Find out whether a longer wire or a shorter wire will have more or less current flowing through the wires.

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Name: Amritpal Singh Sahota                                  Candidate number: 9723

 

WIRES INVESTIGATION

AIM

In this investigation, I am trying to find out whether a longer wire or a shorter wire will have more or less current flowing through the wires.

VARIABLES

  1. Thickness Of The Wire

Resistance can be affected by the different thickness of wires. The thicker the wire, then there is less atom to block the path of the electrons and this means that there will be less resistance. However if the wire is thinner then there will be the same number of atoms but fewer electrons will be able to pass through the wire.

Therefore this means that there will be an increase in resistance. The reason due to this is that a thicker wire has more space around the atoms to allow electrons to pass. But in a thinner wire it will be the complete opposite.

This is for a Thick wire                   This is for a Thin wire

 

  1. Length Of The Wire.

The length of the wire is a variable, in which when a longer wire is present the resistance is higher. This is because there are more atoms present, which are in the way of the electrons. They are evenly spread out. However if a shorter wire is present the wire has fewer atoms, which means that the electrons can move more freely.

        

                                                                 Long Wire

                                Short Wire              

  1. Temperature

Temperature is also a variable for resistance. When a filament lamp is turned on, the heating of the current causes the temperature of the filament lamp to rise very rapidly. As the temperature increases so does the resistance.

                                                        High Temperature

                                                        Low Temperature

  1. The Material Of The Wire

Different materials have different electrical conductivities. These are based mainly on the type of materials that an object is made from. For example, most metals tend to be rather good conductors of electricity, so that electrons flow from one place to another without much force.

On the other hand, something like rubber (for example) tends to make it difficult for electrons to move from one place to another, consequently, a large potential is require forcing the electrons to move even a short distance through it.

        

                                                          Copper Wire

                                                                 Rubber Wire

PREDICTION

In my prediction I predict that the longer the wire the higher the resistance. The current will also be lower. However the lower the resistance the higher the current will be present in the wire. I think this because the current will have to flow through a longer distance and therefore it causes a higher rate of resistance. This is due to the force being pushed and travelled a longer way. If I double the length of the wire, the resistance will also double, which makes the current halve, also that if the current doubles, the resistance haves.

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HYPOTHESIS

The reason why I think this will happen is because in the wire the electrons will be able to get passed more freely. This is shown in the diagram below.

        Electrons                        Atoms

(I) Current is what flows on a wire or a conductor like water flowing down a river. Current flows from points of high voltage to points of low voltage on the surface of a conductor. Current is measured in (A) Amperes or Amps.

        

(V) Voltage is the difference in electrical ...

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