The factors that affect the resistance in a wire.

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The factors that affect the Resistance of a Wire

Aim of investigation

The key factor that I will investigate is how the length of the wire will affect the resistance.

My Prediction

Order College Papers on The factors that affect the resistance in a wire.

I predict that as the length of the wire increases, so does the resistance.

Background Knowledge

What is resistance?

Resistance is the force, which prevents the flow of electrons (current) through an electrical conductor. Resistance is measured in ohms. Ohm's law was named after its discoverer George Ohm; he discovered that the amount of current flowing through a circuit is directly proportional to the volts impressed on the circuit. George Ohm discovered a rule for working out the resistance of a circuit

R=V/I

V = volts

I = current

R = resistance

Resistance occurs when the negatively charged electrons (tiny negatively charged particles) travelling along the current in the wire, collide with the positively charged atoms. These collisions slow down the flow of electrons, which causes resistance. The amount, size and density of atoms have an effect on resistance. The circuit itself has some resistance.

Non-Ohmic and Ohmic conductor

In a graph showing the resistance of an object or substance; the steeper the graph, the lower the resistance and the flatter the graph, the higher the resistance. A substance that gives a straight-line graph is called an Ohmic conductor. Copper wire and all other metals give this shape of graph, unless they change temperature.

Here is a graph showing an Ohmic conductor

Not all objects and substances give a straight-line graph like this e.g. a Filament Lamp. You can see that the lamp is a non-ohmic conductor because the graph is not a straight-line graph; it does not obey Ohms law. As more current flows, the metal filament gets hotter and so its resistance increases. This means the graph gets flatter as shown.

Here is a graph showing a non-Ohmic conductor the filament lamp

The factors that affect resistance

There are factors, which can affect resistance. These are

v The material of the wire

v The temperature of the wire

v The diameter of the wire

v The length of the wire

The material of a wire

Different wires contain different amounts of atoms; some wires have many of atoms, in contrast to others, which have few atoms. A wire that does not conduct electricity easily is known as a bad conductor of electricity. All metals are good conductors because inside them they have a large number of electrons that can move easily from atom to atom, so that a current flows; Nichrome is an example of a metal that does not conduct electricity easily, Copper is an example of a metal that is a good conductor. Wires that have many atoms will have a high resistance, compared to wires, which have a few atoms, because there is a smaller area for the electrons to pass through. Also the size of these atoms can change; some atoms are large compared to others, which are small. This will result in the flow of electrons being slowed down, and also more collision between the atoms in the wire and the electrons in the current. The distribution of these atoms also changes. In some materials the atoms are closely packed together, which means that there will be a smaller surface area for the electrons to pass through. The flow of electrons will be slowed down, and the collisions between the electrons and atoms will be more frequent. A wire, which easily conducts electricity, is known as a good conductor of electricity.

The temperature of the wire

The diameter of a wire

Different types of wires have different thickness. Wires with a large diameter have less resistance compared to wires that have a small diameter, which have more resistance. Wires with a small diameter have a high resistance because when the electrons are travelling along the wire, there is only a small area in which the electrons can pass through. The electrons have to squeeze together in order to be able to pass through the wire. This would cause the flow of electrons to be slowed down to enable all of the electrons to be able to pass through the wire. There will also be more collision occurring. Not just between the atoms and the electron, but collisions between the electrons and other electrons. Also in thin wires the atoms are densely packed together which causes more collisions between the atoms and the electrons. Therefore the current will be slowed down, which means that the thin wire has a high resistance. Wires with a thick diameter have a low resistance when compared to wires thin wires. The reason for this is, in wires that have a thick diameter there is a larger surface that the current can flow through. Consequently less collisions between the electrons in the current and the atoms in the wire, because there is a larger surface for the current to flow through. Also there will be a larger distance between the atoms, which will cause fewer collisions. In a thick wire the electrons do not have to squeeze together to be able to pass through the wire, as much as they would in a thin wire. Hence less collisions between the electrons and the atoms

The length of a wire

Long wires have more resistance, in contrast to short wires, because in long wires the electrons have a larger surface to cover, which means it will take the electrons longer to travel from one end of the wire to the other. The reason for this is the collisions between the atoms and the electrons will be more frequent because there is a longer length for the electrons to travel. Also the electrons have to squeeze together for a longer length of time in a long wire to be able to pass through the wire but in a short wire the electrons only have to squeeze together for a short time. Long wires have a larger surface area that the electrons have to cover. Short wires have a small surface area that the electrons have to cover.

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