Kirchhoff's Laws Activity
Pre-Lab (Follow this link to print the Pre-lab for this activity)
Kirchhoff's Laws Activity (Follow this link to print the Procedure/Data Sheet)
Notice: Printing in the Auburn University Physics Labs will result in your Bursar's Account being charged 50 cents ($0.50) per page.
The photograph to the right is a photograph of a breadboard with a power supply adapter. The power supply adapter allows for multiple sources of DC power. In this case, the very top row will have a potential of 5 Volts with respect to ground. The top row would often be referred to as the 5 Volt Buss.
The second row is the Ground Buss.
If a jumper wire is placed in the 5 Volt Buss, and another jumper wire is placed in the Ground Buss, the voltage between the two wires would be 5 Volts.
During the Kirchhoff's Law Activity, the circuit will require two DC voltage sources. One 5 Volt source and one 12 Volt source. The second row from the bottom in the photograph represents the 12 Volt Buss.
Note that the voltages indicated on the power adapter are only nominal voltages. These voltages will vary by as much as +/- 0.25 Volts. A voltmeter should be used to verify the actual voltages. In order to calculate the currents flowing through the resistors of your circuit, you must use the actual voltages being provided by the power supply adapter, and the actual resistances of the resistors you are using.