PRE-LAB #1: A Lab-Course Introduction

This pre-lab exercise is unique in that it is not to be completed prior to the first laboratory meeting, but at the first laboratory
meeting. At each laboratory meeting this semester, you will meet in the small lecture room adjacent to the ECE110 lab for
instruction. During the first week only, you will be guided through this pre-lab introduction to Etiquette and Safety so that you
will understand these issues as they generally arise in the electronics-lab setting. After the first lab meeting, you will need to
have your pre-lab exercise finished and ready to submit at the beginning of your lab while meeting in the adjacent lecture room.

Etiquette
Etiquette is the set of rules or procedures that define polite behavior within a particular setting. The etiquette for the ECE 110
Lab is outlined below and has been specifically designed to foster a healthy and productive environment in the laboratory.
Please take the time to read and follow the lab etiquette so that you and your peers will have the best possible experience in the
lab.

Respect Your Peers

In the field of engineering, most projects are too large for any one engineer to accomplish on their own. As a result, most
engineering projects (both the academic and professional) require the collaborative efforts of a team of engineers. Effective
collaboration is not possible without respect between peers.
Since the University of Illinois is both large and prestigious, you will find that your classmates come from wide variety of
backgrounds. Although differences in cultural background or personality can sometimes lead to tension between peers, a
diverse team benefits greatly from the diverse ideas it generates. Your classmates will think about problems differently and have
strengths that are different from your own. Embrace your diversity, learn from the strengths of others, and be open to letting
them learn from you.

Cooperate with Your Lab Partner

Laboratory courses are intended to be a place where students can gain hands-on experience with engineering concepts. Take
turns with your lab partner leading hands-on activities within the lab. This should be done when wiring the breadboard, using
laboratory equipment, and in using the computer for data analysis and graphing.

Notes:
If you find that your partner is not participating enough or perhaps not letting you participate enough, communicate the issue
to your partner or discuss the issue with one of your lab instructors.

No Food or Drink
Food or drink is generally prohibited in the lab, with the exception of bottles of water with a tight-fitting screw-top lids. Other
beverages such as pop and sugary drinks can result in a sticky mess that ruins the furniture while posing an added danger to
expensive lab equipment. Food should NEVER enter the lab. Besides the risk of spreading germs through the practice of eating in
a hands-on laboratory, there are other issues with respect to toxic-poisoning discussed below in Safety Considerations.
Any exceptions to the food and drink policy (such as allowing it in the adjacent lecture room) must be explicitly granted by your
head lab instructors.

Respect Property and Lab Equipment

Be respectful of the other peoples possessions and workspace. Through each lab session, do your best to be respectful of the
workspaces being used by your classmates and minimize clutter that might serve as a tripping hazard.
At the end of each lab, your workbench (and any common bench areas you have used) should appear as if you had never been
there. A neat and clean workbench is much easier to use when troubleshooting. Show respect to the students in the other lab
sections by helping them keep the lab clean!

Collaborate with Classmates

Technical discussions and collaborative learning are among the most effective ways to build and affirm your command of the
material. Discuss your experiment procedures, questions, and observations with other lab groups. Take this time to talk with
your neighbors regularly to ensure good scores on your assignments.

Question 1: Work with your neighbors to define another item of etiquette that could have been added to the list.
Write your new etiquette item here and explain why you feel it is important.

Notes:

Cheating
Collaboration does not imply that you may submit work done by your lab partner or another classmate. Collaboration is a giveand-take procedure where two-way discussions enhance student understanding of the material. One-way conversations (like
asking for an answer to a question or copying from your teammate or another students lab report) is just cheating. Any student
caught cheating will be subject to disciplinary action.

Dealing with Problems

Although the vast majority of students in ECE110 are considerate, hard-working, intelligent young adults, some may have picked
up bad habits. Others may make a serious error in judgment when under the pressures that a top institution like the University
of Illinois may present. If you encounter a difficulty with a teammate or another student in the course that cannot be resolved,
you have several actions of recourse. For example, you can ask to be paired with a different student within the first six weeks of
the semester (or later, if the situation is more serious). Alternately, you might meet with your professor or an advisor in ECE
where he/she can act as a moderator to help rectify the problems. In any case, it is better to address any issues as soon as they
appear.

Safety Considerations
What are the hazards in an electrical engineering laboratory? Here, we will list several to be aware of specific to ECE and explain
how they may affect you.

Electric shock
Some of the instruments are capable of providing currents high enough to cause ventricular fibrillation of the heart (greater than
0.1 A through the heart). Fortunately, the lower voltages (< 10 V) provided by this equipment coupled with the typically-high
resistance of the body to current flow makes this risk very low in ordinary conditions.
A greater concern is involved when plugging something into the 110-V, 60-Hz wall socket which is capable of providing much
higher currents. Never remove the case of any electrical device or design your own system that draws power from a wall outlet
without proper supervision. Do not assume that because you are training to be an engineer, that you are inherently trained to
handle high-power devices.
Large capacitors (like those also found in large appliances like CRT televisions or microwave ovens) are also capable of providing
high voltages and correspondingly-high current. Many other devices contain marginally-large capacitors, but are often

Notes:
discharged automatically by a bleed resistor. If you find yourself in the presence of a capacitor much thicker than your little
finger, you should ask your lab instructor if it is safe to handle or use in your project.

Burns
While the power drawn from the sources in the lab are not typically a shock hazard, they can indirectly cause burns. Electrical
devices are designed to dissipate a certain amount of electrical power without overheating. If a device is pushed beyond these
limits by being wired incorrectly or being supplied with too much power, they can become very hot to the touch and often begin
to burn and produce smoke. If you smell something burning and suspect it might be your circuit, quickly disconnect the power
from your circuit. Be careful when disconnecting power from a circuit in this situation as the power source itself may be hot. The
best practice is to use a pencil or other non-conducting object to physically disconnect the power source. DO NOT TOUCH any
part of the circuit as it may remain hot for some time, but rather look for wiring errors, melted plastic or visibly burnt devices. If
you find none, have your TA present before you plug it back in.
The most common serious mistake in wiring is connecting directly connecting the positive and negative terminals of a battery
(generally called a short) through a non-obvious path on the breadboard. Most desktop power supplies have protective circuits
that will limit the current or disable the output when the positive and negative terminals are shorted. Batteries have no such
protection and can supply enough current to burn up components or melt a breadboard. Shorting a battery not only can cause
burns due to hot devices, but can even result in the battery bursting into flames. Be sure to use care with batteries. Transport or
store batteries in a manner in which they cannot short.
During the semester, several students may wish to take the opportunity to learn the basics of soldering. While most people
recognize the inherent danger of the hot end of the soldering iron, they often fail to recognize how much of that heat is
transferred to the solder joint and adjoining metal parts of the circuit and how long it may take for those parts to cool. The
larger the volume of metal being joined, the longer it will take to heat and then cool the parts when soldering. Allow at least
three times as long to cool as it took to heat and solder the joint.

Chemical Poisoning
Soldering is closely related to main source of chemical danger in the electrical engineering laboratory, lead (chemical element
Pb). This heavy metal, when inhaled or ingested, is highly toxic and can lead to a multitude of problems affecting the nervous
system and internal organs and can even cause death. Women who may be pregnant should remain especially mindful of the
damage lead poisoning may cause to a developing fetus.

Notes:
Many solders today are produced lead-free (but not necessarily toxin-free), but it is highly recommended that you learn
proper soldering techniques that protect you from the ill-effects of potential toxins. Take precautions to avoid breathing the
fumes when soldering and to wash your hands as soon as possible after soldering or handling soldered components. It should
be evident that you should never bring food into any electrical engineering laboratories!

Cuts and Puncture Wounds

There are a few sharp objects in the lab that students are likely to handle. Carelessness around such sharp objects can lead to
unnecessary injuries and possible infections.
The ends of the wires (often called leads and pronounced LEEDS) of the different components used such as resistors and
integrated circuits are often sharp enough to puncture skin when enough pressure is applied. Although such puncture wounds
are relatively uncommon, it is important to handle all components with care.
A wire stripper is a scissors-like device with notches cut into the blades to allow the experimenter to remove wire insulation
without cutting the wire by mistake. Handle the wire strippers as you would scissors and be careful to keep your fingers away
from the sharp cutting edges.

Question 2:

Describe an accident you could imagine occurring in the lab and describe how you would respond to it.

Question 3:

Where are the First-Aid kit and fire extinguisher located in the lab?

Name/NetID:

Partner:

Experiment 1: A Lab-Course Introduction

Laboratory Outline
In each lab experiment, you will generally be asked to read a little background material (often in a pre-laboratory exercise) and
work your way through a well-defined set of lab procedures. Within the lab procedure, you will generally

Setup the hardware needed in the experiment.

Record measurements.
Visualize the data through the use of graphs.
Extract information about the behavior of the device under test.
Document the setup (using circuit schematics, equations, and tables) and record what was seen during the experiment.
Draw conclusions as to why these results will aid in completing the semesters tasks in ECE110.

This list is especially important as these items are the key components of your grading rubric (a scoring sheet used to provide
consistent criteria for grading). You will be asked to perform a self-assessment of each lab using a grading rubric provided to you.
This is an exercise that will aid your understanding of how your labs are graded and help you learn to produce well-written
reports.
Todays experiment will guide you through exercises that will develop good habits ensuring that your data is accurately and
unambiguously recorded and reported. In addition, you will learn the important role technical discussions with other classmates
can have on your own ability to understand the lab procedures and your results. You will also learn about safe and proper lab
etiquette.

Recording Measurements
An understanding of the equipment capabilities and the ability to keep proper records form the foundation of laboratory
experiments. In todays experiment you will learn the importance of equipment precision, significant figures, and units of
measurement. These are concepts that you will carry with you for the rest of your engineering career.

Notes:

Instrument Precision and Significant Digits

The instruments used in the ECE 110 Lab have a great deal of precision. This means that they have the potential to measure data
to many significant digits. It is important to recognize that the number of digits available in the instruments precision is not
necessarily equal to the number of significant digits gained by a measurement. Measured data should have no more significant
digits than the instruments precision allows. In fact, the recorded data will typically have fewer digits than shown on the
instrument display. Most measurements we make in the lab are noisy so that not all the digits displayed on an instrument will
hold still. When one or more of the instruments digits fluctuates, you should record all the non-fluctuating digits and the
average value of the first fluctuating digit you encounter. For example, a 4-digit measurement that fluctuates between 1.314
and 1.351 volts might be recorded as 1.33 V (three significant digits). The last digits of these numbers have no meaningful value
in this case and so they are ignored.

Question 1: What kinds of problems might be caused by recording less precision than shown by your instruments?
For example, the instrument reads 0.803V but 1V is recorded.

Question 2: What kinds of problems might be caused by recording more significant digits than shown by your
instrument? For example, your instrument varies randomly between 1.3xx V and 1.4xxV so the snapshot value
1.3512 V is recorded.

Question 3:

Why is it fair to average the first fluctuating digit instead of just discarding it?

Notes:

Units
In science and engineering, numbers are used to represent physical quantities. The physical quantity being represented is made
unambiguous by its units. Therefore, when recording a measurement, you must always include the corresponding units. You
cannot just assume that you will remember later or that the person reading your report will just know what you meant. In
addition, the units used must be clear this is why we use standardized units of measurement like volts (V), millivolts (mV),
seconds (s), and amps (A).

Question 4: What can go wrong if you dont record the units of your measurements? Feel free to discuss the
possibilities with your neighbors. When you have time, read this article at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter.

Question 5: Suppose that a student measured the voltage across a resistor but neglected to write down the units
(e.g. 0.920 is written without units). Is it possible to definitively determine the voltage based only on this
number?

Notes:

Tables of Data
In the field of engineering, you will often need to characterize the behavior of various devices utilized in larger systems. This is
often done by varying a parameter of the circuit (e.g. voltage supplied to a device) and measuring some other parameter (e.g.
current flowing through that device). This process typically requires filling tables with measurements, performing calculations
and generating graphs with the collected data. Throughout this process, you will need to provide proper units and significant
figures for each measurement in a table. To avoid confusion, it is useful to write all your measurements in the same units and
make note of the units in the column header.
In addition to keeping track of the details of your measurements, it is equally important to make detailed notes. In this course,
the tables provided in your procedures will have a column for comments. The notes you make while recording measurements
can describe the behavior of the device youre testing (eg. The wheel just started turning!), events in the surrounding
environment (eg. Something smells burnt.), or actions taken by the experimenter that might have had an effect on the
measurement (eg. I knocked my motor off the table, but it still seems to work.).
Votage (V)
0.00

Current (A)
0.000

0.11
0.20
0.31
0.40
0.50

0.001
0.011
0.021
0.034
0.001

Comments:
Power supply is off
I knocked my motor off the table, but it
still seems to work
The wheel just started turning!
Something smells burnt!
Motor seems to have died.

Table 1: Example of table with comments. Sadly, this experiment seems to have gone wrong
Question 6:

What problems may result if the table shown didnt have any notes in the Comments column?

Notes:

Graphical Representation of Data

How can we depict our measurements in a manner that is easy to read, understand, and draw conclusions from? We can use
graphs! But we must take care when creating a graph in order to avoid ambiguity. Well-measured data, when poorly plotted,
can lead to erroneous conclusions and be very confusing to someone reading your report. Even your future self will likely have
difficulty interpreting your own report.
Graphs (and charts) are very concise and useful methods of depicting a large amount of data. This portion of the lab outlines the
necessary components for an informative graph. You will be required to draw a few graphs by had, but most will be produced
using a powerful computing platform MATLAB. So, in addition to an introduction to good plotting habits, you will get a quick
introduction to plotting graphs using MATLAB. MATLAB is a high-level programming language and computing environment that
has become a very common tool among engineers. It is important that you get comfortable with it early in your academic
career.

Plotting Graphs
Below are the details that are necessary when plotting a graph. Without these details, a person reading your lab report might
not understand what your graph means and you will not receive full credit.

Title/Caption
The title of your graph should give the reader an idea of what is plotted and why it matters. In a lab course like ECE110, it should
be made clear which step (or question) in the procedure is being addressed by the graph.
Example caption:
Figure 6: The IV characteristic of a DC motor with a linear curve fit to the region after turn-on.

Axes labels and Units

The labels for your axes should tell the reader what physical quantity is being plotted. Calling your axes and is uninformative
and is considered inadequate in a quantitative experimental setting. Common labels in ECE110 include time (in seconds) as the
horizontal axis and voltage (in Volts) as the vertical axis or voltage (V) as the horizontal axis and current (mA) as the vertical axis.
Always, where appropriate, include the units in the axis label.

Notes:

Axes scales
The scale of your axes is usually depicted by labeling three or more divisions with a numerical value. Sometimes your scale will
be integer-valued and in other cases it might not be. Keep in mind that the scale of your graph should be chosen to show critical
detail. If you choose a scale too large, the plot will be too small and the reader will have a hard time seeing important aspects of
the curve.

Legend/plot labels
Legends are necessary when you have multiple curves on one graph. Each plot should be clearly labeled so that is clear what
data are represented by each curve on your graph.
Below are some examples of graphs generated with various data sets. Identify whether each graph is acceptable or not. If you
feel a graph is inadequate, clearly state why. This is a good time to discuss your thoughts with your classmates.

Question 7:

What is wrong with the graph above? Consider the key features of a good graph described earlier.

Notes:

Question 8:

What is wrong with the graph above?

Notes:

Question 9:

What is wrong with the graph above?

Notes:

Plotting graphs in MATLAB

Throughout the semester you will be asked to generate your own graphs based on data collected during an experiment. In
general, it will be expected that you create these graphs using MATLAB and attach them to the end of your lab report. Given
that your graph may be separated from its corresponding portion of the experiment, it becomes very important that you give
each graph a useful title and make a note in that section of the experiment so the reader knows where to find it.
Below are the basic commands for generating a plot in MATLAB. Go ahead and enter these commands into the Command
Window in MATLAB right now. At the command prompt > type each line and hit Enter. When the command prompt returns
after each line is typed, enter the next line. Notice what changes when you hit Enter in the workspace and history windows.
Note: the semicolon is optional try entering the first line without it.
x = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
y = [0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100];
plot(x, y);
title(Parabola);
xlabel(X Axis (x units));
ylabel(Y Axis (y units));
If you dont already have experience using MATLAB, these commands might be a little cryptic. To shed a little light on the issue,
weve broken things down a little further.

Creating variables
x = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
This line of the code creates a variable named x. This particular variable is an array, meaning that it is a collection of variables.
Alternatively, you can create a variable in the same way you would enter data into a spreadsheet. You can do this by using the
menu under the Workspace (upper left corner of the MATLAB window) to create new variable. Once you have created and
named a variable you can simply double click the variable name in your Workspace and a spreadsheet will open displaying its
contents. Once you have this spreadsheet open, you can edit or add to the content associated with that variable name by
selecting a cell and entering the desired numbers.

Creating Plots
figure;

Notes:
This command generates a new window in which your plot will appear. This command is not strictly required for creating plots
in MATLAB but it is good practice. If a figure is not open before you call the plot function, MATLAB will automatically open one
for you making this command unnecessary. If a figure window is already open, MATLAB will plot into that window and
overwrite any graph that may have been there. This function is good practice if you want to avoid overwriting your plots by
accident.
plot(x, y);
This command calls a function and gives it two parameters. The first parameter, x, is used as the horizontal axis and the second
parameter, y, is the vertical axis. It is important to note that in this case, the variable names were chosen to illustrate how the
plot function works. When youre creating a plot for an experiment, you should give your variables meaningful names (in case
you forget what they were for). For example, if our data represented voltage and current I might use the following variable
names:
voltage = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10];
current = [0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 49, 64, 81, 100];
plot(voltage, current);

Title and Labels

title(Parabola);
xlabel(X Axis (x units));
ylabel(Y Axis (y units));
These function calls should be pretty self-explanatory. Just remember that the text you want as a title or label must have single
quotes around it.

Notes:

Making Your Graph Pretty

MATLAB provides a very robust graphical interface for changing virtually any parameters of your plots. You can access the plot
tools by selecting the icon shown in the figure below.

Plot tools
Once you have the opened the plot tools, you can change the properties of most aspects of your graph by clicking on the thing
you want to change and adjusting the properties displayed in the lower portion of the window. Alternatively, it is possible to
adjust any of the plot properties from the command line but it is left to you to use the extensive documentation to find this
information if needed.

Multiple Plots in a Single Graph

Often times, we would like to compare two sets of data by plotting them on the same axes. You can do this using the hold
command as shown below. Youll need to use this information in order to finish todays lab.
plot(time, voltage);
hold on;
plot(time, current);
hold off;
Note: After entering hold on, MATLAB will put every curve you plot on the same axes until you enter hold off.

Question 10: What does the following line of MATLAB code do?
y = [0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100];

Notes:

Question 11: What happens if the variables you try to plot do not have the same number of elements in them?
(Try it for yourself and see what MATLAB does.)

Question 12: Enter the following command into MATLAB:

plot(x);
What is the horizontal axis of your graph? If it doesnt seem clear, try doing the same thing with your y variable.

Notes:

Question 13: Using the plot tools interface, adjust the settings on your parabola plot so that it looks just like the
shown in the figure below. To do this, youll need to add grid lines, change the thickness of the curve and adjust
the font sizes for the title and labels. Once you have finished formatting your graph, print it out and attach it to
the end of your lab.
Hint: If you get stuck or cant find something, MATLAB has a very extensive help menu. If you still cant figure it
out, talk to other students in the class, maybe someone else found it.

Figure 1: Example plot of a parabola

Question 14: Using the data shown in the good report in the Appendix of this book, recreate the graph shown in
that report. Note that you will need to edit the line properties for each curve and add a legend to the plot.

Notes:

What You Learned

Each week, the core laboratory experiment will end with this What You Learned section. This section will outline the
engineering skills developed during that laboratory exercise and provide emphasis on the skills in which you are expected to
show proficiency in future tasks.
Todays experiment covered the fundamental skills needed for successfully completing laboratory procedures in the coming
weeks. In the future, it will be assumed that you know how to:

Safely work in a laboratory environment.

Properly record your measurements.
Produce graphs using MATLAB.
Include the characteristics necessary to make every lab a well-written report.

Questions relevant to your lab experience are likely to occur on homework assignments and exams. Points will be deducted for
failure to show proficiency in these skills in future lab exercises and lab reports.

Learn More!
When you finish the main laboratory exercise each week and time remains in your lab session, you are not yet finished. You
should spend the remainder of the time solidifying your understanding of the materials paying special attention to the skills
outlined in the previous section. If you feel you have proficiency in those skills, you should move closer to mastery by challenging
yourself with the suggested module exercises provided by the instructors. This week, we highly recommend Module 1A:
Writing a Report, which will help you understand the grading process and enable you to take a metacognitive view of your lab
performance through your own self-assessment each week.
At the end of the semester, you will earn points towards your total semester lab score by having completed many of these
modules.

Notes:

Lab Report Rubric

The following rubric will be provided at the end of each lab procedure. As a final step in preparing your lab report, you will use
this rubric to analyze your own performance. While your analysis is not used in the grading process, extra points may be
awarded after lab 8 based on your ability to properly discern and implement good lab-writing strategies as demonstrated here.
Section
Experimental Setup
and/or
Design Description
Measurements

Ques.

Total
points

Criterion
Circuit Schematics are drawn neatly, accurately,
and properly labeled. All important decisions
regarding experimental setup or project design are
clearly explained.
Tables include units and proper precision. Any new
device introduced should be characterized using
measurements!

Computations

Computations performed on raw data are explicitly

described and follow rules for significant figures.

Analysis

Graphs have title, labels, units, scale, legend; Lines

for curve-fitting appear in the graph when needed
and parameters like the intercepts and the slope
are labeled.
A mathematical model for the curve-fit graph
allows for more abstract references to the devices
behavior. The expected behavior is explained in the
context of the graph.
Conclusions are drawn from your experimental
results to support the reason(s) for completing the
experiment. Closes the loop on the Introduction.

Modeling

Conclusion

General Formatting

Answers to questions clearly labeled. The overall

appearance of the report is professional.

Comments:

Name/NetID:

Teammate/NetID:

Module 1A: Writing a Report

Laboratory Outline:
Now that we have looked at how to properly record measurements and generate graphs, we need to pull it all together in a
well-written report.
Recall that within the lab procedure, you will

Setup the hardware needed in the experiment

Record measurements
Visualize the data through the use of graphs
Analyze the data extracting information about the behavior of the circuit under test
Document the experimental setup and record what was seen during the experiment
Draw conclusions as to why these results will aid in completing the semesters tasks in ECE110.

To get an idea of what constitutes a good report and a poor report, we can observe the reports of two fictional students for a
fictional laboratory procedure that mimics functions of our own lab. The following fictional Experiment X is just an example. Do
not attempt to answer the Questions presented there.

Notes:

Experiment X: An Example Lab Procedure

Learning Objectives:
In this experiment, you will characterize the current-voltage relationship of a standard DC motor. As you will see the
behavior of the motor being driven with different voltages is interesting and complex. As a device that can convert electrical
energy from a battery to mechanical rotation or vice versa the current-voltage relation is highly nonlinear. When including
motors in a design, an understanding of the response of the motor to a range of voltages is crucial when designing the circuitry
that drives the motor.

Procedures
Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 1.
Use the box with alligator clips (test box) to connect the power supply with your motor.
Make sure that the output on the power supply is set to off when you are constructing or making changes to your
circuit.

Notes:

Figure 1: Circuit schematic and photo of the variable voltage source motor drive method.

Before you begin taking measurements using your motor, its good practice to perform a quick test run. The motors respond
nonlinearly so you need observe, qualitatively, how the motor reacts to different voltages. This will allow you to chose your data
points carefully to capture the interesting behavior.

Question 1:

Draw a schematic of your test setup.

Question 2: Starting at zero volts, sweep the voltage of the power supply from 0 to 5V, and make note of the
approximate voltage at which the motor begins to spin.

Notes:
Motors exhibit hysteresis meaning that the current state of the motor depends on its history. You will find that when the
supply voltage is too low, the motor will not turn because static friction and electromagnetic forces initially oppose the
motion. When driven with sufficient voltage the motor will begin to turn. Once the motor is turning if the voltage is decreased,
the motor will not stall at the same turn-on voltage level because kinetic friction is smaller than static friction so the rotational
kinetic energy is dissipated more slowly and the electromagnetic forces again oppose the change.

Question 3: Starting from 0V again, measure the voltage and current of the motor at increments no larger than
0.5V. Be sure to use smaller increments before and after the turn-on voltage you recorded in 0. Record
measurements in the table below. Make sure to note when you see a change in behavior in the motor (i.e. motor
whines audibly but doesnt move, motor starts to spin, etc.). NOTE: Since the motor behavior exhibits
hysteresis it is important that you collect your data in a forward direction. If you need to go back and collect a
certain data point, you need to start over from 0V
Voltage (V)

Current

Notes:

Notes:

Table 1: Current flow for the motor for increasing DC voltage with comments.

Question 4:

Use MATLAB to generate a plot for the IV characteristics using the data you collected.

Notes:

Question 5: Describe in words the behavior of the motor when the voltage is increased. Explain all of the
interesting features shown by the graph.

Question 6: If your graph was done properly the resulting curve should have two regions where the current-voltage
relations in approximately linear. Draw two lines that fit the data in these two regions.

As an engineer designing a circuit to control a motor there are two important issues: 1) power consumption, and 2) keeping the
motor operating using voltage levels that keep it as far as possible from the turn on and stall voltages. These next few questions
aim to help you determine the optimal operating range for these motors that will be an integral part of your designs.

Question 7: Determine a linear equation (slope-intercept form) corresponding to each of the lines you drew on the
graph in question 6.

Question 8: Using these two linear equations, determine the equivalent circuit for a motor in these two regions
the stall region where the motor is not turning but drawing current, and the region where the motor turns freely.

Notes:
In the regions of the current-voltage relation that are linear, the motor behaves (and can be modeled) as a resistive device.
The linear relationship that describes the current-voltage behavior while the motor is spinning suggests that a simple resistive
model is not sufficient to fully characterize this electromagnetic device.
Optimal use of battery resources dictates that you not expend energy in the regions where the motor draws power but does not
turn.

Question 9:

How much power is drawn from the power supply just below the turn-on voltage?

But now suppose the design requirements dictate that the motors must be turned on and off. In addition, it might be
imperative that the speed be controlled as well the speed of the vehicle driven by the motors, once the motors are freely
rotating, is approximately, linearly related to the voltage. To satisfy these two requirements while conserving battery life a
strategy that you will experiment with extensively in up-coming labs called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is commonly used
for these applications. Instead of changing the voltage linearly at a voltage above the turn-on voltage, PWM uses only two
voltage levels 0V and some voltage below that maximum rated voltage but way above the turn-on voltage alternately.

Question 10: Discuss what would happen if the voltage applied to the motor varied between 0 and 5V very slowly.
What would happen if the voltage varies quickly? How might this be used to control the speed?

Notes:

Lab Report Rubric

Your lab reports will be graded by assigning a consistent amount of points to each type of questions that reflects the time,
effort, and challenges that each problem presents. Each week you will encounter each category in all the labs. The number of
points assigned to each question by your lab TAs grading is based on how well the answer satisfies the requirements.

Section
Experimental Setup
and/or
Design Description

Points
Ques.
per
question
2
1

Total
points
2

Criterion
Circuit Schematics are drawn neatly,
accurately, and properly labeled. All
important decisions regarding experimental
setup or project design are clearly explained.
Tables include units and proper precision.
Any new device introduced should be
characterized using measurements!

Measurements

2-3

Computations

Computations performed on raw data are

explicitly described and follow rules for
significant figures.

Analysis

4-5

Observations and graphs that have title,

labels, units, scale, legend; Lines for curvefitting appear in the graph when needed and
parameters like the intercepts and slope are
labeled.

Notes:
Modeling

6-8

Conclusion

10

1-10

General Formatting (1 pt. total)

A mathematical model for the curve-fit graph

allows for more abstract references to the
devices behavior. The expected behavior is
explained in the context of the graph.
Conclusions are drawn from your
experimental results to support the reason(s)
for completing the experiment. Closes the
loop on the Introduction.
Answers to questions clearly labeled. The
overall appearance of the report is
professional.

Looking at Example Reports

Take a moment to read through the sample reports found in the appendix at the end of your lab book and use the report
grading rubric to grade each report. Pay special attention to the concepts discussed earlier in this weeks experiment.
Once again, feel free to discuss these reports with your classmates.

Notes:

Task 1:
Fill out the following grading rubric for Nick Teslas lab report using the lab report rubric below.
Two of the categories are already filled in by the grader with comments explaining the grade assignment. Fill in all of
the other categories. Explain your reasoning for each grade.
Section
Experimental Setup
and/or
Design Description

Ques.
1

Measurements

2-3

Computations

Analysis

4-5

Modeling

6-8

Conclusion

10

General Formatting

1-10

Total
points
2/2

1/1

Criterion

Comments:

Circuit Schematics are drawn neatly, accurately,

and properly labeled. All important decisions
regarding experimental setup or project design are
clearly explained.
Tables include units and proper precision. Any new
device introduced should be characterized using
measurements!

Nice labeling of variable

voltage source and motor

Computations performed on raw data are explicitly

described and follow rules for significant figures.

Nice job including grid lines

on plots to make computing
the power easier

Graphs have title, labels, units, scale, legend; Lines

for curve-fitting appear in the graph when needed
and parameters like the intercepts and slope are
labeled.
A mathematical model for the curve-fit graph
allows for more abstract references to the devices
behavior. The expected behavior is explained in the
context of the graph.
Conclusions are drawn from your experimental
results to support the reason(s) for completing the
experiment. Closes the loop on the Introduction.
Answers to questions clearly labeled. The overall
appearance of the report is professional.

Notes:

Task 2:
Fill out the following grading rubric for Tommy Edisons lab report using the lab report rubric
below. Two of the categories are fill in with comments explaining the assignment. Fill in all of the other categories.
Explain your reasoning for each grade.
Section
Experimental Setup
and/or
Design Description

Ques.
1

Measurements

2-3

Computations

Analysis

4-5

Modeling

6-8

Conclusion

10

General Formatting

1-10

Total
points
.25/2

Criterion

Comments:

Circuit Schematics are drawn neatly, accurately,

and properly labeled. All important decisions
regarding experimental setup or project design are
clearly explained.

Correct connections but

could not recreate
experiment with just this
schematic. Poor labeling.

Tables include units and proper precision. Any new

device introduced should be characterized using
measurements!
1/1

Computations performed on raw data are explicitly

described and follow rules for significant figures.
Graphs have title, labels, units, scale, legend; Lines
for curve-fitting appear in the graph when needed
and parameters like the intercepts and slope are
labeled.
A mathematical model for the curve-fit graph
allows for more abstract references to the devices
behavior. The expected behavior is explained in the
context of the graph.
Conclusions are drawn from your experimental
results to support the reason(s) for completing the
experiment. Closes the loop on the Introduction.
Answers to questions clearly labeled. The overall
appearance of the report is professional.

Correct formula but

difficult to read values
from graph.

Name/NetID: ntesla2

Teammate: Georg Ohm

Experiment X: An Example Lab Procedure

Learning Objectives:
In this experiment, you will characterize the current-voltage relationship of a standard DC motor. As you will see the
behavior of the motor being driven with different voltages is interesting and complex. As a device that can convert electrical
energy from a battery to mechanical rotation or vice versa the current-voltage relation is highly nonlinear. When including
motors in a design, an understanding of the response of the motor to a range of voltages is crucial when designing the circuitry
that drives the motor.

Procedures
Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 1.
Use the box with alligator clips (test box) to connect the power supply with your motor.
Make sure that the output on the power supply is set to off when you are constructing or making changes to your
circuit.

Notes:

Figure 1: Circuit schematic and photo of the variable voltage source motor drive method.

Before you begin taking measurements using your motor, its good practice to perform a quick test run. The motors respond
nonlinearly so you need observe, qualitatively, how the motor reacts to different voltages. This will allow you to chose your data
points carefully to capture the interesting behavior.

Question 1:

Draw a schematic of your test setup.

Notes:

Question 2: Starting at zero volts, sweep the voltage of the power supply from 0 to 5V, and make note of the
approximate voltage at which the motor begins to spin.

The motor starts to spin at ~1.4V though is sounds like it is trying to spin at lower
voltages. After turn-on the motor speed increased as the voltage increased until it
seemed to max out as we approached 5V.
Motors exhibit hysteresis meaning that the current state of the motor depends on its history. You will find that when the supply
voltage is too low, the motor will not turn because static friction and electromagnetic forces initially oppose the motion. When
driven with sufficient voltage the motor will begin to turn. Once the motor is turning if the voltage is decreased, the motor will
not stall at the same voltage level because kinetic friction is smaller than static friction so the rotational kinetic energy is
dissipated more slowly and the electromagnetic forces again oppose the change.

While we were
turning the voltage
up we could hear the
motor trying to turn.
After finding the
turn on voltage we
started over and
found that we could
get the motor
turning at a lower
voltage if we spun it

Question 3: Starting from 0V again, measure the voltage and current of the motor at increments no larger than
0.5V. Be sure to use smaller increments before and after the turn-on voltage you recorded in 0. Record
measurements in the table below. Make sure to note when you see a change in behavior in the motor (i.e. motor
whines audibly but doesnt move, motor starts to spin, etc.). NOTE: Since the motor behavior exhibits
hysteresis it is important that you collect your data in a forward direction. If you need to go back and collect a
certain data point, you need to start over from 0V
Voltage (V)

0.000
0.300
0.601
0.902

Current (A)

0.000
0.034
0.067
0.101

Comments:

Power supply is off

by hand.

Notes:

1.202

0.134

1.301
1.401

0.143
0.091

1.501
1.601
1.701
1.801
2.101
2.401
2.801
3.101
3.400
3.799
4.098
4.397

0.093
0.096
0.098
0.101
0.106
0.112
0.117
0.122
0.126
0.130
0.134
0.137

4.696
4.995

0.138
0.138

Motor is starting to make noise

Smaller increments to catch the turn
on voltage
Motor begins to spin slowly
Motor speed begins to increase with
voltage

Accidentally took a larger increment

Accidentally took a larger increment

Motor speed seems to have maxed

out

Table 1: Current flow for the motor for increasing DC voltage with comments.

Notes:

Question 4:

Use MATLAB to generate a plot for the IV characteristics using the data you collected.

MatLab code used to create plot

%enter data into arrays

Notes:
>>voltage=[0,0.3,0.601,0.902,1.202,1.301,1.401,1.501,1.601,1.701,1.801,2.1,2.4,2.8,3.
1,3.4,3.799,4.098,4.397,4.696,4.995];
>>current=[0,0.034,0.067,0.101,0.134,0.143,0.091,0.093,0.096,0.098,0.101,0.106,0.112,0
.117,0.122,0.126,0.130,0.134,0.137,0.138,0.138];
%plot current as a function of voltage using a blue line with blue dots
>>plot(voltage,current,b.)
>>hold on
>>plot(voltage,current,b)
>>xlabel(Voltage (V))
>>ylabel(Current (A))
>> title(I-V Characteristics of Motor in Magicians Chassis Kit)

Question 5: Describe in words the behavior of the motor when the voltage is increased. Explain all of the
interesting features shown by the graph.

Initially, before the voltage across the motor terminal reach ~1.4 volts the motor did
not spin. We could hear it trying to spin around 1V. Though the motor was not moving
it was still drawing current from the battery with the voltage and current linearly
related. We did try to get it to spin when we were doing question 2 at lower voltages
and we were successful. Once the motor started moving the current-voltage
relationship was monotonically increasing in a linear manner.

Notes:

Question 6: If your graph was done properly the resulting curve should have two regions where the current-voltage
relations in approximately linear. Draw two lines that fit the data in these two regions.

As an engineer designing a circuit to control a motor there are two important issues: 1) power consumption, and 2) keeping the
motor operating using voltage levels that keep it as far as possible from the turn on and stall voltages. These next few questions
aim to help you determine the optimal operating range for these motors that will be an integral part of your designs.

Notes:

Question 7: Determine a linear equation (slope-intercept form) corresponding to each of the lines you drew on the
graph in question 6.

Stalled (0-1.14V)
Freely turning (1.14-5V)

= 0.11

= 0.009 + 0.068

Question 8: Using these two linear equations, determine the equivalent circuit for a motor in these two regions
the stall region where the motor is not turning but drawing current, and the region where the motor turns freely.

In the regions of the current-voltage relation that are linear the motor behaves (and can be modeled) as a resistive device. The
linear relationship that describes the current-voltage behavior while the motor is spinning also shows that as an electromagnetic
device it can be source.
Optimal use of battery resources dictates that you not expend energy in the regions where the motor draws power but does not
turn.

Notes:

Question 9:

How much power is drawn from the power supply just below the turn-on voltage?

Near the point where the motor begins turning V=1.14V and I=.143A therefore the
power P=V*I=.1630W.
Now suppose the design requirements dictate that the motors must be turned on and off. In addition, it might be imperative
that the speed be controlled as well the speed of the vehicle driven by the motors, once the motors are freely rotating, is
approximately, linearly related to the voltage. To satisfy these two requirements while conserving battery life a strategy that
you will experiment with extensively in up-coming labs called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is commonly used for these
applications. Instead of changing the voltage linearly at a voltage above the turn-on voltage, PWM uses only two voltage levels
0V and some voltage below that maximum rated voltage but way above the turn-on voltage alternately.

Question 10: Discuss what would happen if the voltage applied to the motor varied between 0 and 5V very slowly.
What would happen if the voltage varies quickly? How might this be used to control the speed?

If the motor is turned on and off slowly enough the motor would come to a complete
stop. The vehicle would move but very slowly. As the rate at which the voltage is
turned on and off increases the motor will no longer stop completely moving the vehicle
at a steady rate. The rate must be fast enough so that the motor remains running all
the time. To change the speed of the vehicle the amount of time the voltage remains
high must change. If the voltage were high all of the time the motor would run a full
speed al the time.

Name/NetID: Tom Edison/tedison

Teammate: none

Experiment X: An Example Lab Procedure

Learning Objectives:
In this experiment, you will characterize the current-voltage relationship of a standard DC motor. As you will see the
behavior of the motor being driven with different voltages is interesting and complex. As a device that can convert electrical
energy from a battery to mechanical rotation or vice versa the current-voltage relation is highly nonlinear. When including
motors in a design, an understanding of the response of the motor to a range of voltages is crucial when designing the circuitry
that drives the motor.

Procedures
Connect the circuit as shown in Figure 1.
Use the box with alligator clips (test box) to connect the power supply with your motor.
Make sure that the output on the power supply is set to off when you are constructing or making changes to your
circuit.

Notes:

Figure 1: Circuit schematic and photo of the variable voltage source motor drive method.

Before you begin taking measurements using your motor, its good practice to perform a quick test run. The motors respond
nonlinearly so you need observe, qualitatively, how the motor reacts to different voltages. This will allow you to chose your data
points carefully to capture the interesting behavior.

Question 1:

Draw a schematic of your test setup.

Notes:

Question 2: Starting at zero volts, sweep the voltage of the power supply from 0 to 5V, and make note of the
approximate voltage at which the motor begins to spin.

The motor starts to spin at ~1.4V.

Motors exhibit hysteresis meaning that the current state of the motor depends on its history. You will find that when the supply
voltage is too low, the motor will not turn because static friction and electromagnetic forces initially oppose the motion. When
driven with sufficient voltage the motor will begin to turn. Once the motor is turning if the voltage is decreased, the motor will
not stall at the same voltage level because kinetic friction is smaller than static friction so the rotational kinetic energy is
dissipated more slowly and the electromagnetic forces again oppose the change.

Question 3: Starting from 0V again, measure the voltage and current of the motor at increments no larger than
0.5V. Be sure to use smaller increments before and after the turn-on voltage you recorded in 0. Record
measurements in the table below. Make sure to note when you see a change in behavior in the motor (i.e. motor
whines audibly but doesnt move, motor starts to spin, etc.). NOTE: Since the motor behavior exhibits
hysteresis it is important that you collect your data in a forward direction. If you need to go back and collect a
certain data point, you need to start over from 0V
Voltage (V)

0.000
0.601
1.601
2.101
2.401
2.801

Current (A)

0.000
0.067
0.096
0.106
0.112
0.117

Comments:

Power supply is off

Motor is running

Notes:

3.400
3.799
4.397
4.995

Question 4:

0.126
0.130
0.137
0.138

Table 1: Current flow for the motor for increasing DC voltage with comments.

Use MATLAB to generate a plot for the IV characteristics using the data you collected.

Our plot seems to be

missing some of the
features described
in the questions or in
the other students
graphs. Our voltage
increment might be
too large.

Notes:

Question 5: Describe in words the behavior of the motor when the voltage is increased. Explain all of the
interesting features shown by the graph.

At low voltages the motor did not turn but eventually started spinning once the voltage
exceeded 1.4V. With increasing voltage it spins faster.
Question 6: If your graph was done properly the resulting curve should have two regions where the current-voltage
relations in approximately linear. Draw two lines that fit the data in these two regions.

Notes:
As an engineer designing a circuit to control a motor there are two important issues: 1) power consumption, and 2) keeping the
motor operating using voltage levels that keep it as far as possible from the turn on and stall voltages. These next few questions
aim to help you determine the optimal operating range for these motors that will be an integral part of your designs.

Question 7: Determine a linear equation (slope-intercept form) corresponding to each of the lines you drew on the
graph in question 6.

= 0.11

= 0.01 + 0.075

Question 8: Using these two linear equations, determine the equivalent circuit for a motor in these two regions
the stall region where the motor is not turning but drawing current, and the region where the motor turns freely.

In the regions of the current-voltage relation that are linear the motor behaves (and can be modeled) as a resistive device. The
linear relationship that describes the current-voltage behavior while the motor is spinning also shows that as an electromagnetic
device it can be source.

Notes:
Optimal use of battery resources dictates that you not expend energy in the regions where the motor draws power but does
not turn.

Question 9:

How much power is drawn from the power supply just below the turn-on voltage?

It is hard to tell from the graph - near the point where the motor begins turning
V=1.14V and I=.090A therefore the power P=V*I=.1026W.

Now suppose the design requirements dictate that the motors must be turned on and off. In addition, it might be imperative
that the speed be controlled as well the speed of the vehicle driven by the motors, once the motors are freely rotating, is
approximately, linearly related to the voltage. To satisfy these two requirements while conserving battery life a strategy that
you will experiment with extensively in up-coming labs called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is commonly used for these
applications. Instead of changing the voltage linearly at a voltage above the turn-on voltage, PWM uses only two voltage levels
0V and some voltage below that maximum rated voltage but way above the turn-on voltage alternately.

Question 10: Discuss what would happen if the voltage applied to the motor varied between 0 and 5V very slowly.
What would happen if the voltage varies quickly? How might this be used to control the speed?

If the motor is turned on and off slowly enough the motor would come to a complete
stop. The vehicle would move but very slowly. As the rate at which the voltage is
turned on and off increases the motor will no longer stop completely moving the vehicle
faster and faster.