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How Does the Length of a Wire Affect Its Resistance?

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How does the length of a wire affect its resistance?

Introduction:
This first report in Physics will show the investigation of how the length of a wire affects its resistance. For starters I will go through the main definitions, to get a better knowledge of what is going to happen. However I will plan it out first to show each step of how I started, and then go into detail about the results and what the investigation on a whole has showed me. I shall then conclude my findings and present them with tables and graphs saying what we discovered. There will also be an evaluation at the end explaining what went wrong and the experiment could have been improved.

This report on resistance should be easy to get through but the difficult area in …show more content…

The energy difference between the electrons leaving and the electrons entering the cell is called the potential difference of the cell and is measured in units called volts. The potential difference is often just referred to as the voltage. I have explained the formula for finding the voltage using the current and the resistance as shown on the previous page.

There is also a potential difference across every device in a circuit because energy is transferred to the devices by the current. This potential difference is measured using a voltmeter connected to the two points across where the difference is to be measured.

Some devices need more energy than others to work. Larger currents are needed to supply the extra energy. To provide a larger current, several cells may be connected in series (end – to – end).The potential difference in series circuits is different from parallel circuits. In series circuits the energy from the supply is shared between the devices in the circuit. This means that the potential difference across the supply is equal to the sum of the potential differences across all the devices in the circuit. The more devices which are added, the lower the potential difference across each one - so each one receives less energy assuming the supply does not change.
Current:
Electrical appliances only work when energy is transferred to them. The flow of electrons through the circuit is the electric current. All

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