Factors affecting the resistance of a wire

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Christiana Hahn

Factors affecting the resistance of a wire

Aim

To find out if the length of the wire affects the resistance in it.

Hypothesis

I predict that the longer the wire is, the more resistance there will be. I think this, because in a longer wire, there are more chances of the atoms meeting than in a shorter piece of wire.

Plan

I will be investigating the amount of resistance in a constantan wire of the size 36. All the factors (type of wire) will stay the same; only the length will change. I will increase by 10.0cm each time until I reach 100.0cm. I am using the size 36 because I found out that this is a thin wire and the thinner the wire is, the more resistance there will be, meaning better results. There is a small resistance because current travels in straight lines and the closer the smaller the diameter of the wire; the more resistance there is, because there is therefore a higher chance for the atoms to clash. So this is why I decided to use a thin wire to get better results. I am also using a constantan wire because I found out it is not a pure element like copper. This means there are additional atoms in it, thus there will be more resistance.

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Results from pilot study

Equipment

  • Multimetre (ohm metre)
  • 2 wires that can be attached to the multimetre
  • Size 36 wire of constantan
  • 2 crocodile clips
  • 1m ruler

Diagram

Method

I laid out the constantan wire across a 1m ruler and made sure there were no kinks in it. Then I got a multimetre and set it to 200 measuring ohms (Ώ). After this I collected a red and a black wire, and attached a crocodile clip to the ...

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