Resist+the+Current+-+Corey,+Holly,+Sneha,+Sam

Title of Lab: Resist the Current

Researchers: Sneha Mittal, Corey Keyser, Sam Shaunak, Holly Therrell

Research Question: What is the relationship between the voltage across an Ohmic device (resistor) and the current flowing through the device?

Research: Electric current is described as any flow of charge between the terminals of a battery or other electrical source along a continuous path. It is generally described as a constant flow. Voltage is described as the electrical potential energy per unit charge or just electrical potential. Current merely describes the rate at which charge flows in and thus affects the voltage due to its inclusion of charge in it's definition. Thus current is proportional to voltage aswhere y is voltage and x is current. An Ohmic device is something that creates electrical resistance, which is the resistance to current flow in a series. Because current flow will be hindered by the resistor, the voltage should also be equally hindered. Due to this mutual and equal hindrance the current and voltage should interact on direct proportionality relation.

Hypothesis: We believe that as current increases voltage will also increase through a direct, linear relation.
 * V=IR**

Materials: Voltmeter, Ammeter, Voltage Source, Resistor, leads, clip wires

Procedure: 1) Connect the voltage source up to the Ammeter and the resistor. 2) Touch probes together to confirm that they Voltmeter measures 0V before attaching to the Resistor 3) Attach one end of a clip wire to one probe from the Voltmeter and clip the other end of the wire onto one side of the Resistor 4) Increase the Amps in increments of .02 and measure the Voltage by touching the other probe from the Voltmeter onto the other side of the Resistor 5) Repeat step 4 twenty times to get two measurements of Voltage per each .02A increase

Data: The following data was collected: Based on significant figures, the following values were used in the graph. The order of the colored bands on the resistor (blue, red, black, gold) signified a resistance of 62 **Ω** plus or minus 5%.
 * **Current (A)** || **Voltage (V) Trial 1** || **Voltage (V) Trial 2** ||
 * 0 || 0 || 0 ||
 * 0.02 || 1.156 || 1.488 ||
 * 0.04 || 3.28 || 2.92 ||
 * 0.06 || 5 || 4.29 ||
 * 0.08 || 6.43 || 5.73 ||
 * 0.1 || 8.09 || 7.52 ||
 * 0.12 || 9.27 || 9.04 ||
 * 0.14 || 10.73 || 10.57 ||
 * 0.16 || 12.49 || 11.87 ||
 * 0.18 || 13.48 || 13.41 ||
 * 0.2 || 15.17 || 14.58 ||
 * **Current (A)** || **Voltage (V)** ||
 * 0 || 0 ||
 * 0.02 || 1 ||
 * 0.04 || 3 ||
 * 0.06 || 5 ||
 * 0.08 || 6 ||
 * 0.1 || 8 ||
 * 0.12 || 9 ||
 * 0.14 || 11 ||
 * 0.16 || 12 ||
 * 0.18 || 13.4 ||
 * 0.2 || 15 ||

Data Analysis:

Line of Best Fit- y=75.792x ---> y=76x The slope of the line signifies the resistance value of the resistor we used. While the bands on the resistor indicated that it had a resistance value of 62 ** Ω **, the slope of the line gave an experimental resistance value of 76 ** Ω **. In both our hypothesized equation and our experimental equation, the y-intercept was 0. The y-intercept's significance is the amount of voltage measured across the resistor by the voltmeter when no current is being applied.

Conclusion: While our y-intercept had 0% error, our slope (the resistance) had a 22% error. This was likely due to inaccuracies in our measurements of the amount of amps being applied. Perhaps if we had an electronic anmeter that gave an exact reading like the voltmeter, our measurements would have been more accurate. Overall, our percent error was not enough to disprove our hypothesis. There is enough evidence to support our hypothesis, and a few more repetitions would further solidify our claim.