Dene Eang Grade 9 Science (Mr.Neil) Sept.

17, 2014

Resistance of a Wire Investigation

Introduction
To reduce resistance can dramatically reduce the amount of wasted energy (heat). This is
particularly important when transferring electricity from a power station across the long
distances to a population centre (town or city). In this investigation, I will identify and test a
factor that affects the resistance of a wire.

Planning

Question: How does changing the voltage of a copper wire affect the resistance of the wire?

Aim: The aim of this investigation is to discover the impact of different voltages on a copper
wires resistance. I will find out a trend between the voltage and the resistance of the copper
wire by doing the following experiment.

Research

Resistance: How much an object tries to stop electricity from flowing.
Voltage: Amount of energy between two points of a circuit.
Current: The flow of electricity

Resistance = Voltage/Current

If the resistance of an object is already high, the voltage must be high as well, in
order for the current to properly flow
Low resistance means that your object is a good conductor
High resistance means that your object is a bad conductor
Resistance is always positive

Hypothesis

I predict that the resistance of a copper wire will increase as the voltage increases. Since
there would be more electrons coming into the wire, the atoms in the wire will try to stop as
many free-flowing electrons as possible.


Variables

Variables Factor Description
Independent Power Pack
Voltage
In order to discover whether the voltage
affects the resistance of a copper wire, I
will test several different voltages by using
a power pack, and seeing the affect it has
on the resistance of the wire as the voltage
increases.
Dependent Wire
Resistance
To find the resistance of a material, the
voltage must divide the current. When the
voltage of the wire changes, the resistance
will change accordingly.
Fixed (1) Type of Wire A copper wire must be used for all of the
following tests. Without controlling this
variable, its possible that I might end up
Dene Eang Grade 9 Science (Mr.Neil) Sept. 17, 2014

with results of several different wires.
Since the voltage is already being changed
in this experiment, the type of wire must
stay consistent.
Fixed (2) Length of Wire This investigation will not properly work
if too many variables are changed,
therefore the wire must be a set length, and
the results will stay consistent and fair.
Fixed (3) Location and
setup of
experiment
To receive the most accurate results, the
setup of the experiment should take place
in the same location throughout. If not,
there might be a chance that the circuit is
accidentally tampered with, or changed.
MATERIALS and METHOD

MATERIALS
-One Ammeter
-One Voltmeter
-One Copper wire (15 cm in length) (25 SWG)
-One Power pack
-Two crocodile clips
-One red wire and one black wire to connect power pack and ammeter
-One Heat Proof Mat
DIAGRAMS / PHOTOGRAPHS

Update Paragraph (IMPORTANT!)
After starting my method, I quickly realized that I also had to measure the voltage across my
wire to get accurate results. So it turns out that the diagram above is no longer accurate.
There should be a voltmeter connected in the circuit between the crocodile clip and the power
pack.

WARNING
Wire may get hot! Fingers may be burned if not careful!


Dene Eang Grade 9 Science (Mr.Neil) Sept. 17, 2014


PROCEDURE

Finding the Current

Set up a circuit as seen in the drawing above:

1. Plug power pack into an outlet
2. Use yellow wires to connect power pack to an ammeter
3. Connect voltmeter to the circuit along with the ammeter
4. Place the 15cm length of copper wire on the heat proof mat, attach crocodile
clips on the wire
5. Turn power pack on, set the voltage to 1V
6. Turn power pack off, record the data of the current and voltage in the raw
data table below
7. Repeat steps 4 and 5, but use the following voltages, rather than the one
above
2V
3V
4V
5V
8. There should be a total of 3 trials after completing the above steps, which
means the set of instructions given above must be repeated three times, to
make sure that the data is as consistent as possible.
9. After making three trials, take an average of the data, which will be later be
the set of data to be analyzed.
10. The averages will be recorded in the processed data table below
11. How to calculate averages:
Add the components wished to be averaged and divide it by the amount of
components that you have started with take average.
12. Use the averaged data to find the resistance, instructions are stated below


Raw Data Table



Power Pack
Voltage (V)
Trial One

Trial Two

Trial Three

Wire
Voltage
(V)
Wire
Current
(A)
Wire
Voltage
(V)
Wire
Current
(A)
Wire
Voltage
(V)
Wire
Current
(A)
1
0.01 0.05 0.02 0.05 0.01 0.05
2

0.09 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.06 0.10
3

0.14 0.10 0.14 0.15 0.10 0.15
4

0.18 0.20 0.15 0.20 0.14 0.20
5

0.22 0.20 0.21 0.20 0.16 0.20



Dene Eang Grade 9 Science (Mr.Neil) Sept. 17, 2014


Processed Data Table



Power Pack
Voltage (V)


Average Wire
Voltage (V)


Average Wire
Current (A)


Wire Resistance
(Ohms)

1 0.01

0.05

0.51

2

0.08

0.10

0.80

3

0.12

0.13

0.90

4

0.15

0.20

0.80

5

0.20

0.20

1.00


Finding the Resistance

Now that the voltage and current are both found, the only thing left to do is find the
resistance. The formula needed to find the resistance is Voltage/Current.
Steps:
Use the formula and apply it to the voltages and currents above
After each result, record it in the table above, under the Resistance column,
make sure to put results in the correct cells


Analysing the Data

Use data of independent and dependent variable from the table to create a scatter
graph.
(Independent Variable=Power Pack voltage)
(Dependent Variable=Wire Resistance)

Include the following in the graph:
Appropriate Title
NO KEY
Appropriate Trend line
Grid (Major and minor, horizontal and vertical)
Labelled Axes
Voltage = Y Axis
Resistance = X Axis
Mathematical formula on graph



Dene Eang Grade 9 Science (Mr.Neil) Sept. 17, 2014

After taking averages from my raw data table above, I have constructed a processed
data table. Afterwards, I found the resistances of the data I collected. I then used the
resistance as a dependent variable and the power pack voltage as an independent
variable to create a scatter graph, which can be seen below:


From looking at this graph, I can conclude that it uses a straight line of best fit, with a
positive gradient (y = 0.098x + 0.508)

The equation above is somewhat useful, as it explains the pattern of how I got the
answers I did.

After viewing this graph, it can be said that as the voltage of the power pack
increases, the resistance of the wire will most likely increase as well.

Conclusion

As you can see from the graph above, there is a trend that continues through a power
pack voltage of 1-3. Once the power pack voltage goes to a 4, the resistance drops
significantly, but gets raised back up once the power pack voltage reaches a 5.
Technically, it follows my hypothesis to a certain extent. (The resistance of a copper
wire will increase as its voltage increases)

My data does not properly explain my hypothesis because the results cannot be
scientifically explained. I would have expected that the resistance would increase as
the voltage does. When the voltage of a power pack is increased, there will be more
electrons flowing through a wire. Atoms that stay in the wire will then try to stop
these electrons. As the amount of electrons in the wire increase, there would be more
atoms trying to stop them. Therefore, the resistance of the wire would increase as the
voltage is increased.

Evaluation



y = 0.098x + 0.508
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
W
i
r
e

R
s
i
s
t
a
n
c
e

(

)
Power Pack Voltage (V)
Resistance of a Copper Wire
Dene Eang Grade 9 Science (Mr.Neil) Sept. 17, 2014