Date: March 30, 2020

Title: Electricity
Problem Statement: In a 5th form class, a student wants to investigate the relationship between
the length of a wire and resistance. Plan and design an experiment to investigate the
relationship.
Hypothesis:
As the length of the wire increases, the resistance also increases
Aim:
To determine if the length of the wire increases with resistance
Variables:
Manipulating: length of wire
Responding: resistance
Controlled: Cross-Sectional area of the wire
Apparatus:
Ammeter, voltmeter, resistance wire, power supply

Diagram

Procedure
1. Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram.
2. Allow the current to flow through the wire at various lengths, increment of 10 cm up
to 70 cm.
3. Record the current and voltage flowing.
4. Repeat steps 2 to 4
5. Record data in a suitable table format.
Results
TABLE SHOWING RESULTS OBTAINED
Length of wire/ cm Voltage/ volts Current/ Amps Resistance/ Ohms
10 V1 V2 Vavg I1 I2 Iavg R1 R2 Ravg
20
30
40
50
60
70

Data Analysis
1. Plot a graph of voltage against current
2. Determine the gradient of the graph
3. Deduce the relationship between the lengths of the wire with resistance base on the
graph plotted.
4. What is the purpose of repeating steps 2 to 4?

Expected Result
The longer the wire, the larger the resistance. This is because the free electrons in the wire
bump into more atoms, thereby making it harder for electricity to flow. Similarly, the shorter
the wire, the smaller the resistance because there will be fewer atoms for the electrons to
bump into, thereby easing the flow of electricity. Furthermore, the resistance of a wire is
directly proportional to the length and inversely proportional to the area, so doubling the
length of a wire should increase the resistance by a factor of two. This is because if the length
of the wire is doubled, the electrons bump into twice as many atoms, so there will be twice as
much resistance. If this is correct, the graph should show a positive correlation.

Precautions:
1. Ensure that the polarity of the circuit is correct.
2. Ensure that the connections of circuit are tightly connected.
3. Readings are taken to avoid parallax error.

Source of error:
1. Parallax error
2. Best accuracy of the measuring instrument