Temperature And Resistance Lab Report

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Investigating the Relationship Between Temperature and Resistance in a Themistor

Aim

To investigate the relationship between temperature and resistance in a thermistor.

Introduction

A current is the flow of charge round a circuit, this can be in the form of ions in a liquid or electrons in a metal.

Resistance is anything that slows the flow of electrons round the circuit.

Ohm's law states that the voltage is equal to the current multiplied by the resistance - V=IR

This can be re-arranged to say R=V/I.

Ohms law states that in a metal component the ratio of voltage to current remain constant, meaning that the resistance stays the same as long as the temperature remains the …show more content…

I need to do this because although I am keeping the voltage the same on the power pack this may not be accurate due to the change in resistance round the circuit.

Plan

Apparatus-

Ammeter

Thermistor

Bunsen burner

Tripod

Clamp stand

Clamp

Gauze

Thermometer

Beaker

Water

Power pack

Wires

Crocodile clips

Voltmeter

I will set up the equipment as shown in the diagram.

I will fill the beaker with water of room temperature.

I will light the Bunsen burner and when the temperature reaches 250C will read the current through the thermistor and the voltage across it and record them.

I will do this at each 50C interval up to …show more content…

This is because as the thermistor increases in temperature the lattice atoms move faster and are colliding with the electrical current and slowing down the flow of charge. In a normal wire this would make the resistance decrease but because a thermistor is a semiconductor there is a second stronger effect which out weighs this. This effect means that the outer electrons are not free at room temperature but when heated the get more energy and are freed. This means that there are more electrons available to conduct. This does not apply in a normal wire because the outer electrons are free and the inner electrons are tightly held in the atom. The two competing effects in the thermistor mean that when the temperature is increased the resistance decreases. If the resistance decreases then the current increases.

The graph shows the resistance dropping from about 300 ohms to about 50 ohms.

This is a drop of 250 ohms. The temperature went from 250C to 1000C. By 500C the resistance has already dropped to about 50 ohms which

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