2013 PHYSICS PROJECT

DELHI PRIVATE SCHOOL, SHARJAH

[NEIL SENGUPTA XII-H]

The project analyzes the factors affecting the resistance of a circuit .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It would like to express my sincere thanks to my Physics teachers, Mrs. Annie and Mrs. Rasita for being so supportive, and providing us with the opportunity to do this project. Our lab assistants have provided a helping hand throughout. I would also like to thank my group members as they encouraged me to put forward this project.

INDEX
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S.NO
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

TOPICS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT CERTIFICATE INTRODUCION AIM APPARATUS CONCLUSION OBSERVATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY

Introduction
1. Ohms Law:It states that the current through a
conductor between two points is directly proportional to the potential difference across the two points.

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Where ; I is the current through the conductor in units of amperes (A), V is the potential difference measured across the conductor in units of volts (V), and R is the resistance of the conductor in units of Ohm ().

2. Resistance: The electrical resistance of an electrical

element is the opposition to the passage of an electric current through that element. The SI unit of electrical resistance is the ohm. The resistance of a given object depends primarily on two factors: What material it is made of, and its shape. For a given material, the resistance is inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area. Also, for a given material, the resistance is proportional to the length.

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Where is the length of the conductor, measured in metres [m], A is the cross-section area of the conductor measured in square metres [m].

3. Combination of resistors- series and parallel: a) Series-A series circuit is a circuit in which resistors
are arranged in a chain, so the current has only one path to take. The current is the same through each resistor. The total resistance of the circuit is found by simply adding up the resistance values of the individual resistors: Equivalent resistance of resistors in series: R = R1 + R2 + R3 + ...

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b)Parallel-A parallel circuit is a circuit in which the

resistors are arranged with their heads connected together, and their tails connected together. The voltage across each resistor in parallel is the same. The total resistance of a set of resistors in parallel is found by adding up the reciprocals of the resistance values, and then taking the reciprocal of the total: Equivalent resistance of resistors in parallel: 1 / R = 1 / R1 + 1 / R2 + 1 / R3 +...

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4. Factors affecting resistance:

a) Length-Resistance is directly proportional to length.
As the length increases resistance also increases.

b) Cross-sectional Area-Resistance is inversely

proportional to the cross-sectional area. As the area increases resistance decreases.

c) Nature of the wire-Resistance depends on the

nature of wire and its resistivity. It is directly proportional to resistivity. More the resistivity more is the resistance.

d) Temperature-Resistance is proportional to the

temperature of the material. As the temperature increases resistance also increases.

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5. Metre Bridge:
A uniform resistance wire 1 meter in length, mounted above a scale marked in millimeters, with terminals added to make the device usable as either part of a Wheatstone bridge or of a potentiometer. The following figure shows a typical meter bridge.

Apparatus
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1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11)

Metre Bridge Battery Galvanometer Resistance Jockey One way key Resistance wire Meter scale Connecting wires Thermometer Glass of water a) At room temperature b) At 7C-8 C c) At 40 C

12) Wires a) Nichrome-50 cm b) Nichrome-100 cm c) Nichrome-150 cm d) Constantan-50 cm e) Manganin-50 cm

Procedure
Connect nichrome wire measuring 50 cm in the meter bridge where the resistance is to be determined in the right gap and connect the resistance box in the left gap.

Make all other connections. A key is included so that the current passes only when required. Now introduce a suitable resistance by taking out the plug from the resistance box and find the balancing length by pressing the jockey

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on the meter wire for null deflection in the galvanometer. Record this length. Also record 100 minus this length. Repeat step 4 to get 4 more readings and calculate the mean resistance. Make the observation tables for the 3 wires and a graph depicting change in resistance with increase in length. Take a nichrome wire of length 50 cm and fold it in half. This allows measurement of the wire with double the area. Measure mean resistance.

Take a nichrome wire of length in 50cm and fold it in three to 1/3rd the length. This allows measurement of the wire with triple the area. Measure the resistance.

Make observation tables for these 3 wires and a graph depicting change in resistance with increase in area.

Take the constantan wire of length 50 cm and measure its mean resistance by the metre bridge.

Take a manganin wire of length 50 cm and measure its mean resistance by the metre bridge.

Make the observation tables for these 3 wires.

Take the nichrome wire of length 50 cm and measure its resistance while it is dipped in water at 100 C.

Take the nichrome wire of length 50 cm and measure its resistance while it is dipped in water at 0 C.

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 Make the observation table for these wires and a graph depicting change in resistance with increase in temperature.

OBSERVATIONS
a) For length of the wire:
FOR LENGTH OF WIRE S.No R [ohms] Balancing length(l cm) L1 = 50cm 1 2 L2 = 100cm 1 2 L3 = 150cm 1 2 5 6 7 8 10 15 49 44 48 49 53 55 51 56 52 51 47 45 6.24 6.36 7.58 8.32 8.86 12.27 100L(cm) X=R[100L]/L (ohms)

b) For an area of the wire:

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For an area of wire

S.N o

R [Ohms]

Balancin g length L(cm)

100-L [cm]

X=R(100L)/L [ohms]

3A

1 2

3 5 7 5 5 7

42 44 48 39 37 33

58 56 52 61 63 67

4.14 6.36 7.58 7.82 8.51 14.21

2A

1 2

1 2

c) For temperature of the wire:

For Temperature Of the Wire S.No R [Ohms] Balancing length L(cm) T1=Room temperature[100 Celsius 2
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100L [cm] 51

X=R(100L)/L [ohms] 6.24

49

45

55

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T2= 20-25 degree Celsius

56

44

2.35

2 T3= 0 degree Celsius 1 2

3 2 2

49 62 55

51 32 45

3.12 1.22 1.63

d) For nature of the wire:

Nature of the wire S.no R [ohms] R [ohms] 100-L [cm] X=R[100L]/L [ohms] Manganese 1 2 Nichrome 1 2 2 5 3 7 47 44 37 48 53 56 63 52 2.25 3.92 5.10 7.58

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Conclusion
The Ohms law is given by V=IR where R is a constant called resistance. The combination of resistors connected in a) Series: R=R1+R2+R3+ b) Parallel: 1/R=1/R1+1/R2+1/R3+ Resistance changes with change in substance. Resistance is directly proportional to the length of the wire. Resistance is inversely proportional to the area of cross section of the wire. As the resistance increases, the temperature increases.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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 www.physics.org www.wikipedia.com www.physicsclassroom.com www.thefreedictionary.com

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