Blog 1 Group 1

Scout Case and Austin Kane

1.  What is the class format?
Monday: Quiz discussion for 15 minutes, then lab intro, then lab for the rest of class.
Wednesday: Finish up the lab.
Friday: Comment and discuss the blogs.
Nonclass days: Work on blogs and comment on others.
-The class is out of 1000 total points which are received through; Quizzes, blog reports, blog discussion, final project, midterm exams, and final exams.

2.  Important safety rules:
-Know where fire extinguisher, first aid kit, telephone, and emergency numbers are located.
-Check equipment to make sure it isn't defective.
-Keep things clean.
-When not using equipment turn it off.
-Make sure equipment with electricity is grounded.
-Keep hands dry.

3.  Does current kill?
Yes, if the current is between .1 and .2 mA it will kill you. If it is just above or below it can cause horrific pain, lungs to shut down, and also burns.

4. How to read color coding on a resistor:

5.  The tolerance is the percentage of error in the resistor's resistance. An example in the experiment that we conducted was that each resistor contained a band on the end that was either gold or silver.  Gold was a 5% tolerance, and silver is a 10% tolerance.

6.  Prove all the resistors are within the tolerance range:

Color Band Resistance(Ω)	Tested Resistance (Ω)	Tolerance Range (±5%)
2.2 (kΩ)	2.174  (kΩ)	2.09-2.31  (kΩ)
390	388	370.5-409.5
175	175.8	166.25-183.75
272	270.8	258.4-285.6
150	148	142.5-157.5
151	150.1	143.45-158.55
270	269.5	256.5-283.5
202	202.2	191.9-212.1
201	200.9	190.95-211.05
681	680	646.95-715.05

The values obtained from doing the tests all fall within the tolerance range of 5%.
The range is the max and min that the tolerance would allow.

7.  What is the difference between measuring the voltage and current using a DMM? why?
When you are measuring voltage, you have to have the DMM in parallel with the circuit.  When you are measuring current you have to have the DMM in series with the component you want to measure the current through. This requires you to break the circuit for measuring current.

8.  How many different voltage values can you get from the power supply? Can each one of them be changed to any value?
There are 3 different voltage values you can obtain from the power supply.  Two of them you can change from 0-25 volts and the third value is a fixed value of 5 Volts.

9.  Practice Circuit Results:
Voltage Drop: 5.36 V
Current through the Resistor: 61.2 mA
Resistance: V=I*R so 5.36 V =  .0612 A * R, R=87.58 Ω

Doing the process of working the circuit to test for the current and the voltage.

The Circuit board used to test the resistor.

10. How do you experimentally prove Ohm’s Law? Provide measurement results. Compare calculated and measured voltage, current, and resistance values. 

You experimentally prove Ohms law by recording the voltage and current at different levels of each, once you do those you can solve for the resistance.  The values obtained should come back very close to the actually given resistance. 

Trial 1: 83 Ohm Resistor

Volts (V)	Current (A)	Resistance (Ω)
5	0.0612	87
7.95	0.0912	87
10.3	0.1206	85.406
12.75	0.152	83.88
15.2	0.189	84.2

Trial 2: 53 Ohm Resistor:

Volts (V)	Current (A)	Resistance (Ω)
1.11	0.026	42.69
2.209	0.0412	53.616
3.5	0.0656	53.35
4.3	0.0804	53.482
5.34	0.1002	53.29

Testing Results for Circuits and Currents:

11. Rube Goldberg Circuit:

12. Circuit diagram for the Rube Goldberg setup:

13. We could have an L.E.D. that is triggered causing the photo resistor to activate which would spin the motor causing it to wind up string moving a bar which was blocking a ball which could then go trigger another Rube Goldberg set up