Science Coursework Investigating the factors that affect resistance
Aim
I plan to investigate and find out how the length of a wire will affect the resistance of a current.
Prediction
I predict that if the wire is longer, the electrons have to travel further to keep the current flowing- this means that there is more resistance as it takes longer for the electrons to pass through the wire; I believe experimenting with a shorter wire would result in less resistance as the electrons have less distance to travel.
The Variables that effect resistance are:
- Length – Length affects the amount of resistance because the longer the wire, the more resistance there will be; as the passing electrons would have more of a chance colliding with the atoms in the wire.
- Material – Material effects the amount of resistance because the denser the material the less gaps which means more resistance.
- Thickness – Thickness effects resistance because the thicker the wire the more ‘gaps’ there will be this means that more electrons can pass through the wire freely. The thicker the wire the lower the resistance.
- Temperature – The temperature effects resistance because when the wire is ‘hot’ the atoms in the wire vibrate, this means the electrons have less of a chance of passing these atoms, so are more likely to collide with these atoms. Therefore not as much electricity can pass down the wire so the resistance is greater.
