Title:
Effect of varying length of a wire on voltage
Introduction:
Growing up electricity was hard because I grew up with my grandparents in their village
before I moved to the city with my parents when I was 7. The village we centered at barely
had light so we relied on daylight as our source of sight, so we usually got everything done
by sunset, and went to bed right after. It was not until 5, when the government initiated a
project to install 1 light per house in our community, so we usually
Research Question:
How can varying the length of a wire (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90,100) affect the reading on a
voltmeter?
Background:
List of Variables:
Independent variable- length of wire
Dependent variable- Voltmeter Reading
Control variable (1)- Type of wire
Control variable (2)- Diameter of wire
Control variable (3)- Temperature of room
How variables will be manipulated
Independent: A ruler will be used in varying the lengths of the wire (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80,
90,100) across the setup.
Dependent: Will be used to measure the voltage of the different lengths and will be tested
beforehand to ensure calibration and functionality is on point.
Control variable (1): The wire type will be kept constant (constantan wire) to reduce impact
on resistance.
Control variable (2): Change in diameter will affect the resistance so the diameter will be
kept constant (0.1mm) to reduce change in resistance.
Control variable (3): The temperature of room will be kept constant (23oC) to avoid any
experimental complications, and so the wire will adapt to experimental environment to avoid
temperature -related variations.
Hypothesis:
In accordance to Ohm’s law of direct proportionality of length of wire with resistance I
hypothesize that higher the length of the wire the greater the reading on the voltmeter.
Apparatus Quantity
Power Supply (Battery) 1
Constantan Wire 1
Calibrated Voltmeter 1
Ruler 1
Batteries 3
Lab Coat 1
Ammeter 1
Safety googles 1
Non-conductive gloves 1
Crocodile clips
Experimental Setup Diagram
Safety
Threat Hazard Precaution
Bare- Wire Can cause electric shock Lab coat, non-conductive gloves
when contact made with bare
hands.
Power supply High voltage and current can Non-conductive gloves, and eye
produce heat which can lead googles
to burns when there’s
malfunctions.
Flames Flammable items near Fire extinguishers should be
experiment may cause near
increase severity when there
is a fire outbreak.
Methodology:
1. Set up the power supply on a stable surface and connect it to a standard
electrical outlet.
2. Connect the positive terminal of the power supply to one end of the copper
wire using a crocodile clip.
3. Attach the negative terminal of the power supply to the other end of the wire
using another crocodile clip.
4. Measure and cut eight pieces of copper wire with lengths of 30 cm, 40 cm, 50
cm, 60 cm, 70 cm, 80 cm, 90 cm, and 100 cm. Ensure the wires have the same
gauge.
5. Set the power supply to a constant voltage value (e.g., 5 volts) to maintain
consistency.
6. Use the voltmeter to measure and record the voltage across the wire for each
length.
7. Start with the 30 cm wire, take a voltage reading, and then proceed with each
subsequent length.
8. Record the voltage measurements in your laboratory notebook, noting the wire
length and voltage reading for each trial.
9. Conduct multiple trials for each wire length to ensure the reliability of your
results. You may want to repeat each measurement at least three times.
Table of results
Length (cm)(± 0.1) Voltage (V)(± 0.5 )
10 0.07
20 0.01
30 0.20
40 0.25
50 0.28
60 0.32
70 0.37
Graphs
Analysis and Calculation
Discussion & Conclusion
Evaluation
Strengths Explanation
Weaknesses Explanation
Improvements Explanation
References
