Practical Assessment for Physics: Investigating the Resistance of Conducting Putty.

Apparatus:

Method: (1)  I first collected all my apparatus shown in the diagram, making sure that both the amp meter and the volt meter were reading positive. I then collected some conducting putty.

(2)  I rolled out the putty on a flat surface using the palm of my hands so that the thickness of the putty stayed the same so it would be a fair test. I then measured 25cm of the coiled putty and cut off the access putty. I then split the putty into 5 different length sections measuring to: 1cm, 3cm, 5cm, 7cm and 9cm.  Each section is 2cm larger than the one before it to help show clear and reliable results of the resistants.  I then measured both ends of every coil to make sure the thickness was the same so it would be a fair test.

(3)  I then placed the tip of the copper on each ends of the 1cm putty coil as shown in my diagram.  As I was doing this I recorded the voltage reading into a table and disconnected the copper from the putty. I repeated this ten times and collected ten voltage readings for this length of putty. But between each reading I waited for a few seconds so that the temperature would be the same at each reading making it a fair test.  I then did exactly the same for recording the results form the amp meter.

(4)  I repeated stage (3) for the other lengths of putty to have all the readings in my results table.  With my results I created an average voltage reading for each length of putty by adding their ten readings and dividing it by ten. I also did the same to create an average of the current for each length of putty.  Finally to find out the resistants for each length of putty I divided the voltage average to the current average for each length of putty giving me the resistants of each length of putty.

Results:                

Conclusion: