AL-AMAL INDIAN SCHOOL

Investigatory Project in Physics

Topic:

Submitted by: Youssef Mohamad Allouche

Roll No.:
Teacher: Mr. Joseph Matthew
School: Al-Amal Indian School, Salmiya, Kuwait
 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
Certified to be the bonafide record of the
project work done by ____________________
of class XII in Al-Amal Indian School, Kuwait, as
prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary
Education, during the academic year
2023-2024

Mr. Joseph Matthew

Department of Physics
Al Amal Indian School, Kuwait

External Examiner
Acknowledgement:
I would like to express my special thanks of
gratitude to my teacher Mr. Joseph Matthew as
well as our principal Mr. Arul Dharmaraj
Thomas who gave me the golden opportunity
to do this wonderful project on the topic,
measuring the magnitude of AC current which
also helped me in doing a lot of research and I
came to know about so many new things; I am
really thankful to them. Secondly I would like to
thank my parents and friends who helped me a
lot in finishing this project within the limited
time. And last but not least my heartful thanks
to the Almighty God. I am making this project
not only for my marks but to also increase my
knowledge.
Declaration:
I, ______________________, hereby declare
that the project work entitled “measuring the
magnitude of AC current” submitted to
Department of Physics, Al Amal Indian School,
Kuwait is done by me, during academic year
2023-2024.
Sign:
Content:
• Objective
• Introduction
• Experimental Technique
o Aim
o Theory
o Materials required
o Procedure
o Observations
o Result
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
- Objective:
To measure the magnitude of
alternating current
- Introduction:
Alternating current and alternating voltage
(also referred to as AC current and AC voltage
respectively) are the currents and voltages that
vary with time. AC voltages are the most used
voltage. They are used over DC voltages since
they can be easily and efficiently converted
from one voltage into another by using
transformers. Furthermore, electrical energy
from AC voltages can be transmitted
economically over long distances. AC circuits
exhibit characteristics which are exploited in
many devices of daily use. For example,
whenever we tune our radio to a certain
station, a special property of AC circuits is being
taken advantage of, however this property will
not be discussed here.
Alternating current has a periodic function. The
alternating current is named depending on the
pattern of the waveform (sinusoidal, triangular,
square, sawtooth and so on). Both signs of the
sinusoidal wave form of alternating current
(positive and negative) are equal in area,
therefore the average value of a pure sinusoidal
current wave form is zero.

Different types of alternating waveforms

The alternating current changes its direction
periodically, and its instantaneous magnitude
changes with time. Conversely, direct current
does not change direction, and its magnitude
remains constant. However, for alternating
current its RMS (root mean square) value
remains the same for a particular load. This
RMS value is the equivalent steady DC
(constant) value that gives the same heating
effect, and therefore alternating current can be
measured using this value.
The RMS value of a function f(t) can be
calculated by using the following formula:
Using the formula, we come to the following
conclusion about the above waveforms.
Waveform type RMS value

Sinusoidal

Square

Triangular
Sawtooth

Here, Im is the peak value of the AC waveform.

Note that the triangular and sawtooth
waveforms both have the same RMS value. This
is because if the negative parts of a sawtooth
waveform are replaced by their absolute value,
the resulting waveform is very similar to the
triangular waveform.
- Experimental Techniques:
Aim:
To find the magnitude of alternating
current for a given circuit (RMS and peak
values).
Theory:
Measurement of the peak of one crest of a
waveform is best performed with an
oscilloscope due to the fast action of the
cathode-ray-tube in response to changes in
voltage. For RMS measurements, analog meter
movements (D’Arsonval, Weston, iron vane,
electrodynamometer) will work so long as they
have been calibrated in RMS figures.
The instantaneous AC current in a resistor can
be calculated using the following formula:

Where t is the amount of time that passed after

connecting the AC supply to the circuit ω is the
angular frequency. This value can be found by
dividing 2 π with the frequency of the AC
voltage waveform. The sine function is used in
this formula since sinusoidal waveforms are the
most used waveforms for AC circuits.
Additionally, by finding the value of t, this
formula can also be used to calculate the
amount of time needed to reach the circuit’s
peak voltage. Let ir = Im . By substituting this
value into the formula, we can find the value of
t by doing the following steps:
Or, in other words, the AC current reaches its
peak value approximately every (4n + 1)
seconds, where n is an integer.
Materials required:
• AC supply
• Galvanometer
• Ammeter
• Resistor with known resistance
• Oscilloscope
• Some wires of negligible resistance
• Stopwatch
Procedure:
• Connect the AC source to the oscillator and
turn it on.
• Once the oscillator starts showing a wave,
count the number of divisions it takes for
the wave to repeat itself. The number of
divisions is the time period of the
waveform. Repeat this step until you get
three equal values. Also note down the type
of waveform the oscillator shows.
• After finding out the time period, solve for t
using the instantaneous AC current formula.
This value will be important to determine
the exact time that the peak current of the
circuit is reached.
• Remove the AC source and connect it to the
galvanometer. Note down the reading.
Repeat this step three to four times and
find the average voltage.
• Connect the AC source to the resistor and
ammeter as shown below.

• Note down the resistance of the resistor. If

it is not known, using a rheostat with a fixed
resistance is also sufficient.
• Turn on the AC source.
• Using some value of n to get the required
value of t that was calculated earlier, wait
for that value’s amount in seconds and note
down the reading given on the ammeter.
• Repeat the previous two steps three to four
times and find the average peak current.
• Find the average RMS current depending on
the type of waveform.
Observations:
• Table for time period:
Serial No. Number of divisions
1 52
2 52
3 52
Time period of the waveform, T = 52 seconds
Waveform type = Sinusoidal
• Calculation of t:
By substituting T in the instantaneous AC
current formula, we get:

Take n = 0, therefore the required value of t is

13(0+1) = 13 seconds.
 • Table for voltage:
Serial No. Galvanometer Reading
(V)
1 99.7
2 98.9
3 102.1
Average voltage = 100.23 volts
• Table for peak and RMS current:
Resistance of rheostat = 15Ω
Serial No. Ammeter Reading
after t seconds (A)
1 7.1
2 6.5
3 6.8
4 6.2
Average peak current = 6.65 amperes
RMS current = 6.65 / 1.41 = 4.72 amperes
Results:
Rheostat resistance = 15Ω
Peak current in rheostat calculated
practically = 6.65A
Peak current in rheostat calculated by
ohm’s law (V/R) = 6.68A
RMS current in rheostat calculated
practically = 4.72A
RMS current in rheostat calculated by
ohm’s law (using peak current) = 4.72A
Conclusion:
The above procedure and formulas are
very helpful for calculating the
magnitude of AC current in a resistor by
taking the peak and RMS values. It can
even be used to a much bigger extent in
industries as well.
- Bibliography:
https://www.weschler.com/blog/ac-
current-measurement-methods/
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textb
ook/alternating-current/chpt-
1/measurements-ac-magnitude/
https://www.circuit-diagram.org/editor/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternatin
g_current
https://www.overleaf.com/project