.054 4.098 1.788 1.256 1.054
% Error
IS IR1 IR2 IR3
0% 0.06% 0% 0%

Percentage Error Calculation:

Experimental value – Theoretical value
% Error for IS = | | × 100%
Theoretical value
4.098 – 4.098
=| | × 100% = 0%
4.098
1.789 – 1.788
% Error for IR1 = | | × 100% = 0.06%
1.788
1.256 – 1.256
% Error for IR2 = | | × 100% = 0%
1.256
1.054 – 1.054
% Error for IR3 = | | × 100% = 0%
1.054

Table 3:

IS 4.098mA Is Total Current equal to the sum of

individual current?
Sum of individual 4.099mA Almost Equal
Current (IR1 + IR2 + IR3)
Table 5:

Component Voltage Current

E 12V 2.538mA
R1 2.538V 2.538mA
R2 9.462V 0.946mA
R3 7.480V 1.592mA
R4 1.982V 0.601mA
R5 0.991V 0.991mA
R6 0.991V 0.991mA
Questions and Answers:

Answer of Question 1:

The current divider rule states that the current entering the node of a parallel
circuit is divided into the branches in reverse proportion of the resistances of
those branches.

Answer of Question 2:

Kirchhoff’s current law states that the algebraic sum of all the currents entering
and exiting a node is equal to zero.

Answer of Question 3:

Verifying KVL within each independent closed loop of circuit-2:

From Table 3 we get the experimental values,
E = 12V
VR1 = 2.538V
VR2 = 9.462V
VR3 = 7.480V
VR4 = 1.982V
VR5 = 0.991V
VR6 = 0.991V

There are total 3 independent closed loops in our circuit-2.

Now, Applying KVL at Loop 1,

-E + VR1 + VR2 = 0
=> E = VR1 + VR2
=> 12V = 2.538V + 9.462V
=> 12V ≈ 12V
Applying KVL at Loop 2,
-VR2 + VR3 + VR4 = 0
=> VR2 = VR3 + VR4
=> 9.462V = 7.480V + 1.982V
=> 9.462V ≈ 9.462V
Applying KVL at Loop 3,
-VR4 + VR5 + VR6 = 0
=> VR4 = VR5 + VR6
=> 1.982V = 0.991V + 0.991V
=> 1.982V ≈ 1.982V

Here, we can see that for all three loops the total voltage around the loop is
equal to the sum of all the voltage drops within the same loop. Which means
that all three loops follow KVL.

‫ ؞‬KVL is verified for all the independent closed loops of the circuit.

Answer of Question 4:

Verifying Kirchhoff’s current law at nodes a and b of circuit-2:

Applying KCL at node ‘a’ we get,

IR1 = IR2 + IR3
With the experimental data from Table 5 we get,
2.538mA = 0.946mA + 1.592mA
= 2.538 mA
Here, we can see that the amount of current going into node a is equal to the
total current going out of the node.
‫ ؞‬KCL verified at node ‘a’.

Now, again applying KCL at node ‘b’ we get,

IR3 = IR4 + IR5
With the experimental data from Table 5 we get,
1.592mA = 0.601mA + 0.991mA
= 1.592mA
Here, we can see that the amount of current going into node b is equal to the
total current going out of the node.
‫ ؞‬KCL verified at node ‘b’.
Answer of Question 5:

Calculating the theoretical values for Table 2:

Given,
E = 10V
R = 1kΩ
R1 = 3.3kΩ
R2 = 4.7kΩ
R3 = 5.6kΩ
1
‫ ؞‬Total Resistance in Parallel branches, Req = 1 1 1
+ +
R1 R2 R3

1
= 1 1 1 = 1.44 kΩ
+ +
3.3 4.7 5.6

‫ ؞‬Total Resistance, RT = R + Req

= 1kΩ + 1.44kΩ
= 2.44 kΩ
‫ ؞‬Total Current, IT = E/RT
= 10V / (2.44 × 103 Ω)
= 4.098 × 10-3 A
= 4.098 mA
Now, Using Current Divider Rule,
Req
‫ ؞‬IR1 = × IT
R1
1.44 kΩ
= × 4.098mA = 1.788 mA
3.3 kΩ
Req
‫ ؞‬IR2 = × IT
R2
1.44
= × 4.098mA = 1.256 mA
4.7
Req
‫ ؞‬IR3 = × IT
R3
1.44
= × 4.098mA = 1.054 mA
5.6
From Table 2 we can see that the experimental and theoretical values of IS, IR3,
IR4 are exactly the same and the value of IR2 is almost same. And from KCL we
know that the total current entering and exiting should be zero. The amount of
current entering in the Circuit is 4.098mA and the sum of the total amount of
current going out is also 4.098mA so the algebraic sum of total current
entering and exiting is zero.
‫ ؞‬Our circuit follows KCL.

Answer of Question 7:

Given,
E = 12 V
R1 = 1 kΩ
R2 = 10 kΩ
R3 = 4.7 kΩ
R4 = 3.3 kΩ
R5 = 1 kΩ
R6 = 1 kΩ

In the circuit, R5 and R6 are in series. So,

RS1 = R5+R6 = 1+1 = 2kΩ
RS1 is in parallel with R4,
1 1
RP1 = 1 1 = 1 1 = 1.25 kΩ
+ +
R4 Rs1 3.3 2

Then R3 is in series with RP1,

RS2 = 4.7+1.25 = 5.95 kΩ
Then R2 is in parallel with RS2,
1 1
RP2 = 1 1 = 1 1 = 3.73 kΩ
+ +
R2 Rs2 10 5.95

Finally, R1 is in series with RP2. So, the total resistance across the circuit,
RT = R1+RP2 = 1+3.73 = 4.73 kΩ

‫ ؞‬Total Current across the circuit,

IS = E/RT = 12V / (4.73 x 103 Ω) = 2.54 x 10-3 A
= 2.54 mA
Now, IR1 = IS = 2.54 mA
VR1 = IR1 × R1 = 2.54 × 1 = 2.54V
VR2 = E – VR1 = 12 – 2.54 = 9.46V
IR2 = VR2 / R2 = 9.46/10 = 0.946mA
IR3 = IR1 – IR2 = 2.54 – 0.946 = 1.594mA
VR3 = IR3 × R3 = 1.594 × 4.7 = 7.492V
VR4 = VR2 – VR3 = 9.46 – 7.492 = 1.968V
IR4 = VR4 / R4 = 1.968/3.3 = 0.596mA
IR5 = IR3 – IR4 = 1.594 – 0.596 = 0.998mA
VR5 = IR5 × R5 = 0.998 × 1 = 0.998V
IR6 = IR5 = 0.998mA
VR6 = IR6 × R6 = 0.998 × 1 = 0.998V
Discussion:

From this experiment we’ve learned the use of Kirchhoff’s current law and the
alternative form of KCL, then we learned the current division rule for circuits
with two parallel resistors and for circuits with three parallel resistors and if
there was more resistors, we could follow the same technique as we did for the
three parallel resistor circuit and then we learned what’s a ladder circuit. We’ve
also learned to verify the KCL. Now coming to the result analysis, our
experimental values and the theoretical values didn’t vary much and were
almost the same and because of that the error in our results were almost zero.
Then we verified KVL for each independent closed loop and then by using KCL
on node a and b of the circuit we saw that it follow KCL at those nodes too. After
that in the Data, Reading and Results part we got almost a similar data readings
and theoretical values. Due to that we got almost similar results for both
experimental and theoretical values. So, the practical results were very much
similar to the theoretical results as there wasn’t any noticeable deviation there.
Now the only problem during this experiment was that we had to rely on
computer generated data using the OrCAD software to use as the experimental
values as we can’t do the experiment in real with actual circuits and resistors.
So, the experimental values we had might not be as realistic as we had gotten if
it was done in real life so doing the experiment online without using any actual
hardware is a big drawback for our experiment.