EXPERIMENT 1

INTERNAL IMPEDANCE OF
INSTRUMENTS

INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT: LAB MANUAL

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EXPERIMENT 1: INTERNAL IMPEDANCE OF INSTRUMENTS

INTRODUCTION
When we use a voltmeter to measure the voltage in a circuit, we
always assume its input impedance is very large that it does not load
the circuit and it will always indicate the correct voltage in a circuit.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Figure 1 Loading effect of a high resistance source

In order for any instrument to provide a measurement, it must take a
small amount of energy from the circuit under test, and use this energy
to obtain a reading. While the amount of energy taken from most
circuits is virtually undetectable, this is not always so. Consider the
circuit as shown in Figure 1. Ideally, the internal resistance of a
voltmeter is infinitely large, resulting in no circuit current. The voltage
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appearing across the voltmeter will be 10 V, which means that the

voltmeter provides a correct reading of 10.0 V. However, all voltmeters
have some internal resistance. If the internal resistance of the
voltmeter is equal to the series resistance (5.6 M), then the voltage
appearing across the voltmeter would be half of the supply voltage,
resulting in a reading of 5.0 V. If the internal resistance of the
voltmeter is even smaller, the voltmeter reading will be smaller too.
The degree to which a meter loads a circuit under test is known as the
loading effect and is determined mathematically as:

A similar effect occurs when an ammeter is connected into a circuit.

Consider the circuit in Figure 2. When an ammeter is placed into the
circuit to measure the current I, we expect that the ammeter will
indicate the correct current. This would be a correct assumption if the
ammeter had an internal resistance of zero ohms. However, since all
ammeters have some internal resistance, there will always be some
loading effect on the circuit. The amount of loading is dependent upon
the resistance of the meter and on the equivalent circuit resistance.

Figure 2 Measuring current in a low-resitance source.

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If the ammeter has an internal resistance at least ten times smaller

than the circuit resistance, its loading effect will be relatively small.
Conversely, if the resistance of the ammeter is comparable with the
circuit resistance, the loading effect will be significantly large and the
voltmeter yields a meaningless measurement. In order to know
whether the internal resistance of the meter is comparable with the
circuit under test, we can find the internal resistance specified in
operation manuals of digital multi-meters (DMM) and Analog meters.
OBJECTIVES
1.

To determine

loading resistance of a voltmeter using the

sensitivity, S of an analog meter.

2.

To calculate the loading effect of DMM and analog meters when

measuring voltage and current.

3.

To determine the input resistance of an analog voltmeter and

ammeter.

4.

To measure and compare the loading effects of analog and digital

voltmeters and ammeters in high-resistance and low-resistance
circuits.

EQUIPMENT/COMPONENTS

Digital multimeter (DMM)

Analog Voltmeter

Analog Milliammeter

Variable DC power supply

Breadboard

Resistors : 5 , 50 , 4 k, 6 k, 10 k, 4 M, 6 M

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PROCEDURES
PART I
1. Refer to the manual of the DMM, obtain the internal resistance of
the voltmeter and record this value.
2. The

internal

resistance

of

an

analog

meter

is

generally

dependent on the voltage range used. In order to determine the

internal resistance, the manufacturer provides a specification
called the sensitivity, S which has units of k/V. The internal
resistance is then determined as the product of sensitivity and
the voltage range of the meter as:
Rint = S x Vrange
Refer to the manual of the volt-ohm-milliammeter (VOM), obtain
the sensitivity of the meter. Determine the correct range that you
would use to measure a voltage of 10 V. Calculate and record the
internal resistance of your meter on this range.
Vrange
S
Rint

3. Construct the circuit shown in Figure 3. Place the DMM voltmeter

directly across the terminals of the voltage source and adjust the

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voltage source for exactly 10 V, which is the unloaded voltage

between terminals A and B.

Figure 3
4. Remove the DMM and connect it between terminals A and B.
Measure the voltage appearing between these terminals.
5. Calculate the loading effect of the DMM.
6. Replace the DMM with a VOM. Set the V range of the VOM to the
appropriate range to measure 10 V. Measure the voltage
appearing between these terminals.
7. Calculate the loading effect of the VOM.
8. Based on the test circuit, calculate the internal resistance of the
VOM.
9. Refer to Figure 4. Calculate the voltage across each of the
resistors using the voltage divider rule.

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Figure 4
10.
Connect the circuit of Figure 4 and measure the voltages
V1 and V2 with both the DMM and VOM voltmeters.
Reading

V1

V2

DMM
VOM
11.

Calculate the corresponding loading effect of the DMM and

the VOM.
Loading effect
V1

V2

DMM
VOM
12.
Replace the resistors 6 k and 4 k with 6 M and 4 M in
Figure 4. Calculate the voltage across each of the resistors and
measure the voltage across each of the resistors with DMM and
VOM.
V1 (unloaded)
V2 (unloaded)

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Reading

V1

V2

DMM
VOM
13.
Calculate the corresponding loading effect of the DMM and
the VOM.
Loading effect
V1

V2

DMM
VOM
PART II
1. Use a DMM ohmmeter to measure the actual resistance of a 5
resistor. Use a DMM voltmeter to adjust the voltage source to 0.3
V. Calculate the unloaded current of the circuit in Figure 5.

Figure 5
2. Connect the circuit of Figure 5. Use the DMM as ammeter first
and record the current reading. Repeat with an analog ammeter.

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(Ensure that the ammeter is on the correct range and polarity to

measure the current).
Meter

Reading

I (DMM)
I (VOM)
3. Calculate the loading effect of the two ammeters.
4. Calculate the internal resistance of each of the ammeters.
5. Replace the 5 resistor with a 50 resistor and adjust the
voltage of the DC supply to 3 V. Measure the current of the circuit
with

the

DMM

and

VOM

ammeters

and

calculate

the

corresponding loading effect.

R (50 )
I (unloaded)
I (DMM)
I (VOM)

Loading Effect

QUESTIONS
1. Which voltmeter (DMM or VOM) has the higher loading effect?
Why?
2. How does the loading effect of a voltmeter in a low-resistance
circuit compare to the loading effect in a high-resistance circuit?
3. Which ammeter, DMM or VOM, has the higher loading effect?
Why?
4. How does the loading effect of an ammeter in a low-resistance
circuit compare to the loading effect in a high-resistance circuit?

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