Sie sind auf Seite 1von 5

Physics

Shenandoah Valley Governors School


Revised 20150224
1
Lab 25
Resistivity

Introduction:
The resistance of a wire is not 0 as we conveniently make it in lecture, and it in fact
changes as the temperature of the conductor changes. For this experiment we will consider the
change in resistance due to the heating of the wires to be minimal. Given that condition, the
resistance of a cylindrical wire can be shown to depend on three things: the length of the wire (l),
the cross sectional area of the wire (A), and the material. The dependency of the wire resistance
on the material, called resistivity, is symbolized by the Greek letter, . The resistance, R is then

R=

A
(Giambattista, 2007) In this laboratory exercise you will determine the resistivity of
copper using Ohms Observation (V = IR), thus:

AV
AR
=
l
lI

where V is the voltage across the resistance and I is the measured current. Note also that the
resistivity of the wire can be found using the temperature coefficient:

= 0 (1 + T )
where 0 is the resistivity at 20C, and is the temperature coefficient.
NOTE:
Wire size in the United States is customarily measured by gauges. This customary
system is further complicated by the fact that each manufacturer had a slightly different system.
The problem for the nave user is that the gauge number goes DOWN as the cross sectional area
goes UP. Small thin wires have a larger gauge than thick wires. The system makes superficial
sense since the resistance is inversely proportional to the cross sectional area. This means that a
large gauge wire (thin wire) has a higher resistance than a comparable length small gauge (thick)
wire (but it is NOT a linear relationship!). The following table is provided for your convenience
(Trinklein):
Gauge
(B&S)
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

Diameter
(mm)
0.7230
0.6438
0.5733
0.5106
0.4547
0.4049
0.3606
0.3211

Physics
Shenandoah Valley Governors School
Revised 20150224
2
Finally, according to page 646 of your textbook, the accepted theoretical values for the resistivity
(at 20C) and temperature coefficient for copper are
0 = 1.67 x 10-8 m
= 4.05 x 10-3 C-1
Equipment:
Wavetek Multimeter DM 27-XT (x2) (or DM 25-XT)
Science Workshop 750 Interface running Data Studio
Test leads (three red double banana plug and two black double banana plug)
Resistivity spools
Method:
Set one DM 25-XT multimeter to Volts (setting 200 mV) and connect it across the first
resistivity spool as shown. Set the other DM 25-XT multimeter to Amperes (setting 200 mA) and
connect it to the Science Workshop interface and the resistor spool as shown. The black lead
goes the ground symbol on the SW 750 interface box and the red lead goes to the Output ( 5 V /
300 mA).
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE VOLTMETER IS SET TO VOLTAGE. If
the probes are set up for current then the fuse will blow. Connect the power supply to the
resistor as shown:

V
A

SW 750
The dashed lines represent the red lead in both diagrams

Physics
Shenandoah Valley Governors School
Revised 20150224
3
Start up Data Studio and click on the Voltage Out icon on the far right of the interface icon.

Select (by up arrow) DC voltage. Use the + and buttons on the screen to change the voltage to
0 V. Change the range of the meter to 0.010 V using the left and right arrow buttons just beneath
the DC Voltage box on the screen. Change the
DC voltage to 0.040V. Click the Start button.
The voltage across the first resistor spool should
read something on the order of 10.1 mV and the
current should read approximately 18.1 mA.
Make sure that there are three significant
figures for both readings. If not, increase to the
voltage by 0.010 V.
Record the multimeter voltage and the multimeter
current. Increase the voltage slightly (by 0.010 or
0.020 V) and record the voltage and current again.
Continue for a total of sixteen trials. Do not
exceed 200 mV during the experiment.
Construct an appropriate data table (with units and labels). Items that should be measured
include the following:
1. Length of the wire in the spool
2. Cross sectional area of the wire in the spool
3. Voltage
4. Current
5. Experimental resistance of the spool
6. Experimental resistivity of the spool material
7. Accepted value of the resistivity of the spool material
8. Relative error

Physics
Shenandoah Valley Governors School
Revised 20150224
4
Turn off data collection and unplug your leads. Move the voltmeter and ammeter probes so that
the multimeters record the current and voltage across the second spool. Take ten to twelve
measurements of the current and voltage for the second spool, making sure that there are three
significant figures for each reading.
Repeat the voltage and current measurements for the 3rd, 4th and 5th spools.
Note that the 5th spool is an entirely new material: copper-nickel. As such, we will not have an
accepted value to compare with our readings. Instead, after taking your measurements, report
your discovered resistivity for copper-nickel as (average) (2*standard deviation).
Uncertainty Analysis:
Determine the expected uncertainty by determining the following uncertainties in
measurement:
Considering the voltmeter, what was the largest possible uncertainty for the smallest
voltage that was measured?
Example: the voltmeter measured 10.5 mV, 12.1 mV, 14.4 mV, 15.9 mV, and 18.0 mV.
The smallest measured voltage was 10.5 mV and the uncertainty is 0.1 in the reading. The
uncertainty due to the voltmeter is 0.1/10.5 = 0.00952 (or 1.0 %)

Complete the following table:


Uncertainty
Voltage
Current
Length
Diameter

Smallest Measurement

(%)

Total
We will make the simplifying assumption that the uncertainties in this experiment add
and determine the expected uncertainty. Note that this is NOT the relative error. The expected
uncertainty is a measure of how precise our experiment should be.
Using the resistivity equation and the data from the first four spools, determine the
average resistivity for copper. Using your theoretical value from the textbook, report the
accepted value for the resistivity of copper and determine the experimental relative error.
Relative Error =

Observed Accepted

Report all of this in an appropriate table.

Accepted

Physics
Shenandoah Valley Governors School
Revised 20150224
5
To be answered in a textbox on the Excel spreadsheet:
Question 1: In light of this result, how many significant figures should be used to report the
resistivity of copper?
Question 2: Is the relative experimental error less than or greater than the expected uncertainty?
Question 3: What sources of error could contribute to your percent error beyond measurement
uncertainties?
Question 4: What is your measured resistivity for the copper-nickel wire (spool 5)? Report your
answer as [average] [2*standard deviation].
Question 5: Given your experimental data, which material would be more ideal to use in a
circuit: copper or copper-nickel? Why?

Write-up
Make sure all lab partner names are listed on the Excel document in a text box. Answers
to the questions should be entered in a text box on the worksheet.
The data and analysis will be written up by each lab group as a short lab report. The
report will be completed in Excel and saved as follows:
Lab 25_userid1, userid2, userid3.xls
where userid is your SVGS login identity.
The report is due in the appropriate Moodle folder one week from the completion of
the experiment. Be sure to check your lab for proper usage of significant figures, labels, and
units. Be sure to make a back-up copy as necessary.
Works Cited
Giambattista, A., Richardson, B., &Richardson, R. (2007). College Physics, 2nd Ed. Boston,
MA: McGraw-Hill. 644-659.

ONeill, T. and Martin, C.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen