Lab

 Session  5  
 
For this experiment, you will need a 10 kΩ resistor and a 0.01 µF capacitor.
 
An   RC   circuit   is   shown   below.   It   consists   of   a   source,   a   resistor,   and   a   capacitor   in  
series.  
 
 
 
1.  This  is  a  simple  filter.    The  output  voltage  will  be  some  percentage  of  the  input,  
depending   on   the   frequency.   Using   your   knowledge   of   voltage   division   and   the  
frequency   dependence   of   the   impedance   of   a   capacitor   to   determine   what   kind   of  
filter  this  is.      
 
2.  Derive  the  transfer  function  H(ω)  =  VOUT(ω)/VIN(ω)  for  the  above  filter,  using  the  
given  values  of  R  and  C.  
 
3.  What  is  the  critical  frequency?  
 
4.  Draw  a  Bode  plot  with  both  amplitude  and  phase  plots  for  the  transfer  function  
using  straight-­‐line  approximations  based  on  your  transfer  function.  
 
5.   On   a   breadboard,   construct   the   circuit   in   the   above   figure   using   a   function  
generator   as   the   voltage   source,   a   10   kΩ   resistor,   and   a   0.01   µF   capacitor.     Use   a  
sinusoidal   voltage   of   100   mV   peak-­‐to-­‐peak.     Measure   the   input   output   voltages   on  
the  oscilloscope.  
 
6.   Vary   the   frequency   as   follows:   10   Hz   to   100   Hz   in   10   Hz   increments,   then   100   Hz  
to  1000  Hz  in  100  Hz  increments,  then  1000  Hz  to  10000  Hz  in  1000  Hz  increments.    
For  each  frequency,  measure  and  record  the  output  peak-­‐to-­‐peak  voltage.      
 
7.  Now  plot  gain  (20log(VOUT/VIN))  versus  log  of  frequency  in  Hz.    
 
8.  Now  measure  the  output  voltage  at  your  calculated  cutoff  frequency  (in  Hertz).    Is  
it   about   0.707*VIN?     Record   the   measured   value.     (All   of   these   values   are   peak-­‐to-­‐
peak).  
 
9.  Now  turn  off  the  function  generator  and  swap  the  capacitor  and  the  resistor.    This  
time   measure   the   output   voltage   as   the   voltage   across   the   resistor.     Repeat   the  
experiment  for  this  new  configuration.  Determine  what  kind  of  filter  it  is.    
 
10.   Calculate   the   transfer   function,   and   obtain   straight-­‐line   approximation   Bode-­‐
plots  followed  by  measured  Bode  plots,  as  described  above.