Nichrome Wire In Bulb

Problem: I have been asked to investigate how resistance is affected by changing the length of nichrome in a simple circuit.What is resistance? Resistance is anything that slows down the flow of electrons/current. This is called a resistor. Resistors are either small pieces of material or long coiled pieces of wire that don’t conduct electricity very well. For example, bulbs do not conduct electricity as well as a piece of copper mainly because copper contains loads of free electrons.

Examples of resistors:

• Hairdryer
• Toaster
• Filament in a bulbThe filament in a bulb is a great example of a resistor.

It is a very thin wire so it slows down the flow of electrons and takes energy away from the electrons as they struggle to get through it. The energy is then changed to heat and light.Current:The flow of electrons in a circuit is called the CURRENT. Current is measured using an ammeter.

Current is measured in units called AMPS.

Voltage:Voltage is the amount of energy that the electrons have. It is measured using a voltmeter. Voltage is measured in units called VOLTS.In order for me to try and prove my original question I am going to have to carry out a number of experiments. In these experiments I am going to have to record the volts, and amps in order for me to be able to calculate the resistance when the length of the nichrome wire changes.When carrying out this experiment there is a number of factors that could affect the investigation.

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These include:

• The length of the wire
• The voltage passing through the circuit
• Thickness of wire
• Type of wire

The length of the wireAs the length of the wire plays a major part in our investigation we must make sure that we measure the wire very accurately in order to achieve accurate and reliable results.

The voltage passing through the circuitWe must make sure that the voltage been passed through the circuit stays the same. Otherwise our results will not be accurate or reliable.Thickness of wireAs the resistance also plays a major part in the investigation I must make sure that the thickness of the wire remain the same throughout the investigation, otherwise our results will not be correct or accurate.

Type of wireWe must make sure that we only use nichrome wire as any other type of wire will display different results due to its electronic arrangement.In my investigation I am going to keep the thickness of the wire, type of wire and the voltage passing through the circuit the same. The only factor I will be changing is the length of the wire in order to try and get an answer to my original question.

Practical Procedure:Prediction: I predict that if the length of the wire is longer the resistance will be a lot greater as the electrons have a lot further to travel.