PHYSICS IA

Name : Aryan Kumar

Topic : Variation of temperature change with
Word Count :
Research Question : How does increasing voltage affect the amount of heat dissipated?

Background Information:

According to Ohm’s law, the amount of resistance and the amount of voltage are directly
related to each other by the equation. V = IR
However, with increasing temperature , materials are found not to follow Ohm’s law.
The resisitivities of objects to to show deviation by temperature. Objects with a positive
resistance temperature co-efficient show more resistance when temperature is increased, while
objects with a negative resistance temperature coefficient show more resistance when the
temperature is decreased

The variation of resistance with temperature is given with the following formula:-

ρ=ρₒ∗(1+α∗ΔT ) , where ρ stands for resistance,ρₒ stands for resistivity of the material, α
stands for the resistance temperature coefficient and ΔT stands for the change in temperature

However, the resistivities of certain materials do not stay constant with temperature. The
variation of resistance with temperature is given by the following formula:
R−R 0
=α (T −T 0)
R0
, where T0 stands for initial temperature, T for final temperature , R for final resistance and R0 for
initial resistance and α stands for the temperature change coefficient of resistance. Some
substances have positive α , while some have negative α ; their resistance increases or
decreases respectively. The lower the temperature coefficient of resistance, the higher the
change in resistance in response to a uniform increase in temperature.

Resistance usually causes energy to be dissipated as hear

This form of heating is also known as Joule heating . According to the Joule’s law of heating ,
the heat produced is proportional to the square of the current passing through, the resistance of
the medium and the temperature conditions.
H ∝ I 2 RT

Nichrome (an alloy of nickel and chromium) has a high value of resistivity (6.99 * 108 Ω m) and a
low, positive value for temperature coefficient of resistance (0.00017 α K-1 ) , which makes it an
ideal material to be used for electrical heaters.
The experiment will manipulate the amount of voltage to determine the relationship with the
heating effect and how much it corresponds with Joule heating in practice.

Sources :
Jeremy Tatum , “Resistance and Temperature” June 3 2019
H C Verma , “ Concepts of Physics Part-II”
Unknown author , “Physics of Conductors and Insulators” , All about Circuits , Date unknown

https://phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Electricity_and_Magnetism/Book
%3A_Electricity_and_Magnetism_(Tatum)/4%3A_Batteries
%2C_Resistors_and_Ohm's_Law/4.03%3A_Resistance_and_Temperature Jeremy Tatum ,
‘Resistance and temperature’ , June 3 2019
http://93.174.95.29/_ads/DE229C5DAD81F71A00F2740EF80EC0CF H C Verma, Concepts of
Physics Part – II
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/direct-current/chpt-12/temperature-coefficient-
resistance/

Hypothesis : The change in heat energy will exponentially increase with increase in voltage.
Voltage is directly proportional to the resistance. As the apparatus gets heated up, the
resistivity of wire would increase and so would the specific heating capacity of water

Materials required : Nichrome wire, water ,temperature probe, beaker, Crocodile wires,
Graduated Cylinder, Voltmeter, Power Supply

Method :
1. Take a beaker and add 100 ml of water to it. Use a graduated cylinder for precision
2. Cut off 20 cm of nichrome wire using a scissor and make a 10 cm coil by it.
3. Attach a voltmeter and power supply to the coil using connecting wires. Attach ends of
crocodile wires to the nichrome wire coil.
4. Submerge the nichrome coil into water.
5. Connect a temperature probe and corresponding LoggerPro software to the water
6. Start the power supply and at the same time, start to ‘Collect Results’ at LoggerPro.
7. Wait for 300 seconds, and then stop the power supply and LoggerPro from taking further
results.
8. Record your results and draw your observations.
9. Start another trial with a different voltage this time. You should do with 3.0, 4.5 , 6.0 and
10.0 V – and repeat each thrice

Raw data:

Trial I - Voltage 3.0 4.5 6.0 8.0 10.0

Initial 23.2 23.4 25.4 26.0 25.2

Temperature (±
0.1 K)
Final 23.4 25.4 25.9 29.0 25.7
Temperature (±
0.1 K)

Initial 22.1 23.3 26.5 25.2 27.1

temperature (±
0.1 K)

Final 22.2 26.8 31.6 31.9 29.9

temperature (±
0.1 K)

Initial 25.5 26.0 27.0 24.2 24.2

temperature (±
0.1 K)

Final 25.7 31.8 36.7 38.0 34.1

temperature (±
0.1 K)

Observation - As Loggerpro graphed the temperature results over time , the slope of the graph
continually increased while seeming to have reached a limiting value at first. The graphs being
formed weren’t following a linear model.
The data doesn’t always demonstrate the expected correlation and tends to show behaviour of
wire such which wasn’t accounted for. (Increased slope of wires

Processed data :

Voltage (± 0.1V ) ΔT ± 0.2K(Trial ΔT ± 0.2K (Trial ΔT± 0.2K (Trial Mean

1) 2) 3) temperature
change ± 0.3K
3 0.20 0.10 0.20 0.17
4.5 2.00 3.50 5.80 3.77
6 0.50 5.10 9.70 5.10
8 3.00 6.70 13.80 7.83
10* 0.50 2.80 9.90 4.40

*The data for 10 V shall be considered an aberration during to erroneous experiment.

Sample calculation : For 3V, mean temperature = All values/ no. of values 0.2 + 0.1 +0.2 /3 =
0.17
Conclusion :
The uncertainties are large
Evaluation :
Errors :
Random errors
The nichrome wire wasn’t
made into coils evenly each
time.
The submersion of the
nichrome wires was altered
while adjusting the system.
Systematic errors
How data was impacted Possible improvements
The conductivity of the Either do the experiment
nichrome coil varied , and without coils, or obtain
hence the amount of nichrome wire which is
resistance was impacted in an coiled already
inverse fashion. The difference
in resistance caused changes
in temperature.
The amount of heat energy To ensure the wires are in
through water was changed, place as the trial proceeds ,
resulted in a lower they could be strapped to
temperature ; The resistance the beaker
may slightly increase due to
an alternate path for electric
current taken away
How data collected was Possible improvements
impacted?
 jTtak

At a voltage of about 10 V, the The amount of current passing

circuit tended to overload became inconsistent ,
quickly and the wires even reducing the amount of heat
began melting at an instance. dissipated through resistance.
To ensure a safe experiment,
the power supply was reset
multiple times

The same wires were used for
the entirety of the experiment.
Some trials were done
together , others after an
interval of time.
The wires were heated after
trials, increasing their
resistance to the current , and
hence increasing the heat
dissipated.
Continuously replace both
the connecting copper wires
and the nichrome wire
under use, unless they have
been cooled down to room
temperature.

Additional improvement: - Use a liquid with a lower specific heat capacity so that the
temperature change is higher. This will reduce the amount of uncertainty