Saad Mahmood 06/09/2016 - Resistivity of wire

Investigation of the relationship

between the length of the wire and the
resistance of the wire
Research question: How the length of the wire affects the resistance of the
wire?

Independent variable: The length of the wire.

Dependent variable: The resistance produced by the wire in the circuit at
different lengths of wire.

Controlled variables:

Material of wire(copper)
Voltmeter used
Ammeter used
Voltage from power source
Ruler

Hypothesis:
My hypothesis is that as the length of the wire increases the resistance due to the
wire increases as well. The length of the wire and its resistance should be directly
proportional.

Apparatus list:

Ammeter
Voltmeter
Power supply
Copper Wire
Cables
Crocodile clips
Ruler

Method:
1. Gather all the equipment from the apparatus list.
2. Attach the ammeter in series with the power supply as well as two wires with
crocodile clips attached at their ends.
3. Choose the wire you want to use.
4. Measure the desired length of wire.
5. Attached desired length of chosen wire between the crocodile clip.
6. Attach the voltmeter in parallel to the wire.
7. Turn on the power supply.
8. Note down the readings displayed on the ammeter and the voltmeter.
9. Repeat steps 3-8 with different lengths (at least 5) of the same wire.

Saad Mahmood 06/09/2016 - Resistivity of wire

10.Repeat the experiment 2 more times to get multiple results for each length in
order to improve reliability of data.

Controlling the controlled Variables:

Variable
Material of wire

Voltmeter used

Ammeter used

Voltage from power

source

Ruler

How it was controlled

Ensure the same wire is used throughout the
experiment. When getting the wire get a long enough
piece, which allows you to get data for various lengths.
This is important due to different materials having
different levels of resistivity.
Ensure Voltmeter used is functioning correctly and
there is no Zero error by seeing if the needle as at zero
before it is connected. Use the same voltmeter
throughout the experiment.
Ensure ammeter used is functioning correctly and there
is no Zero error by seeing if the needle as at zero
before it is connected. Use the same ammeter
throughout the experiment.
Choose a safe voltage that is not too high and not too
low as being too high can be dangerous or cause the
power supply to overload, while being too low may give
inaccurate results as resistance could be higher than
the voltage.
Ensure the ruler is not in bad condition as sometimes
rulers dont start at 0.

Saad Mahmood 06/09/2016 - Resistivity of wire

Saad Mahmood 06/09/2016 - Resistivity of wire

Saad Mahmood 06/09/2016 - Resistivity of wire

Saad Mahmood 06/09/2016 - Resistivity of wire

Saad Mahmood 06/09/2016 - Resistivity of wire

Uncertainty:
There were a few uncertainties in the experiment that led to systematic errors. This
was due to the human error when measuring the length of the wire with the ruler,
as the ruler was only accurate up to 0.01m. There was an uncertainty in the reading
of the voltmeter and ammeter due to the voltmeter only being accurate up to 1V
and 0.2A. The error in the reading of the voltage and the reading of the amps led to
an error in the calculation of the resistance.

Gradient:
The maximum gradient is 141.1765 and the minimum gradient is 53.75. Again, the
best-straight line gradient is 86.427.
The uncertainty above the best straight line is 141.1765 - 86.427= +54.7495
The uncertainty below the best straight line is 53.75 - 86.427= -32.677
The gradient and its uncertainty are thus 86.427(+54.7495)/ (-32.677)

Conclusion:
From my experiment the results show that the length of the copper wire is directly
proportional to its resistance. From my experiments results graphed it can be seen
that the resistivity of the copper wire with uncertainties is 86.427(+54.7495)/ (32.677). I used ohms law to calculate the resistance of the wire at different lengths.
The results also prove my hypothesis to be true.

Evaluation:
Even though I got a linear relationship for the graph as predicted the data involves
significant errors. The errors are mainly systematic errors due to the accuracy of the
equipment used for measurement; voltmeter, ammeter & Ruler. I initially used the
half range rule to calculate the errors but they were rather insignificant making it
impossible to get a max and mine line, so instead I used the systematic error from
the readings from the voltmeter and the ammeter to calculate the error in the
resistance calculated. Another reason for are results not being as accurate as
possible was that the wire was not completely straight. When doing the experiment,
we tried our best to straighten it but it was still not fully straight so it was likely
longer than what we had measure it to be.