How the length of a piece of wire affects its resistance is what I"ll be focusing on in my investigation. I am assuming that at greater lengths there will be higher resistance because of afore mentioned information. .
• Type of metal/ wire: Different metals have different resistances because they all have different atomic structures. Therefore some will have higher and lower resistances than others. Because of this it's important for me to keep the type of wire I use in the experiments the same. .
The type of material used will affect the amount of free electrons that are able to flow through the wire. The amount of free electrons depends on the amount of electrons in the outer shell of the atoms. If the metal (wire) has a high number of atoms, this means there will be a greater number of electrons available. This results in a lower resistance, because of the increase in the number of electrons. If the atoms are tightly packed together, the electrons will obviously have more collisions; this results in a greater resistance. .
To make sure that this experiment is a fair one, the temperature and type of wire will be kept the same. I will also use the same apparatus for each experiment. Finally it is important that I repeat the experiment at least twice. If there is one inaccurate set of results, I will have a reasonable set of averages. .
Prediction:.
My hypothesis is, the shorter the length of the wire the lower the resistance, and the longer the wire, the higher the resistance. The why I came to this conclusion is as follows: In a short piece of wire it's easier for the electrons to pass through it because there are fewer atoms for it to collide with. Therefore there will be less resistance.
For example, if you"re in a crowded train, it will be easier for you to pass through one carriage then the whole train, because there are less people in your path. This basic theory also applies for a piece of wire.