Lesson Plan Originally Created By:
Dave Susuras
Modeling Resistance
Part of Unit: Force, Work, Rate, Power, Energy, and Resistance
Lesson Plan Overview / Details
Resistors in an electrical circuit are made of graphite and resin. In this activity students will model resistors in an electrical circuit using graphite art pencils and graph paper. Students will draw lines of graphite on the graph paper and measure the electrical resistance with a digital volt ohm meter (VOM). Students will discover the relationship between the length of the lines and the electrical resistance and the width of the lines and the electrical resistance. These relationships are the basis for the equations that the students will use to calculate total resistance in a series and parallel circuit.
Lesson Time 2 Class Periods
- Resistor Execution Introduction
- 10 Minutes
- Instructions
- 10 Minutes
- Modeling Activity
- 60 Minutes
- Debrief/ Assessment
- 20 Minutes
Standards
California Career and Technical Education Standards
- ED.B.B3.1 Analyze relationships between voltage, current, resistance, and power related to...
- ED.B.B3.3 Calculate, construct, measure, and interpret both AC and DC circuits.
- ED.B.B3.5 Use appropriate electronic instruments to analyze, repair, or measure electrical...
- ED.FS.11.0 Demonstration and Application
- ED.FS.5.2 Understand the universal, systematic problem-solving model that incorporates inp...
California Academic Content Standards (Reinforced)
- ELA.9-10.R.CAGT.2.6 Demonstrate use of sophisticated learning tools by following technical direction...
2 - M.7.AF.1.5 Represent quantitative relationships graphically and interpret the meaning of a ...
31 - M.7.AF.3.3 Graph linear functions, noting that the vertical change (change in y-value) per ...22
- M.7.MR.2.8 Make precise calculations and check the validity of the results from the context...
- M.7.NS.1.1 Read, write, and compare rational numbers in scientific notation (positive and n...11
- M.8-12.A.5.0 Students solve multistep problems, including word problems, involving linear equ...11
Objectives and Goals
- Students will correctly measure the resistance of a graphite line with a VOM.
- Students will produce a graph of the relationship between the length of a graphite line and the resistance of that line.
- Students will produce a graph of the relationship between the width of a graphite line and the resistance of that line.
Activities in this Lesson
- Resistor Execution - Hooks / Set
Students will watch a video of a resistor plugged into an electrical outlet or watch their instructor demonstrate it live in front of class.
- Resistor Execution [ Watch Video ] [ Download Original Video ] A video of a resistor plugged directly into a electrical outlet
- The Electrical Resistivity of Graphite - Demo / Modeling
Students will draw graphite lines on graph paper and then measure the electrical resistance of the lines.with a meter.
- The Electrical Resistivity of Graphite [ Download ] This document contains the directions for the modeling activity.
Assessment
- Assessment Types:
- Students Graphs
Students will submit their graphs showing the relationships between the dimensions of the graphite lines and the resistances. The instructor is looking for linear relationships (a straight line ) on the series graph and a Inverse relationship (a hyperbola) on the parallel graph. The slopes of the lines are not significant because of the accuracy of the meter and the thickness of the lines. The instructor should look for proper shapes in assigning grades.
