Concord Consortium: Measuring Phase in Ac Circuits

There are three different measures of AC voltage. Here, consider the peak voltage to measure it.

When measuring the current in parallel circuits, compare the circuit's total current with the current through just one resistor.

Measuring the voltage in a circuit is like measuring the drop in pressure across two points. Learn more with this tutorial.

Use Ohm's Law to calculate the current in parallel circuits.

Measure current through resistances in series-parallel circuits requires current-measuring skills used in both series and parallel circuits.

Measuring voltage drops across resistances in series-parallel circuits requires an understanding of both series and parallel circuit behavior. Learn more with this tutorial.

The voltage in AC circuits oscillates at a rate known as the frequency. With an oscilloscope, see and measure the length of time between signals, and calculate the frequency of an AC signal.

Find out how measuring current in a circuit is like measuring the flow rate of water in a sprinkler system.

Find out how measuring voltage in a circuit is like measuring the pressure in a water pipe.

In this activity, you will use a temperature sensor to relate changes in sunlight to the temperature of the air trapped in a container.