Resistance of a Wire Investigation

FIRST Before starting my coursework I have decided to choose a factor that will affect the resistance of a wire. I shall do this by going through all of the factors that affect the resistance of a wire and how I would measuring each factor to find out which would be the most effective and easiest factor to measure. Below is a list of factors and reasons why they affect the resistance of a wire. From this list of factors I shall only pick one factor to investigate. To explain the how the factors would affect the resistance of a wire I have drawn a diagram to show how resistance occurs. GAP To chose which factor I am going to investigate I am going to consider how I would measure each factor and which factor would be the best and easiest to record. To measure the wire width I would use different widths of the same length and same material of wire. To record the difference in widths I would use the same voltage and measure the resistance for each thickness. Although it would be easy to obtain and record the data the graphs that I would be able to draw up would not be interesting. For the temperature of the wire I would not be able to carry out a fair test because it is extremely difficult to produce and control the range of temperatures needed without the correct equipment. If I chose to measure the difference in the resistance in different materials I would chose a number of

  • Word count: 15508
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

An in Investigation into the Resistance of a Wire.

An in Investigation into the Resistance of a Wire Aim: To investigate the factors affecting resistance There are four main factors which affects the resistance and they are: > The material > The cross-sectional area (thickness) > The length > The temperature But in this investigation I am only going to investigate in the factors length and cross sectional area Background Information Electricity cannot be seen but you can see the effect electricity has. It can: > Make things hot-as in the heating element of an electric fire > Make things magnetic-as in an electromagnet > Produce light-as in a light bulb > Break down certain compounds and solution-as in electrolysis In a nutshell, electricity is very good at transferring energy. To understand this, a simple model of what happens in electrical circuits can help. If an electrical circuit is made using a battery and a lamp, the battery can be thought of as pushing electrical charge round the circuit to make a current. The battery also transfers energy to the electrical charge. The voltage of the battery is a measure of how much 'push' it can provide and how much energy it can transfer to the charge. Scientists now know that electric current is really a flow of electrons. The electrons actually flow around the circuit from negative to positive. Unfortunately, although early scientists knew that there must be

  • Word count: 12521
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

To investigate how the length (mm) and the cross-sectional (mm2) area of a wire affects its resistance (ohms).

GCSE COURSEWORK PHYSICS : RESISTANCE OF A WIRE Coursework Coursework Owner : Abu Shoaib Date Submitted : 7 November 2003 Form : 5A TABLE OF CONTENTS . PLAN 3 .1. Aim: 3 .2. Background knowledge: 3 .3. Apparatus: 3 .4. Safety: 4 .5. Variables: 5 .5.1. RESISTANCE (OF ENTIRE CIRCUIT) 5 .5.2. RESISTANCE (OF RHEOSTAT) 5 .5.3. LENGTH 5 .5.4. CROSS-SECTONAL AREA 6 .5.5. SUBSTANCE 8 .5.6. TEMPERATURE 8 .6. Observations to be made: 9 .7. Theory: 10 .8. Method: 12 .9. Prediction: 13 .9.1. LENGTH: 14 .9.2. CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA: 14 .10. Variables table: 15 .11. Preliminary work: 15 2. OBTAINING EVIDENCE 16 2.1. Preliminary Results: 16 2.1.1. LENGTH: 16 2.1.2. CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA: 16 2.2. Length: 17 2.3. Cross-sectional area: 19 3. ANALYSIS 21 3.1. THEORY/HYPOTHESES: 21 3.2. LENGTH: 22 3.3. CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA: 23 3.4. CONCLUSION: 24 4. EVALUATION 26 4.1. LENGTH: 26 4.2. CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA: 28 4.3. OVERALL EVALUATION: 29 5. EXTENSION PLAN 30 5.1. Aim: 30 5.2. Apparatus: 30 5.3. Safety: 31 5.4. Theory: 31 5.5. Prediction: 33 6. GRAPHS 34 - 68 . PLAN .1. Aim: To investigate how the length (mm) and the cross-sectional (mm2) area of a wire affects its resistance (ohms). .2. Background knowledge: Electricity, or more specifically, the flow of electrons carrying an electrical charge through a metallic conductor is known as an

  • Word count: 11071
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

An experiment to find the resistivity of nichrome

An experiment to find the resistivity of nichrome A. Planning Plan of the method to be used: - The resistivity of nichrome can be determined using the equation ??=?RA/L Where: R:- Is the resistance of the wire in ?"ohms" and can be determined using the equation R=V/I where "V" is voltage in volts and "I" is current in Amperes. L:- Is the length of the nichrome wire used in metres. A:- Is the cross-sectional area of the wire in metres square and can be determined using the equation A= ??d2 where "d" is the diameter of the wire. If I plot a graph of length on the x-axis against resistance on the y-axis. From the relation R = ? L /A which corresponds to the st. line equation ? y=mx the graph should be a st. line passing through the origin where "m" is the gradient of the st. line graph and corresponds to ?/A. Since the cross-sectional area of the wire can be found by knowing it's diameter. Therefore the resistivity of nichrome can be calculated. ? Diagram of the circuit used in this experiment List of the apparatus used: - - Power pack supply of 4V 2-A variable resistor 3-A full scale deflection ammeter with a measuring range of 0-1 A 4-A digital voltmeter with a measuring range of 0-5 V 5-P, Q represents terminal blocks. 6-Circuit wires 7-PQ=Nichrome wire 8-A meter ruler 9-Michrometer screw-gauge 0-Sellotape Detailed method: - I set up the circuit

  • Word count: 10720
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

Discover the factors affecting resistance in a conductor.

Introduction The aim of this investigation is to discover the factors affecting resistance in a conductor. I will use what I believe to be the most effective method and experimentation in order to come to a fair conclusion and accurate evaluation. Secondary sources will be used in order to confirm any theories or motives that I may use, and all conclusions will be explained using scientific theory or the results from the experiments that will be carried out. Each experiment will be completed safely, and using the best of my scientific knowledge. Results will be arranged neatly and analysed carefully. At the end of this investigation I would like to have discovered whether the conductor obeys Ohms Law, in reference to a sound prediction in relation to my conclusion and evaluation. Basic Plan As already said, I am going to discover the relationship between the length (and diameter) of carbon putty and the resistance. This can then be plotted on a graph, using the two factors of voltage and current. To discover the relationship between the length of carbon and its resistance, the putty will be placed in the circuit at different lengths, and the current and voltage will be recorded at each of these lengths, and then the following equation can be used: Resistance = Voltage OR R = V Current I Therefore the resistance can be discovered, however the unit of

  • Word count: 10361
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

Resistance and Wires

21st Century Additional Science Written Science Experiment - Resistance and Wires How is the resistance of nickel-chrome wire affected by its length and diameter? How is the resistance of nickel-chrome wire affected by its length and diameter? Introduction This investigation determines how changing the length of Nickel-Chrome (nichrome) wires, when passing an electrical current through them, affects their resistance. It also determines how resistance is affected by a change in the diameter of the wire used. Resistance is "the property of failing to conduct electrical or thermal energy". Resistance is a force which opposes the flow of an electric current around a circuit so that more energy is required to push the charged particles around the circuit. The circuit itself can resist the flow of particles if the wires are either very thin or very long, e.g. the filament across an electric light bulb. Resistance is measured in ohms. A resistor has the resistance of one ohm if a voltage of one volt is required to push a current of one amp through it. George Ohm discovered that the emf (electromagnetic force) of a circuit is directly proportional to the current flowing through the circuit. This means that if you triple one, you triple the other. He also discovered that a circuit sometimes resisted the flow of electricity. He called this, resistance. He then came up with a

  • Word count: 9978
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

Resistance in a Wire Investigation

Introduction : Resistance is a force which opposes the flow of an electric current around a circuit so that energy is required to push the charged particles around the circuit. The circuit itself can resist the flow of particles if the wires are either very thin or very long. e.g. The filament across an electric bulb is quite thin as needs to resist the flow of particles for the bulb to glow. Resistance is measured in ohms. George Ohm discovered that the emf of a circuit is directly proportional to the current flowing through the circuit. This means that if you triple one, you triple the other. He also discovered that a circuit sometimes resists the flow of electricity. He called this resistance. He then came up with a rule for working out the resistance of a circuit : V/I = R V - Volts I - Current R - Resistance. Extra Background Information : The total resistance of resistors in series is the sum of the resistance of each one. Each cm of wire has a particular resistance, if you double the length of wire, it is like having two of the shorter wires in series. If the small resistor represents a short wire and the large resistor is a long wire of double the length of a short one. One short wire has a resistance of 1ohm, 2 short wires have a resistance of 2ohms when connected in series. The long wire is just like two short wires put together. Aim : To

  • Word count: 8145
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

Investigate the resistance of different wires and how at different lengths the voltage increases and decreases.

The resistance of wire Planning section In the experiment I will be investigating the resistance of different wires and how at different lengths the voltage increases and decreases. Variables and fair test Key factors Reasons given for controlling How I controlled the variable The current must remain the same. If the current isn't the same the results will be affected and they are most likely to decrease if the current is increased and if the current differs for each of set of results it wouldn't be a fair test. We also need to keep the current the same during the experiment because we are not measuring the current. We are investigating the resistance. This is a controlled variable I controlled this variable by using a variable resister to keep the current on the same setting. I will keep the variable resistor at 0.3 amps. To supply the current, we will use a power pack instead of batteries because power packs are more accurate and we want the current to be at a certain measurement. Each type of wire used must be the same SWG. (width of wire) If the SWG was higher or lower for each wire the resistance would change which means that this wouldn't be a fair test and the results wouldn't be accurate because This will cause resistance to decrease because of the increase in space in the wire. This increase in space means that there is more space for the electrons to

  • Word count: 8031
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

Resistance Aim: my main aim is to investigate the factors that affect the resistance in a conductor, in which here I am using a nichrome wire.

What factors affect the resistance of wire? Aim: my main aim is to investigate the factors that affect the resistance in a conductor, in which here I am using a nichrome wire. The focal factors that affect the resistance in a conductor are: * Length * Temperature * Cross- section area * Material Hypothesis: I think that the more the cross-section area, the lower the resistance in the conductor or the nichrome wire will be. This is because the resistance happen due to the movement of the electrons through the material ( once a voltage has been applied ) they collide with the atoms in the material and as a result lose some of their energy. The idea of resistance is simply how difficult it is for the electrons to move through a material. The more difficult it is, the more energy they lose in the material on their movements. The definition of an electrical resistance is the ratio of voltage to current. The equation we use to find the resistance from the current and voltage is: Resistance (R) = Voltage (V) / Current (I) To put it in a simpler way, it is the number of volts difference across the object when one amp of current flows. It should be remembered that voltage is the number of joules of energy transferred by one coulomb of charge, and that current is the number of coulombs of charge passing a place each second. Now what the object is made of this means its

  • Ranking:
  • Word count: 7786
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay

Planning Experimental Procedures

Planning Experimental Procedures Introduction In this experiment I will make a circuit using different materials of wires. To alter the length of the wire to be tested I will use crocodile clips. Voltage will be measured by using a voltmeter. Amps will be measured using an ammeter. Then the resistance is to be calculated. Key Factors Identified One variable should be carried out at a time, to make it a fair test. I am going to investigate what factors affect the resistance of a wire. Here are the main factors, which affect the resistance of a wire and some reasons as to why they affect the resistance of a wire: The material of the wire (What the wire is made out of) The length of the wire The thickness of the wire (The diameter of the wire) Temperature of wires Contact resistance The material of the wire The material of the wire is important because different metals have different properties. Metals, as wires are different because copper is very good at conducting electricity, if you had very large lengths of copper wire then you would be able to see the resistance change. Electrons find it easier to pass through some materials then others. I am going to use nichrome, copper, manganin and Constantan. The material of the wire when cut should be clearly labelled to prevent it from being mistaken as another material. The length of the wire The length will

  • Word count: 7277
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
Access this essay