In this preliminary experiment, I will use different lengths of wires to measure their resistance. The main idea of doing the preliminary experiment was to find a suitable current number to put the power supply on. I also wanted to do this experiment to familiarise myself further with the method; if I had any problems I could correct them there and then. This would mean I would obtain precise and reliable results in my main experiment when investigating the connection between the length of the wire and the resistance of the wire. .
First, the circuit was set up as shown below. I had to be careful in connecting circuit, because the Voltmeter had to be placed in parallel and the ammeter, which had to be placed in series. Draw up a rough table onto a piece of paper with the appropriate headings. The wire was cut to just over 50cm so the crocodile clips could attach onto the wire, making the results more accurate. Stretch out the wire onto the bench and measure with a metre rule. The power supply was put on 2V and the gradually increased the 4V, to find a suitable current for my main method. The slider on the resistor was moved to allow me to do five repeats. I decided to go down in ten centimetre gaps, as it would allow me to lot a graph of resistance against length with a range of fie readings.
Results.
As shown below there is only a range of five readings, which start to show a pattern, that the best fit line is directly proportional. To see if this trend carries on, I will widen my main experiment and use a 100cm length of wire, I will also take the readings every 5cm and not 10cm. From my experimentation with the power supply, I have decided to keep it at 4V, as I do not need the wire length to go lower than 10cm. .
Length (cm) Current (Amps, A ) Voltage (Volts, ) Resistance (Ohms, ) Average resistance (Ohms, ).
50 0.250.220.350.290.43 0.340.300.520.330.44 1.411.361.491.131.02 1.54.
40 0.270.180.140.110.09 0.340.230.
