KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
(KNUST)

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS

FACULTY OF PHYSICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCES

AN EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE RESISTIVITY OF DIFFERENT

TYPES OF WIRES
NAME INDEX NUMBER
Nicholas Kueli 8675521
Kpodo Mawunyo Michael 8675421
Donkor Courage 8674321

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 Group 3 Subgroup 7

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………3

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………. 4

Theory…………..…………………………………………………………………... 5

Diagram of Setup ………………………………………………………………….. 6

Observation Table (Data)……………………………………………………………7 - 11

Graph………………………………………………………………………………...12 - 16

Calculations……………….…………………………………………………………17

Error Analysis………………………………………………………………………. 18

Results and Discussions ……………………………….……………………...18

Precautions…………………………………………………………………………. 18

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………. 19

References…………………………………………………………………………..20

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ABSTRACT
This experiment was conducted to investigate how the length, thickness and type of a wire
material affects the resistance with regards to the wire material and its resistance. The
experiment conducted aimed to investigate the relationship between the resistance of a wire and
its length and cross-sectional area. It was observed that the resistance of a wire increased as its
length increased and decreased as its cross-sectional area increased, which is in accordance with
Ohm's law. The data collected during the experiment supported this relationship and
demonstrated that the slope of the lines in the graph of resistance versus length for different
wires is inversely proportional to the conductivity of the wire materials. Several precautions
were taken during the experiment to ensure the accuracy of the data, such as avoiding parallax
errors while reading the length and diameter of the wire and staying on the page until the
simulation was completed to avoid varied logins. However, there may have been some sources of
error, such as instrument errors, environmental factors, or errors during the measurement
process. The results of this experiment can be used to make predictions about the resistance of
wires in various applications and design circuits that operate with specific resistance values.
Overall, the experiment was successful in demonstrating the relationship between resistance,
length, and cross-sectional area of a wire, and the results obtained can be applied in practical
applications.

3
INTRODUCTION
Electricity flows in metals. Metal wires are made of millions of tiny metal crystals, and each
crystal’s atoms are arranged in a regular rhythm. The metal is full of "free" electrons that do not
stick to any particular atom rather, they fill the space between the atoms. When these electrons
move, they create an electric current.

Conductors have resistance, but some are worse than others. The free electrons keep bumping
into atoms. A wire's resistance depends on four main factors: Resistivity, Length of the wire,
Cross-sectional area and Temperature of the wire

We will investigate how the length, thickness and type of a wire material affects the resistance.
The preliminary experiment is to help investigate these factors in the best way and make
deductions with regards to the wire material and its resistance.

4
THEORY
Ohm’s law states that the electric current flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to
the potential difference across its ends, provided the physical state of the conductor remains
constant.

If the current flowing through the conductor is given as I and the potential difference across it
ends is denoted as V, then according to Ohm’s law, mathematically stating,

V ∝I

and hence

V =RI (1.1)

where R is the constant of proportionality and is termed as the electrical resistance of the
conductor(wire). If V is expressed in volts and I in amperes, then R is expressed in ohms. The
resistance R, depends upon the material and dimensions of the conductor. For a wire of uniform
cross-section, the resistance depends on the length l and the area of cross-section A. It also
depends on the temperature of the conductor. At a given temperature the resistance

I
R=ρ (1.2)
A

where ρ is the specific resistance or the resistivity as commonly known and it is characteristic of
the material the wire is made up of. A linear relationship is seen between the resistance of the
wire, R and its length l, and this can be plotted to calculate the resistivity. The cross sectional
area of the conductor is kept constant.

5
DIAGRAM OF SETUP

Fig 1.0: A diagram of experimental setup for finding the resistivity of a material.

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OBSERVATION TABLE (DATA)
PART 1: Resistance, R versus Length, l
Material: Nichrome Material: Copper
Length/ Resistance/Ω Length/m Resistance/Ω
m 7.63 0.110
6.75 6.06
5.20 0.072
4.65 4.17
6.70 0.094
1.30 1.13
Material: Aluminium 5.80 0.081
3.95 3.53
6.50 0.092
3.10 2.75 Material: Graphite 2.30 0.032
4.40 3.91 Length/m Resistance/Ω
Length/m Resistance/Ω 5.60 0.077
0.75 0.63
2.70 0.062 0.92
1.80 3.28
0.025
6.40 5.76
3.73 0.085 4.90
4.10 17.97
0.057
5.20 4.61
8.00 0.180 2.70
1.30 0.038
4.50
7.63 6.84
2.90 0.067 5.60 20.33
2.20 0.050 5.00 18.42
5.20 0.120 5.70 20.78
6.32 0.150 Material: Gold 7.28Material: Silver
26.65
1.30 0.029 2.38
Length/m 8.56
Resistance/Ω
Length/m Resistance/Ω
4.31 0.099 4.93 18.08
7.50 0.130 2.05 0.025
0.92 0.021 5.59
1.65 20.33
0.020
4.40 0.074
2.70 0.046 6.45 0.078
0.70 0.011 0.80 0.009
1.70 0.029 Part Two: 7.20 0.087
1.32 0.022 Resistance, R 6.35 0.077 versus
Wire Thickness, t
3.12 0.053 2.40 0.028
Material: Nichrome Material: Copper
5.55 0.095 4.97 0.060
5.00 0.085 3.90 0.047
2.05 0.035 2.85 0.034

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Radii, Cross- Resistance/Ω Radii, Cross- Resistance/Ω
R/mm Section R/mm Section
Area Area
0.62 1.21 1.71 0.31 0.30 0.10
0.89 2.49 0.92 0.77 1.86 0.019
0.79 1.96 1.18 0.38 0.45 0.081
0.70 1.54 1.49 0.56 0.99 0.035
0.53 0.88 2.43 0.11 0.04 0.79
0.16 0.08 28.33 0.41 0.53 0.060
0.22 0.15 13.03 0.63 1.25 0.027
0.20 0.13 18.22 1.00 3.14 0.011
0.98 3.02 0.75 0.60 1.13 0.032

Material: Aluminium Material: Graphite

Radii, Cross- Resistance/Ω Radii, Cross- Resistance/Ω
R/mm Section R/mm Section
Area Area
0.76 1.82 0.032 0.36 0.41 22.96

0.20 0.13 0.48 0.51 0.82 10.54

0.89 2.49 0.024 0.15 0.07 128.60

0.60 1.13 0.053 0.91 2.60 3.40

0.82 2.11 0.026 0.81 2.06 4.36

0.44 0.61 0.092 0.46 0.67 14.16

0.69 1.50 0.039 0.61 1.17 7.48

0.41 0.53 0.11 0.21 0.14 58.18

0.25 0.20 0.29 0.78 1.91 4.96

Material: Gold Material: Silver

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Radii, Cross- Resistance/Ω Radii, Cross- Resistance/Ω
R/mm Section R/mm Section
Area Area
0.59 1.09 0.043 0.74 1.72 0.018

0.30 0.28 0.170 0.61 1.17 0.026

0.75 1.77 0.025 0.82 2.11 0.015

0.91 2.60 0.017 0.41 0.53 0.061

0.82 2.11 0.021 0.91 2.60 0.012

0.31 0.30 0.14 0.80 2.01 0.016

0.61 1.17 0.037 0.29 0.26 0.13

0.22 0.15 0.28 0.12 0.05 0.61

0.40 0.50 0.088 0.38 0.45 0.078

Part Three: Wire Type

Materials: Copper and Aluminium Materials: Nichrome and Silver
Length/m Resistance/Ω Length/m Resistance/Ω
Copper Aluminium Nichrome Silver
2.05 0.013 0.021 2.48 0.98 0.014
4.95 0.031 0.051 4.30 1.73 0.025
2.90 0.018 0.030 3.20 1.29 0.019
5.45 0.034 0.056 2.80 1.13 0.016
3.40 0.021 0.035 6.20 2.49 0.036
2.30 0.014 0.024 7.80 3.14 0.045
3.15 0.019 0.032 5.90 2.39 0.034
4.10 0.026 0.042 7.10 2.86 0.041

2.40 0.015 0.024 4.80 1.94 0.028

4.34 0.027 0.045 0.15 0.61 0.009 9
Materials: Graphite and Gold Materials: Graphite and Aluminium
Length/m Resistance/Ω Length/m Resistance/Ω

Graphite Gold Graphite Aluminium

6.10 10.02 0.050 5.10 8.41 0.053

3.15 5.18 0.026 1.50 2.47 0.016

7.30 11.98 0.060 4.90 8.05 0.050

7.70 12.70 0.063 1.95 3.15 0.019

5.40 8.93 0.044 2.70 4.46 0.028

7.40 12.18 0.061 3.60 5.86 0.037

1.50 2.49 0.012 6.00 9.81 0.061

4.60 7.60 0.038 7.90 13.06 0.082

7.72 12.76 0.064 6.30 10.34 0.065

1.50 2.49 0.012 2.80 4.53 0.028

Materials: Silver and Gold Materials: Copper and Graphite

Length/m Resistance/Ω Length/m Resistance/Ω
Silver Gold Copper Graphite
7.50 0.044 0.062 1.30 0.008 2.04
6.80 0.039 0.056 4.20 0.026 6.90
3.70 0.021 0.029 0.60 0.003 0.91
7.70 0.044 0.063 1.78 0.011 2.85
5.90 0.034 0.049 1.20 0.007 1.86
2.10 0.012 0.017 2.15 0.013 3.49
4.90 0.025 0.036 3.50 0.022 5.76
1.10 0.006 0.009 6.90 0.043 11.37
5.30 0.031 0.043 1.00 0.006 1.59
6.10 0.035 0.049 5.50 0.035 9.10

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GRAPH

A GR A PH O F R ESISTA N CE A GA IN ST LEN GTH F O R

CO PPER , A LUM IN IUM , GO LD A N D SILVER
Copper Linear (Copper) Aluminium Linear (Aluminium)
Gold Linear (Gold) Silver Linear (Silver)
0.2
0.18
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
R/Ω

0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
lENGTH/M

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 A GRAPH OF RESISTANCE AGAINST LENGTH
FOR NICHROME AND GRAPHITE
Nichrome Linear (Nichrome) Graphite Linear (Graphite)
30

25

20

15
R/Ω

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
LENGTH/M

Part Two: Resistance, R versus Wire Thickness, t

A GRA P H O F RE S IS T A N CE A GA IN S T T HICK N E S S O F
CO P P E R, A L UMIN IUM, GO L D A N D S IL VE R
Copper Linear (Copper) Aluminium Linear (Aluminium)
Gold Linear (Gold) Silver Linear (Silver)
12

10

6
R/Ω

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA/mm2

12
 A GRAPH OF RESISTANCE AGAINST
THICKNESS OF NICHROME AND GRAPHITE
Nichrome Linear (Nichrome) Graphite Linear (Graphite)
140

120

100

80
r/Ω

60

40

20

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
cross-sectional area/mm2

Part Three: Wire Type

a graph of resistance against copper and

aluminium
Copper Linear (Copper) Aluminium Linear (Aluminium)
0.06

0.05

0.04

0.03
r/Ω

0.02

0.01

0
1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6
length/m

13
 a graph of resistance against nichrome and
silver
Nichrome Linear (Nichrome) Silver Linear (Silver)
5
4.5
4
3.5
r/Ω

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

length/m

a graph of resistance against graphite and

gold
Graphite Linear (Graphite) Gold Linear (Gold)
14

12

10

8
r/Ω

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
length/m

14
 a graph of resistance against graphite and
aluminium
Graphite Linear (Graphite) Aluminium Linear (Aluminium)
14

12

10

8
r/Ω

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
length/m

a graph of resistance against silver and gold

Silver Linear (Silver) Gold Linear (Gold)
0.07

0.06

0.05
r/Ω

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

length/m

15
 a graph of resistance against copper and
graphite
Copper Linear (Copper) Graphite Linear (Graphite)
12

10

6
r/Ω

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
length/m

CALCULATION
For the part one, the resistance of a wire is directly proportional to its length. As the length of a
wire increases, its resistance increases.
Mathematically;
R∝L

For part two, the resistance of a wire is inversely proportional to its cross sectional area. That is
as the cross-sectional area of a wire increases, its resistance decreases.
Mathematically;
1
A∝
R

For part three, the slope of the lines in the graph of resistance versus length for different wires is
inversely proportional to the conductivity of the wire materials. That is, wires with higher
conductivity will have shallower slopes, while wires with lower conductivity will have steeper
slopes.

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ERROR ANALYSIS
1. Error with measurements: errors can occur during the process of measuring the length,
diameter These errors can be caused by equipment calibration or parallax error.
2. Environmental factors can affect the result of the experiment. That is; temperature
difference etc.
3. Instrument errors: errors can occur during the process of measuring the length and
diameter of the wire. These errors can be caused by equipment calibration, parallax error,
or faulty instruments.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

At the end of the experiment, it was identified that, the resistance of a wire is directly
proportional to its length and inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area. This is
consistent with Ohm's law, which states that the resistance of a conductor is equal to the
voltage across it divided by the current flowing through it. The data collected in the
experiment supports this relationship, as the resistance values calculated for the wire

17
 increased as the length increased and decreased as the cross-sectional area increased. The
data also shows that the relationship between resistance and length is linear, as doubling the
length of the wire resulted in a doubling of its resistance. The experiment was successful in
demonstrating the relationship between resistance, length, and cross-sectional area of a wire,
and the results can be used to make predictions about the resistance of wires in various
applications. For example, the data can be used to design circuits that operate with specific
resistance values or to determine the optimal length and thickness of a wire for a given
application.

PRECAUTIONS
1. With the virtual lab, it was ensured to stay on the page until the simulation was
completed to avoid varied logins which can influence the data collected.
2. Parallax error was avoid in reading the length and diameter of the wire.

CONCLUSION
The results of this experiment show that the resistance of a wire is directly proportional to its
length and inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area. This is consistent with Ohm's law,
which states that the resistance of a conductor is equal to the voltage across it divided by the
current flowing through it. The data collected in this experiment supports this relationship and
can be used to calculate the resistance of a wire at different lengths and cross-sectional areas.
Overall, this experiment was successful in demonstrating the relationship between resistance,
length, and cross-sectional area of a wire. The results obtained can be used to make predictions
about the resistance of wires in various applications and to design circuits that operate with
specific resistance values.

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REFERENCES
1. Halliday, D., Resnick, R., & Walker, J. (2018). Fundamentals of Physics (11th ed.).
Wiley.
2. Tipler, P. A., & Mosca, G. (2017). Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern
Physics (6th ed.). W. H. Freeman.
3. Serway, R. A., & Jewett, J. W. (2017). Physics for Scientists and Engineers (10th ed.).
Cengage Learning.
4. Griffiths, D. J. (2018). Introduction to Electrodynamics (4th ed.). Cambridge University
Press.

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