Transcript sample research project 2016x

How does the type of metal
affect how much current a circuit
has?
1
Electrical Circuits
• Electrical circuits
work because the
electrons are able to
flow from the
positive side of the
battery to the
negative side.
http://sub.allaboutcircuits.com/images/00438.png
http://hdz.horizonpower.com.au/assets/section/circuit.gif
2
Why are metals used to conduct electricity?
http://www.slideshare.net/HenryEmuna/conduction-lesson-2
http://chemistry-igcse1.weebly.com/supplement9.html
3
Which metal is the best conductor?
• Pure silver is the best
conductor of electricity,
then copper, and then
aluminum.
• Silver is the best conductor
because it has the least
resistance to the flow of
electricity.
• According to Ohm's Law,
current is equal to voltage
divided by resistance.
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/voltage-current-resistance-and-ohms-law
4
Hypothesis
Based on my research, I predict that
the current flow will be greatest with
the silver wire. I think this because
the chart on page 4 shows that silver
has the highest conductivity.
5
Experimental Design
For my experiment, I put together
the circuit shown to the right.
Between two of the clip wires, I
inserted pieces of different types
of metal (silver, copper, zinc, and
aluminum). I used a multimeter to
measure the amount of current in
amps in the completed circuit. The
information on page 7 shows how
to set up a multimeter to measure
current.
piece of wire
To get multiple trials, I moved the piece of metal to three
different places in the circuit and measured the amps
produced in each of the three circuits.
6
How is the amount of current in a circuit
measured?
• An ammeter is used to measure the amount of
current in a circuit. The positive and negative
probes from the ammeter are connected up to
the circuit.
http://sub.allaboutcircuits.com/images/05057.png
7
Results
Type of Metal vs. Current Produced
Type of Metal
Current (amps)
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Average
Zinc
0.05
0.07
0.06
0.06
Aluminum
0.12
0.14
0.11
0.12
Silver
0.22
0.25
0.23
0.24
Copper
0.19
0.17
0.18
0.18
8
Average current produced vs. type of metal
0.3
0.25
0.2
Average current
0.15
produced
(amps)
Average Current
0.1
0.05
0
zinc
aluminum silver
Type of Metal
copper
9
Discussion of results
Based on my data, I can conclude that the type of metal
that produced the greatest current was silver, and the type of
metal that produced the lowest current was zinc. The average
amperage reading for silver was 0.24 amps and the average for
zinc was 0.06 amps. The averages for copper and aluminum fell
in the middle range with an average of 0.12 amps for aluminum
and 0.18 amps for copper.
The results of my experiment support my hypothesis. The
results are also in agreement with the research I read on
resistance. That information said that zinc would have the
greatest resistance, which would result in the lowest current
flow. I was surprised to see that aluminum was the next lowest
reading. I had thought that it would have a higher reading than
the copper.
10
Discussion of possible sources of error
In conducting my research, I realized there were some
aspects of my set-up that may have had an effect on the results.
The pieces of metal I used were not all the same length and I
know that the length of the metal affects its resistance. Another
possible source of error was the voltage of the battery. I checked
it frequently throughout the experiment, but it may have varied
a little bit from trial to trial which may have affected the results.
If I were to conduct the experiment again, I would make
sure to use metal pieces that were all the same size and to have
a large enough supply of batteries so that the same battery was
not used twice.
11
Application and implications for future research
The results of my research would be helpful to people who
are doing electrical work. My research shows that silver and
copper are best two metals to use. I would guess that copper is
used more than silver because of its lower cost.
After conducting the experiment, some other questions
came to mind that I might want to research in the future. I
would be interested to see if or how much the length of the
metal affects current flow. I could have several pieces of the
same metal that were different sizes. I would also be interested
to find out how other metals, such as gold and tin, compare to
the metals I studied in the experiment.
12
Extra slide could be used for:
More detailed information on
sources.
Acknowledgements to people who
helped with your experiment.
More pictures
13
Results
Dependent Variable vs. Independent Variable
Independent
Variable
Dependent Variable
Trial 1
Subject 1
Trial 2
Subject 2
Trial 3
Subject 3
Average
Subject 4
Subject 5