EXPERIMENT 7 EMF, TERMINAL VOLTAGE, AND

INTERNAL RESISTANCE

OBJECTIVE
1. To be able to describe seats of emf
2. To be able to differentiate between emf and terminal voltage
3. To be able to state the significance of internal resistance and how this
contrasts a real battery from an ideal battery
4. To be able to measure a battery’s emf
5. To be able to experimentally show the variation of a battery’s terminal
voltage with its current output and from this calculate a battery’s internal
resistance

APPARATUS
A 1.5-volt Carbon Battery (dry cell)
A Daniel Cell (wet cell)
Decade Resistance Box
Rheostat
3V-Voltmeter or 5V-voltmeter
500mA-Ammeter
Set of wire connectors

THEORY

1. SEATS OF EMF &EMF

For current to flow through an electrical load (e.g., a resistor), a potential

difference or voltage must be applied across its terminal from an external device.
These external devices are technically called seats of emf, emf devices, or
simply voltage sources. A voltage or potential difference is maintained across the
device’s terminals and produces current through the conversion of some form of
energy to electrical energy. Batteries convert chemical energy, solar cells convert
light energy, thermopiles convert thermal energy, and electric generators (e.g.,
dynamos) convert mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Emf devices are responsible for the flow of charge in almost all electrical
and electronic circuit much like a water pump is responsible for the flow of water
in a water distribution system. The emf or electromotive force is not really a force
but is the work per unit charge that the seat of emf does in moving a positive
charge from its lower potential terminal (-) to its higher potential terminal (+).
Thus, the unit for emf is joules per coulomb or volts. A seat of emf is described
by its emf value, .
=

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2. EMF, TERMINAL VOLTAGE, AND INTERNAL RESISTANCE

An ideal battery is modeled as an emf, as shown below

or
Figure 1a. Ideal battery Figure 1b. Ideal battery

If we call the positive external terminal as a, and the negative external terminal
as b, then is the terminal voltage, also known as the terminal potential
difference (TPD). In an ideal battery the emf is the same as the terminal voltage:

= .

Ideal batteries are contrasted against real batteries in that they maintain the
same terminal voltage no matter how much current is drawn from them.

A real battery is modeled as an emf in series with an internal resistance,

, as shown below.

or

Figure 2a. Real Battery Figure 2b. Real Battery

When a real battery is supplying power as shown in Figure 2b, its terminal
voltage is given by

= , (1)

From this equation we see that because of the internal resistance, the terminal
voltage drops as we draw more current from the battery. Better batteries have
lower internal resistance. A car battery has a much lower internal resistance than
a dry cell. Even if we connect eight 1.5V brand new dry cells to match the voltage
of a 12V car battery, the dry cells would still not be able to start a car’s engine
(which is an electrical load that draws a large amount of current). By rearranging
equation 1, we can get a battery’s internal resistance from

= (2)

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We also note that from equation 1 we get a simple way of measuring the emf, ,
of a real source

= (3)

when = 0. That is, to get the emf value, simply measure the battery’s terminal
voltage without any load attached to it.

3. DANIELL CELL AND DRY CELL

In 1836, John Frederick Daniell, a chemistry professor in London,

developed an emf device that delivered constant electric current, the Daniell cell.
The Daniell cell, a type of wet cell, has also been called as a crowfoot cell and a
gravity cell. It quickly became a popular laboratory bench power supply and as a
power supply for the early telecommunications industry. It consists of a pair of
copper and zinc electrodes, and an electrolyte of solution form copper sulfate
and zinc sulfate. Chemical energy is transformed to electrical energy via redox
reaction.

Today, the Daniell cell has become a scientific curiosity since better
batteries with low internal resistance have been found. By far the most widely
used wet cell is the lead-acid battery utilized in cars. A lead-acid rechargeable
battery consists of a pair of lead and lead oxide electrodes and an acidic
electrolyte solution. Modern batteries are very portable and maintenance-free.
Primary battery types include zinc-carbon, alkaline (zinc-manganese oxide), zinc-
mercury oxide, silver-zinc, and lithium among others. Rechargeable types
(secondary type or accumulators) include nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride,
lithium-ion, SLA, lithium-polymer, reusable alkaline, zinc-air, RHISS
(rechargeable hydrogen ion solid state), and nickel-hydrogen among others.

In this experiment we will characterize both a Daniell cell (a wet cell) and a
zinc-carbon battery (a dry cell). The zinc-carbon battery, also known as the
standard carbon battery, is the cheapest battery that comes in sizes AA, AAA, C,
and D. A zinc-carbon battery has zinc and carbon electrodes and an acidic paste
as electrolyte (thus, a dry cell). The heavy-duty type has purer materials and is
called zinc-chloride although carbon is still used. Expect the dry cell to have a
lower internal resistance than the Daniell cell. Perform the experiment on the
Daniell cell very quickly as you might run out of “juice” to complete the
experiment.

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PROCEDURE

I. DANIELL CELL (WET CELL)

CAUTION: Make sure that you keep one terminal of the Daniell cell disconnected
when not making any reading to keep the strength of the battery for optimal
results. Perform the experiment quickly, connecting the terminals only when
ready to make a reading and quickly disconnecting one terminal as soon as a
reading is finished.

1. Measure the voltage across the terminals of the Daniell cell as shown in
Figure 3, making sure that proper polarities are observed. This value is
equal to its emf.

Figure 3. Experimental setup for measuring emf

2. Set the decade resistance box to 20 and connect the circuit below,
making sure that one terminal of the Daniell cell remains disconnected. As
always, observe proper polarities.

Figure 4. Setup for Daniell cell

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 3. Connect the terminal of the Daniell cell, quickly read the voltmeter, then
disconnect the terminal again. Do not let the terminal remain connected
for a long period of time, as this will unnecessarily discharge the battery!
4. Now adjust the decade resistance box R to 40 . Repeat step 3. Do this
for R = 60, 80, and 100 . Record your measured values.
CAUTION: Make sure that you never set the decade resistance box R to zero,
because this will short the Daniell cell.
5. For every entry in the table compute for the current I using the equation
= /
and for the internal resistance using the equation
= (2)
6. Compute for the average internal resistance .
7. Graph (y-axis) vs. (x-axis). Draw the best-fit line.
8. Since the equation relating terminal voltage and current is
= + ,
we can identify that the slope is – and that the y-intercept is ,

Figure 5. Graph of vs.

Determine the internal resistance from the slope of the graph and the
emf by getting the y-intercept.
9. Make a second trial, but this time raising both electrodes of the Daniell cell
until only about a centimeter is submerged in the electrolyte solution.
Repeat steps 1 to 8.

II. CARBON BATTERY (DRY CELL)

1. Measure the voltage across the terminals of the dry cell, making sure that
proper polarities are observed. This value is equal to its emf.

Figure 6. Setup for measuring emf

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2. Set up the circuit below. Leave one terminal of the battery disconnected
until the instructor has checked the setup. Notice that a rheostat has two
end terminals and a center tap. Connect one terminal and the center tap
leaving the other terminal disconnected.

Figure 7. Set-up for dry cell

3. Connect the terminal of the dry cell and adjust the slider of the rheostat
until the ammeter reads 0.05 amperes (50 mA), read and log the voltage.
4. Repeat step 3 for currents 0.10, 0.15, 0.20, and 0.25 amperes (100, 150,
200, and 250 mA).
5. For every set of entry, compute for internal resistance r using
=
and compute for the average .
6. Plot (y-axis) vs. (x-axis) and draw the best-fit line.
7. Compute for the slope and the internal resistance .
8. Determine the y-intercept. This is the emf of the battery.

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Laboratory Group # & Name:
Date Performed:
Course Code & Section:
Group Members:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__ ___________________________________
__ ___________________________________

DATA SHEET

EMF, TERMINAL VOLTAGE, AND INTERNAL RESISTANCE

I. DANIELL CELL (WET CELL)

A. FIRST TRIAL
= _____________volts Electrode depth: ______

( ) (volts) (A) ( )
20
40
60
80
100

Average = __________

vs. Slope = ___________

from slope = ________
y intercept = = _______V

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B. SECOND TRIAL

= _____________volts Electrode depth: ______

( ) (volts) (A) ( )
20
40
60
80
100

Average = ____________

vs. Slope = ___________

from slope = ________
y intercept = = _______V

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II. CARBON ZINC (DRY CELL)

= _____________volts

(A) (volts) ( )
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25

Average = __________

vs. Slope = ___________

from slope = ________
y intercept = = _______V

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 PHYSICS DEPARTMENT
College of Science
De La Salle University - Manila

EMF, TERMINAL VOLTAGE AND

INTERNAL RESISTANCE

Guide Questions
40% of the Written Report (Group Report) Grade

1. What happens to the terminal voltage across the Daniell cell or the dry cell as
the current through it increases?

2. From the voltage-current graphs you’ve drawn, what is the unit of the slope?
What physical quantity does the slope represent? Is the slope of the voltage-
current curve positive or negative?

3. From the voltage-current graphs you’ve drawn, what is the unit of the y-
intercept? What physical quantity does the y-intercept represent?

4. When the battery supplies power to the circuit, such as in this experiment,
why is its terminal voltage less than its emf?

5. Under what condition is the terminal voltage of a battery greater than its emf?
Less than its emf?

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