I am developing a lab for my Physics class on RLC circuits. I am running an AC current through a circuit with a function generator. I have chosen the components carefully so I think I have the impedance mismatch problem I originally had worked out. My issue is that when I run the AC current through the resistor alone, I am getting some minor frequency dependence on the resistance using R=V/I where V and I are measured. Theoretically I know that the resistance should be independent of frequency, and I don't know where the error is coming from. Can I be getting some loss in the system that is frequency dependent?
The overall results of the lab are pretty good, and I think the students will get the idea, but I would like to be able to explain this discrepancy between theoretical and actual on the resistor to my students without using the generic "equipment limitation" explanation. I also would like to understand it for myself!
The overall results of the lab are pretty good, and I think the students will get the idea, but I would like to be able to explain this discrepancy between theoretical and actual on the resistor to my students without using the generic "equipment limitation" explanation. I also would like to understand it for myself!