Resistance Vs.

Current Purpose: To determine the relationship between the resistance and the current in a circuit Apparatus: (Diagram)

Procedure: 1. In order to find the relationship between the Current and the Resistance of a circuit, you will need a power source, a resistor, and a multimeter. 2. Collect 7 resistors for seven different data points. 3. Measure their resistance with the multimeter and record. 4. Connect the resister to the power source and measure the potential difference across your resistor. This is the voltage of the overall circuit since there is only source of resistance in the circuit. 5. Connect the multimeter so that it is part of the circuit, in series with the resistor. Record the value. 6. Multiply the Current recorded by the Resistor value. This is your potential difference. 7. Calculate percent error by dividing the initial measurement of your potential difference by your calculated potential difference (via current x resistance). 8. Record Data, graph, and write conclusion

Data: (Potential Difference: 6.09 Volts) Resistance (Ohms) 100 130 470 1500 2200 3000 5600 Current (Amps) .0600 .0470 .0130 .0040 .0020 .0020 .0011 Calculated Potential Difference (Volts) 6.00 6.11 6.11 6.00 4.40 6.00 6.16

0.07

0.06 y = 6.0521x - 9E-05 R = 0.9997 0.05

Current (Amps)

0.04 Series1 0.03 Linear (Series1)

0.02

0.01

0 0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 1/Resistance (Ohms)

Evaluation of Data: (Graphs and Equations) Calculation of theoretical slope o Slope: V=I/(1/R)= V=IR V= 6.0521 volts o Percent Error= (Calculated-Potential Measured/Potential Measured) x 100= o Potential Difference Measured: 6.09 Volts o Calculated Average Voltage (Slope): 6.0521 Volts o (6.0521-6.09)/(6.09)= .6223% error

Conclusion: a.) The relationship between the resistance and the current is an indirect relationship in which the smaller the resistance, the larger the current, and vice versa. This is clear in our data with an inverse resistance in the graph, which creates the positive slope we needed in order to produce the voltage from the equation (V=IR) b.) Voltage=(6.0521Volts)(1/Resistance)- .00009 Amps c.) .6223 percent error (Calculated above) d.) The reason for this small error was most likely due to the current going through the wire in the circuit. This is because the wire in a circuit produces a small amount of resistance that is hardly noticeable. Another very noticeable error was with our 5th data point. The 2200 ohm resister gave off a smaller current than it should have, which produced the low voltage. This could have been due to a faulty multimeter reading, or a wrong reading of the resistor. Thus, this data point could be taken out of the data, but for lab study purposes, it remains in the data.