Resistance and Ohm’s Law

Goals:
• To explore how the geometric properties (e.g., cross-sectional area, length) of wires
affect their overall resistance.
• To compare the current and voltage characteristics of several common electronic devices
and to see whether they satisfy Ohm’s law.

Equipment:
• Science Workshop Interface w/ voltage probes
• Digital Multimeter (DMM)
• Phys212 LabKit Module
• Ruler-mounted nichrome wires
• Software: Microsoft Excel, DataStudio

Introduction:
If a potential difference is applied across a conductor, there is a net flow of charge through that
conductor which we call an electric current. (This is no longer a case of static equilibrium:
specifically, the electric field inside the conductor is not zero.) More precisely, we define the
current to be the flow of positive charge through a cross-sectional area of a conductor, i.e.,
dq
i≡ . (Eq. 1)
dt
The actual flow of charge in most conductors consists of electrons. So, by this convention used
by most physicists and engineers, the direction of current flow is actually opposite the to actual
flow of charges. From the definition in Eq. 1, we can see that the metric unit of current should be
the coulomb per second, which we give another name: the ampere, or “amp” for short. Note that
1 ampere = 1 coulomb per second (1 A = 1 C/s).

Related to the notion of the electric current, which is a scalar quantity, we find it useful to define
G
the current density J to be the current per unit area through an infinitesimal cross-sectional area
of a conductor. From this we can see that the electrical current and the current density are related
by
G G
i = ∫ J ⋅ dA , (Eq. 2)

where the integral is performed over the cross-sectional area of the conductor. Note that if the
current density is uniform over the entire cross-sectional area, then i = J·A.

As described above, when a potential difference V is applied across a conductor, the non-zero
electric field that is created inside the conductor will force the electrons to move (this is part of
our microscopic view of how an electric current flows.) Within the conductor, the electrons will
not accelerate for very long before they collide with the positive ions that make up the atomic
lattice of the conductor. Thus, individual electrons move quite slowly, but because there are so
many within the conductor, a sizeable flow of electric charge results. Specifically, if a conductor
has n electrons per unit volume, and the individual electrons move with an average drift velocity
G G G
vd , we can note that the current density is given by J = ( ne)vd . The frequent collisions of the
electrons with the vibrating lattice of ions limit the overall flow of charge (the electric current).
We characterize this limiting behavior by defining the resistance R of the conductor to be:
V
R≡ . (Eq. 3)
I
We measure resistance in units of ohms (1 ohm = 1 volt per ampere; 1 Ω = 1 V/A).

Related to the resistance, a macroscopic quantity, we can also define a quantity which is more
related to the microscopic properties of the conductor in question. This quantity is the resistivity
of the material, and is defined as
G
E
ρ≡ G . (Eq. 4)
J

You can verify that the units of resistivity work out to be ohm-meters (Ω·m). For a conductor of
length L, uniform cross-sectional area A, the resistance R and the resistivity ρ are related by
L
R≡ρ . (Eq. 5)
A
As the resistivity of the material is a microscopic quantity, related to the likelihood of any
electron to collide with a lattice ion, it should be expected that the resistivity of a metal should
increase with temperature (as an increase in temperature would correspond to an increase in the
effect of the lattice vibrations.)

Now, Ohm’s Law states that, under certain conditions, the resistivity of a material is
independent of the electric field E within it. Equivalently, it can be read to say that the resistance
of the material is independent of the voltage applied across it. When a device has such a response
(that is, a constant resistance) to an applied voltage, we say that the device is ohmic. In contrast,
an electrical device for which Ohm’s Law does not hold is known as non-ohmic. In this
laboratory activity, you will explore several common electrical components to see under what
circumstances they qualify as being ohmic or non-ohmic.
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________
Name: ____________________________ Lab Sect.: __________
Name: ____________________________ Lab Instructor: ______________________

Directions:
Lab Activity 1: Resistance and Resistivity of Nichrome
U

• Set the digital multimeter provided to measure resistance. Note that the multimeter
measures "resistance" by sending a known current i through the Device Under Test
(DUT), measuring the voltage V across the probes and then calculating the resistance via
Eq. 3. This measuring current is typically quite small.
• Measure the lead and internal resistance of the multimeter. On the lowest resistance scale,
connect the red and black voltage leads together. Allow the reading to stabilize and note
the value of the lead and internal resistance of the multimeter.

Rlead,DMM = _______________________
B B

• Using the metric ruler under the wires to measure lengths and the multimeter to measure
resistance, determine the resistance of both nichromes wire in turn for each of 10
different lengths (e.g. measure the resistance of wire 1 over a 5-cm length, a 10-cm
length, a 15-cm length, and so on).
• Enter these values in an Excel spreadsheet.
• Use Excel to plot a graph of resistance R versus length L for each wire and add a Linear-
Fit trendline to each graph. Include these graphs with your lab report.
• Note: If you are still not too comfortable with Excel, make sure you ask for your
instructor's help!

Answer the following questions:

Q1. You have created two graphs of resistance versus length, and found that data follows a linear
trend:
• What do the y-intercepts of the linear fits mean physically?
• Are they a random error or indicative of something systematic?
• Is there any relationship between these y-intercepts, and the lead/internal resistance of the
multimeter?
Q2. From the two graphs and the linear fits, determine the ratio of the diameters of the two
wires. Explain how you do this.

Q3. You are told that the thin wire is "32-gauge" in the American Wire Gauge (AWG) system.
This means that it has a diameter d = 0.0080 inches. (1 in = 2.54 cm.) Using the graph of
resistance versus length for the thin wire, calculate the resistivity of nichrome.

Q4. Suppose a 5-cm length of the thin wire is connected to two (ideal) 1.5-V batteries in series.
Assuming that the resistivity of the wire is the same as in your measurements in Q3, what is the
magnitude of the current density J in the wire?

Q5. If the density of conduction electrons n in nichrome is around 1028 electrons/m3, what is the
P P P P

drift speed vd of the electrons in the wire under the conditions described in Q4? How long does it
B B

take an electron to travel from one end of the wire to the other?
Lab Activity 2: Ohm's Law
U

One statement of Ohm's law says that, under certain conditions, the voltage across an object
varies linearly with the current through the object (i.e., V = iR). Another way to say this is that
the resistance of the object is independent of the voltage applied across it. Again, a device that
obeys this “law” is said to show "ohmic" behavior, and a graph of voltage across the device
versus current through it would be a straight line whose slope is equal to the resistance of the
device.

By convention, however, devices are typically studied by measuring their “I-V” characteristics,
i.e., creating a plot of the current through the device versus the voltage applied to it. In this case,
the slope is equal to the inverse of the resistance. Devices that deviate from this law (those for
which the slope is not a constant) are said to show "non-ohmic" behavior. The resistance is still
equal to the inverse of the slope of the current versus voltage graph, but in contrast to the ohmic
case, the resistance varies as the voltage is changed.

The circuit needed to determine whether or not a given device obeys Ohm's Law is shown in the
figure below. In this circuit, a variable voltage is applied across the Device Under Test (DUT),
while the voltage and the current through the device are measured. All of these operations are
performed by the Science Workshop Interface box. A detailed understanding of the circuit is not
necessary at this stage: it will be obvious to you how this circuit works once we get to circuits.

Science Workshop Interface

A
internal
ammeter

Signal internal DUT

Output voltmeter
V

• Set up the circuit above by following these steps:

o Plug the red/black banana plug pair into the Output ports of the Science
Workshop Interface box.
o Connect the opposite ends of the banana plug to the ends of the Device Under
Test (DUT). We’ll begin with the carbon resistor, the small cylindrical device on
your Phys212 LabKit module with the following pattern of colored stripes:
brown, black, brown, and possibly a fourth gold stripe. These colored stripes tell
us the expected value and tolerance of the resistance of this device. In this code,
brown/black/brown/gold indicates a resistance of R = 100 Ω ± 5%.
 • Now, start DataStudio (start → Programs → Physics → DataStudio), and click on
Create Experiment.
o Double-click on the Output icon
located under the heading Signal
Output, in the main Experiment
Setup window.
o From the pull-down menu, select the
Triangle Wave output.
o Set the Amplitude to 5.000 V.
o Set the Frequency to 0.4 Hz.
o Verify that the Auto button is selected.

o Click the + button labeled Measurements And Sample Rate.

o Check the Measure Output Current box. DataStudio will now measure both the
current and voltage produced by the signal generator.
o Verify that the Sample Rate is set to 100 Hz.
o Move the Signal Generator window off to one corner of the main window.

• Click and drag the Graph icon onto the Output Current (A) item in the Data list (in the
upper left-hand portion of the main window).
• In the graph window that appears, click on the label of the x-axis, which should currently
read “Time (s)”, and change the x-axis input to Output Voltage (V).

• You are now ready to measure the I-V characteristic of this device (again, you should
already have the output plugs from the Science Workshop Interface connected to the
carbon resistor on your LabKit module.
• Click on the Start button to begin recording data.
• After the current makes a couple of sweeps, stop recording data by clicking on the Stop
button.
• Add a linear fit of your data to the graph. (Click on the Fit button and select Linear Fit
from the pull-down menu.)
• Note the value of the slope of the linear fit
• Include all relevant plots with your report.

Q6. Is the resistor an "ohmic" or a "non-ohmic" device? From the I-V plot for the resistor,
determine the value of the resistance. Measure the resistance of the resistor using the multimeter.
How do these values compare to the stated resistance value (brown/black/brown) of 100 Ω?

Rgraph = ___________
B B RDMM = ___________
B B
 • Disconnect the output wires from the resistor, and connect them to the "long" light bulb.
• Click the Start button, and again, record data for a few sweeps to produce a graph that
displays I versus V across the DUT. Include this graph with your report.

Q7. Does the light bulb have a constant resistance? Is the light bulb an "ohmic" or "non-ohmic"
device? Explain your answer.

Q8. Why does the slope of the light bulb graph change? Explain (qualitatively) why the slope
changed when a current was flowing through it.

Q9. The slope of the graph for the light bulb is not symmetrical. Why is the slope of the current
trace different when the filament is heating up compared to the trace of the current when the
filament is cooling down?
 • Now, decrease the voltage sweep (in the Signal Generator window) to 0.015 V and
produce a second graph. Use the linear fit function to estimate this low-voltage resistance
of the light bulb. Include this graph with your report.

Q10. Measure the resistance of the light bulb using the multimeter. How does this value compare
to the value obtained from the low voltage sweep above. Is this what you expect and why?

• Disconnect the output leads from the light bulb and connect them to the diode. The diode
is the smallest component on the LabKit module, and has a specific polarity, indicated by
a thin colored band near one end of the device. The colored band marks the negative (or
low-potential) end of the diode.
• Reset the voltage sweep back to 5.000 V, and produce an I-V plot for the diode. Include
this plot with your report.

Q11. Is the diode an "ohmic" or "non-ohmic" device? Explain your answer. Suppose someone
asked you: "What is the resistance of that diode?" How would you respond?