SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

ECE 2110: CIRCUIT THEORY LABORATORY
Experiment #1:
Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

EQUIPMENT
Lab Equipment
(1) DC Power Supply
(1) Digital Multimeter (DMM)
(1) Breadboard
(1) Test Leads

Equipment Description
Agilent E3631A Triple Output DC Power Supply
Keithley Model 175 Digital Multimeter (DMM)
Prototype Breadboard
Banana to Alligator Lead Set
Table 1 Equipment List

COMPONENTS
Type
Resistor
Resistor
Resistor

Value
200
3.9k
4.7M

Symbol Name
R1
R2
R3

Multisim Part
Basic/Resistor
Basic/Resistor
Basic/Resistor

Description
-------

Table 2 Component List

OBJECTIVES

To install Multisim on your home computer

To determine a resistors resistance and tolerance using the resistor color code
To measure a resistors resistance with the Keithley Model 175 Digital Multimeter (DMM) and find
the percent error between the measured value and its rated value
To use a solderless prototype bread board
To determine a resistors resistance by measuring the voltage across and current through the
resistor using the DMM and an Agilent power supply

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

INTRODUCTION
Understanding how to use the equipment in the lab and how that equipment works is vital to succeeding
in any laboratory class, but it is especially important in circuit theory. The equipment is where any lab
starts and what makes the experiments possible. The power supply, digital multimeter (DMM), and
breadboard will be used in almost every lab this semester as well as any future circuit or electronics
based labs you take. Becoming familiar and comfortable with each of them will allow us to spend less
time in future labs getting our experiments set up and more time actually building and analyzing the
circuits we are interested in observing.

Introduction to the DC Power Supply

A power supply is an electronic device that supplies electric power to a circuit. In any circuit, there needs
to be some power source, and the DC power supply will be the source we use throughout the semester.

Figure 1 Agilent E3631A Triple Output DC Power Supply

The Basics:

The power supply in lab has three outputs with limits of 6V, +25V, and -25V.
The display of the power supply shows the output voltage on the left and the current being
supplied on the right.
The Display Limit button allows you to set a specific voltage or current limit.
o This feature is especially important for limiting the maximum current output from the
power supply. The current limit should always be set at or below 100mA for safety.

Introduction to the Digital Multimeter (DMM)

A digital multimeter is a multipurpose electronic measurement device that is generally capable of
measuring voltage, current, and resistance. The DMM will be used to make all DC measurements.

Figure 2 Keithley 175 Autoranging Digital Multimeter

The Basics:

The DMM can measure voltage (V), current (A), and resistance ().
There is an auto-range feature available for voltage and resistance but not for current.

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

Introduction to the Breadboard

We use solderless breadboards (Figure 3) to connect components and build circuits in ECE 2110. In a
circuit, the legs or leads of components are placed in the holes (sockets). The holes are made so that
they will securely hold the component in place. Each hole is connected to one of the metal strips,
depicted in green (Figure 4), running beneath the board.

Figure 3 Physical Top View of Breadboard

There are four rows or strips connecting the holes on the top of the board and several columns in the
middle. Each row and column forms a node. A node is a point in a circuit where two or more
components are connected. On the breadboard, a node is the row or the column of holes that are
connected by the strip of metal underneath.

Figure 4 Breadboard Internal Connections

The long top and bottom row of holes are usually used for power supply connections. The rest of the
circuit is built by placing components on the breadboard and connecting them together with jumper
wires. When a path is formed by wires and components from the positive supply node to the negative
supply node, we can turn on the power, and current flows through the circuit.
Chips with many legs (ICs) are placed in the middle of the board so that their legs are on different nodes.

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

PRELAB
Part I Resistor Color Code
1. Download and Print the color code: http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~ecelabs/appnotes/rcc/rcc.html
Color
Black
Brown
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Violet
Gray
White
Gold
Silver
None

Value
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Multiplier
1
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
10-1
10-2

Tolerance
1%
2%

0.5%
0.25%
0.1%

5%
10%
20%

Table P.1 Resistor Color Code

2. Resistance Reading Steps:

a. Find the tolerance band, which is typically gold (5%) or silver (10%), and hold the resistor
such that this band is at your right-hand side.
b. Starting from the other end, identify the first band at your left-hand side. Write down the
number associated with that color. For example, in the case of blue, write down 6. Then,
identify the color band next to it, and write down the number associated with that color. For
example, if it were the color red, write down 2. The first two bands are called digit bands.
c. Read the third or multiplier band and write down that number of zeroes. For example, if the
band is green, multiply the number indicated by the digit bands with 105.
d. The resistance of the resistor in this example, color-coded by blue-red-green-gold is
62x105 = 6.2M 5%.
Tolerance Band: A perfect, linear resistor has a constant resistance independent of current,
voltage, temperature, or other factors. In reality, no resistor is perfect. Therefore, in addition to
their value, resistors are marked with an indication of inaccuracy, called tolerance, measured in
percent. Most resistors have a tolerance of 5%, but if needed, resistors down to 1% are
available. For example, if the nominal value is 100 and the tolerance is 5%, the measured
value could be between 100 x 0.95 = 95 and 100 x 1.05 = 105.
3. Complete the following table using the resistor color code:
Resistor Color Code
red-red-black-silver
brown-black-red-silver
green-blue-brown-gold
orange-blue-red-silver
blue-gray-yellow-none
green-red-green-silver
gray-red-red-none

Nominal Resistance ()

Tolerance (%)

Minimum ()

Maximum ()

Table P.2 Resistor Color Code Practice

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

Part II Scientific and Engineering Notation

1. Understand the difference between scientific and engineering notation.
a. Scientific Notation: Compact representation of very large or very small numbers using
powers of 10 (e.g. 31,000,000 could be written as 3.1x107 or 3.1E7)
b. Engineering Notation: Similar to scientific notation, however, the exponent is always written
as a multiple of three (e.g. 31,000,000 would be written as 31x106 or 31E6)
2. Review the following list of common prefixes used in engineering. Instead of writing out the
exponent, these prefixes are used to describe the quantity.
Prefix
tera
giga
mega
kilo
----milli
micro
nano
pico
femto

Symbol
T
G
M
k
----m

n
p
f

Factor
1012
109
106
103
100
10-3
10-6
10-9
10-12
10-15

Table P.3 Common SI Prefixes

3. Complete the last column of the table below about units of physical parameters.
Physical Parameter
Voltage (V)

Primary Unit
Volt (V)

Secondary Unit
mV

Relationship Between Units

1V=
mV

Current (I)

Ampere (A)

mA, A

1A=

mA=

Resistance (R)

k, M
mW

1=
1W=

k=
mW

Power (P)

Ohm ()
Watt (W)

Inductance (L)

Henry (H)

mH, H

1H=

mH=

Capacitance (C)

Farad (F)

F, pF, fF

1F=

F=

pF=

fF

Table 6 Common Units of Physical Parameters

4. Write the following values in proper engineering notation using the correct prefix and unit.
Given Form

Proper Form

0.005A
59E6
45000mW
62E-4V
0.018k
47E-6F
1.4E-5A
0.0084mH
Table P.4 Practice with Common Units

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

LAB
Part I Resistance Measurement
1. Determine the nominal resistor value and the nominal tolerance for the following resistors using
the resistor color code: R1 = 200, R2 = 3.9k, R3 = 4.7M
2. Measure the actual value of each resistor with the Digital Multimeter (DMM):
a. Turn on the Keithley 175 digital multimeter.
b. Set the DMM to measure resistance by pressing the Ohm () button.
c. Enable Auto Range in order to get the maximum number of significant digits during
measurement.
d. Connect the banana ends of the red and black banana to alligator test leads to the
corresponding red and black terminals of the DMM.
e. Connect an alligator end of the banana to alligator test leads on each side of the resistor.
f. Record the resistance (value and units) shown on the DMM.
3. Calculate the Percent Error between the nominal and measured resistance values.
a. For a given resistor, we can measure the percentage difference between its nominal
(expected) resistance and measured resistance, which is called percentage error, using the
following formula:

| |
100%

Equation 1.1 Percent Error (PE) Equation, Nominal Value (NV), Measured Value (MV)

4. Complete the table below using the steps described above.

Resistor

Nominal
Resistance ()

Color Code

Tolerance
(%)

Measured
Resistance ()

Percent
Error (%)

R1
R2
R3
Table 1.1 Practice with Common Units

5. Do the measured values of the resistors fall within the tolerances indicated by the color code?
6. Show the GTA your completed Table 1.1 above before continuing with the rest of the lab.

Part II Solderless Prototype Breadboard

1. Use the Ohm function of the Keithley Model 175 to verify the connections of the breadboard.
Hint: If the resistance between two nodes in the board is 0, that means that two nodes are
connected. If the resistance is too high (Over Limit), two nodes are not connected.
2. Call the GTA over to show how you verified the breadboards connections.

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

Part III Resistance Determination Using Voltage and Current

The DMM can also be used to measure voltage across and current through a device. In this part of the
lab, we will attach a resistor to the power supply and measure voltage and current to determine its
resistance using Ohms Law.

Equation 3.1 Ohms Law

1.
2.
3.
4.

Before building any circuits, set the DC power supply to 1V.

Set the power supply to have a 100mA current limit.
Press the Output ON/OFF button on the power supply to turn the output off.
Build the following circuit using the breadboard, resistor R1 = 200, and the power supply.

V1

R1

1V

Figure 3.1 Circuit Schematic

5. Set the DMM to Voltage mode and attach the alligator leads to measure the voltage across R1.
6. Press the Output ON/OFF button to turn on the output and record the voltage across R1.
7. Turn off the power supplys output.
8. Attach the DMM to measure the current through R1 by breaking the circuit .
9. ***Show your GTA how you will be attaching the DMM prior to turning on the circuit.***
a. Many students BLOW the 2A fuses on the DMM during this step. Be cautious, and show
your GTA before continuing.
10. Turn on the power supply output and record the current through R1.
11. Repeat steps 5-10 above replacing R1 with resistors R2 and R3.
Resistor

Voltage
Across (V)

Current
Through (A)

Calculated
Resistance ()

Measured Resistance
From Part I ()

Percent
Error (%)

R1
R2
R3
Table 3.1 Lab Measurement Results

12. After completing the measurements, calculate the resistance of each resistor. Simply divide the
measured voltage by the measured current. Record this value in column 4 of the table above.
13. Compare the calculated resistance to the measured resistance found in Part I of this lab.
14. Record this comparison as percent error in column 6 of the table above.
15. Show your GTA the completed Table 3.1 before continuing.

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

Part IV Multisim Introduction

1. Review the Introduction to Multisim tutorial on the ECE 2110 website.
2. Build the following circuit in Multisim.

V1

R1

1V

Figure 4.1 Multisim Circuit Schematic

3. Perform a DC Operating Point simulation in Multisim.

4. Record the values for the voltage across R1, the current through it, and the power dissipated
by it, in the table below.
5. Repeat the simulation for R2 and R3.

Resistor

Voltage
Across (V)

Current
Through (A)

Power
Dissipated (W)

Calculated
Resistance ()

Measured Resistance
From Part III ()

R1
R2
R3
Table 4.1 Simulation Results

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory

SEAS
Experiment #1: Introduction to Lab Equipment: Power Supply, DMM, Breadboard, and Multisim

POST-LAB ANALYSIS
Installing Multisim
1. Read the tutorial on the lab website entitled Installing Multisim at Home under the tutorials
section.
2. Download and install Multisim on your home computer.
3. Familiarize yourself with simulating circuits in Multisim as it will be necessary for the next prelab.
Lab Report
1. Be sure to follow the Formal Lab Report Template and Instructions provided on the ECE 2110
website.
2. The lab report for this lab will be graded to give you feedback on how to properly write a formal
lab report; however, this grade will not factor into your final lab grade.

Copyright 2014 GWU SEAS ECE Department

ECE 2110: Circuit Theory