An Experiment to find out how the length of wire effects resistance.

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By Kayleigh Timms 10I

 An Experiment to find out how the length

                        of wire effects resistance.

In this experiment we are trying to find out if by changing the length of a piece of wire its affects the resistance of current. I will find this out by having a piece of wood with a piece of wire stretching along the wood. I will have a power box on connected to an ammeter and voltage meter and then these connected to the piece of wire using crocodile clips. The variable I’m going to change will be the length of wire. We can have the wire from the length of 1cm up to 100 cm’s long. We can use the crocodile clips to make the wire long or short.  The equipment I will use is:

  • Crocodile clips
  • Power Pack
  • Wires
  • Variable resister
  • Ammeter
  • Voltage Meter
  • Wood with a piece of wire clipped onto it

I chose the equipment I have because I think that it will be the best to use this so it will measure it accurately and give good results. To measure the Variable which I’m changing I will have a piece of wood with measurements written onto it so I can use it to mark where I have to put the crocodile clips so it is a accurate measurement. The variable I’m trying to measure is the resistance. The resistance is a current that flows through the wire when there is a current running through it, I will have an ammeter and a voltage meter to read the resistance. I will be making my investigation a fair test by using the same equipment each time i.e. the same piece of wood with the measurements on it. I will also wait until the measurements on the ammeter and the voltage meter are not flickering so I can read then and they are still and not in-between numbers, this will hopefully help me get an actuate reading. I will try and do the test for each length four times so I get another actuate reading. There are some things that might make the test go wrong and give me an inaccurate readings, such as if the door is open in one of the four times I do the test, that result might be higher resisentence or lower, the room temperature might change as well during the test but I can’t control that. The only way it could be the same things is if I did the experiment in a small area and I could control the temperature the test was being done in. This is how my experiment will be set up:

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I predict that the more wire I use on the wood stick, then the more resistance I will get travelling through the wires and the reading on the ammeter will be high for the long lengths and short for the short length of wire. I think this because the more length there is the more energy that will travel through it, then the readings on the ammeter and voltage meter will be high.  

        The variables that could effects the tests are the room ...

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