4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

WorksheetTopics
BasicVoltmeterUse
BasicElectricity

Question1

Whatwillthisvoltmeterregisterwhenconnectedtoabatteryasshown
(assumeabatteryvoltageof6volts)?Explainyouranswer.

Hideanswer

Icouldsimplygiveyoutheanswer,butthisproblemissoeasyto
simulateinreallifethatIdratherletyoutryityourself!

Followupquestion:whatdoesthistellyouaboutthenatureof
voltage,andhowitismeasured?

Notes:
Thisquestionaffordsanexcellentopportunitytodiscussanother
foundationalconceptofelectricity:thatvoltageisalways
measuredbetweentwopoints.

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4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

Question2

Whatwillthisvoltmeterregisterwhenconnectedtoabatteryasshown
(assumeabatteryvoltageof6volts)?Explainyouranswer.

Hideanswer

Thevoltmeterwillregister6volts.

Whatdoyousupposewillhappenifthevoltmeterisoftheanalog
style(withamovingneedleratherthananumericaldisplay)?

Notes:
Askthestudentshowananalog(movingpointer)styleof
voltmeterwouldrespondinthissituation.Thisquestionlends
itselfverywelltosimpleexperimentationintheclassroom,even
duringdiscussiontime.

Question3

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4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

Ifweweretoconnectavoltmeterdirectlytoanohmmeter,whatwould
youexpecttoseetheohmmeterregister,forresistancebetweenits
testleads?

Hideanswer

Theohmmetershouldregisteraveryhighresistance.

Notes:
Askyourstudentswhyavoltmetershouldhaveaveryhigh
resistance(manythousandsormillionsofohms)betweenitstest
leads.Howdoesthispropertyofallvoltmetersrelatetohowthey
areusedtomeasuredcurrentinrealcircuits?

Question4

Manyelectroniccircuitsusewhatiscalledasplitoradualpower
supply:

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4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

Determinewhatadigitalvoltmeterwouldindicateifconnected
betweenthefollowingpoints:
Redleadon,blackleadonground
RedleadonB,blackleadonground
Redleadon,blackleadonB
RedleadonB,blackleadon

NOTE:inelectronicsystems,groundisoftennotassociatedwithan
actualearthsoilcontact.Itusuallyonlyreferstoacommonpointof
referencesomewhereinthecircuitusedtotakevoltage
measurements.Thisallowsustospecifyvoltagesatsinglepointsin
thecircuit,withtheimplicationthatgroundisthe

otherpointforthevoltmetertoconnectto.

Hideanswer

Redleadon,blackleadonground(Digitalvoltmeterreads+15
volts)
RedleadonB,blackleadonground(Digitalvoltmeterreads15
volts)
Redleadon,blackleadonB(Digitalvoltmeterreads+30
volts)
RedleadonB,blackleadon(Digitalvoltmeterreads30
volts)

Notes:

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4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

Thisquestionmaybeeasilyansweredwithonlyavoltmeter,two
batteries,andasinglejumperwiretoconnectthetwobatteries
inseries.Itdoesnotmatterifthebatteriesare15voltseach!The
fundamentalprinciplemaystillbeinvestigatedwithbatteriesof
anyvoltage,sothisisaveryeasydemonstrationtosetupduring
discussiontime.

Question5

Determinehowmuchvoltageavoltmeterwouldindicatewhen
connectedbetweenthefollowingpointsinthiscircuit:

BetweenTB11andTB13
BetweenTB14andTB24
BetweenTB23andTB21
BetweenTB11andTB21

Hint:itmighthelptodrawaneatschematicdiagramofthiscircuitfirst,
withallconnectionpointslabeled!

Hideanswer

BetweenTB11andTB13(Voltmetermeasures9volts)
BetweenTB14andTB24(Voltmetermeasures0volts)

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4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

BetweenTB23andTB21(Voltmetermeasures0volts)
BetweenTB11andTB21(Voltmetermeasures9volts)

Notes:
Thisquestionprovidesanopportunitytodiscusstheconceptof
electricallycommonpoints:namely,thattherecanbeno
substantialvoltagebuiltupbetweenpointsthataremade
electricallycommonbymeansoflowresistanceconnections
betweenthem.

Thisisalsoanopportunitytodeveloptheskillofdrawinga
schematicdiagramforareallifecircuit.Schematicdiagrams,of
course,areveryhelpfulinthattheyprovideanice,neatlayoutof
allcircuitcomponents,makingvisualizationofvoltagedropsand
otherquantitieseasier.

Question6

Determinehowmuchvoltageavoltmeterwouldindicatewhen
connectedbetweenthefollowingpointsinthisfaultedcircuit:

BetweenTB11andTB13
BetweenTB14andTB24
BetweenTB23andTB21
BetweenTB11andTB21

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4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

Hint:itmighthelptodrawaneatschematicdiagramofthiscircuitfirst,
withallconnectionpointslabeled!

Hideanswer

BetweenTB11andTB13(Voltmetermeasures9volts)
BetweenTB14andTB24(Voltmetermeasures9volts)
BetweenTB23andTB21(Voltmetermeasures0volts)
BetweenTB11andTB21(Voltmetermeasures9volts)

Notes:
Askyourstudentsthisquestion:howdoesthebreakinthewire
affectelectricalcommonalitybetweenTB14andTB24?

Question7

Determinewhatthesefourvoltmeters(A,B,C,D)willregisterwhen
connectedtothiscircuitinthefollowingpositions(assumeabattery
voltageof6volts):

VoltmeterA=
VoltmeterB=

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4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

VoltmeterC=
VoltmeterD=

Hideanswer

VoltmeterA=6volts
VoltmeterB=0volts
VoltmeterC=6volts
VoltmeterD=0volts

Notes:
Studentsoftenfindthetermsopenandclosedtobeconfusing
withreferencetoelectricalswitches,becausetheysound
oppositetothefunctionofadoor(i.e.youcanonlygothroughan
opendoor,butelectricitycanonlygothroughaclosedswitch!).
Thewordsactuallymakesense,though,ifyoulookatthe
schematicsymbolforanelectricalswitchasadoormounted
sidewaysinthecircuit.Atleastvisually,then,openand
closedwillhavecommonreferences.

Oneanalogytousefortheswitchsfunctionthatmakessense
withtheschematicisadrawbridge:whenthebridgeisdown
(closed),carsmaycrosswhenthebridgeisup(open),cars
cannot.

Ihavefoundthattheconceptofelectricallycommonpointsis
mosthelpfulwhenstudentsfirstlearntorelatevoltagedropwith
continuity(breaksornonbreaks)inacircuit.

Tobeabletoimmediatelyrelatetheexpectedvoltagedrop
betweentwopointswiththeelectricalcontinuitybetweenthose
pointsisaveryimportantfoundationalskillinelectrical
troubleshooting.Withoutmasteryofthisskill,studentswillhave
greatdifficultydetectingandcorrectingfaultsincircuitscausedby
poorconnectionsandbrokenwires,whichconstituteafairportion
ofrealisticcircuitfailures.

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/worksheets/basicvoltmeteruse/ 9/14
4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

Question8

Determinewhatthesefourvoltmeters(A,B,C,D)willregisterwhen
connectedtothiscircuitinthefollowingpositions(assumeabattery
voltageof6volts):

VoltmeterA=
VoltmeterB=
VoltmeterC=
VoltmeterD=

Hideanswer

VoltmeterA=0volts
VoltmeterB=6volts
VoltmeterC=6volts
VoltmeterD=0volts

Notes:
Studentsoftenfindthetermsopenandclosedtobeconfusing
withreferencetoelectricalswitches,becausetheysound
oppositetothefunctionofadoor(i.e.youcanonlygothroughan

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/worksheets/basicvoltmeteruse/ 10/14
4/16/2017 BasicVoltmeterUse|BasicElectricityWorksheets

opendoor,butelectricitycanonlygothroughaclosedswitch!).
Thewordsactuallymakesense,though,ifyoulookatthe
schematicsymbolforanelectricalswitchasadoormounted
sidewaysinthecircuit.Atleastvisually,then,openand
closedwillhavecommonreferences.

Oneanalogytousefortheswitchsfunctionthatmakessense
withtheschematicisadrawbridge:whenthebridgeisdown
(closed),carsmaycrosswhenthebridgeisup(open),cars
cannot.

Ihavefoundthattheconceptofelectricallycommonpointsis
mosthelpfulwhenstudentsfirstlearntorelatevoltagedropwith
continuity(breaksornonbreaks)inacircuit.

Tobeabletoimmediatelyrelatetheexpectedvoltagedrop
betweentwopointswiththeelectricalcontinuitybetweenthose
pointsisaveryimportantfoundationalskillinelectrical
troubleshooting.Withoutmasteryofthisskill,studentswillhave
greatdifficultydetectingandcorrectingfaultsincircuitscausedby
poorconnectionsandbrokenwires,whichconstituteafairportion
ofrealisticcircuitfailures.

Question9

ShownhereisacircuitconstructedonaPCB(aPrintedCircuit
Board),withcoppertracesservingaswirestoconnectthe
componentstogether:

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