CIRCUITS WITH THICK and THIN
WIRES
AMELIA BECHTHOLD
INVESTIGATION QUESTION
Does electricity flow better through thick
or thin wires?
HYPOTHESIS
It will flow better through thick wires.
MATERIALS
A plastic straw, scissors, 2 unused D
batteries, and 2 new flashlight bulbs.
PROCEDURE
1.Get your batteries set up on a flat surface. One battery will get
thin wire, and the other will get thicker wire.
2. A To install your wires, cut two pieces of straw that are the
same length as the battery. Place the straw lengthwise on the side
of the battery, and tape it onto the battery with the electrical tape.
3.Pull it apart and take some strands of steel from the pad. Make
a small pile of these on the side of the table.
4.Take three strands of steel wool and use your fingers to roll them
together into a thin wire. Now, take ten strands of steel wool and
roll them together until they make a thicker wire.
5.Now you’ll have two wires: one thick, one thin. Put the thin wire
through the middle of the straw on one battery, and put the thick
wire through the other straw.
CONTINUE PROCEDURE
6.Tape one end of the thin wire to the negative end of the
battery.
7.Wrap the other end of the thin wire around the bottom of one
of the flashlight bulbs. Tape it to the bulb with electrical tape,
and make sure the bottom part of the bulb is still exposed.
8.Now, move the end of the light bulb down until it touches the
positive side of the battery.
9.Repeat steps 7-9 with the thicker wire. Which light burns
brighter?
DATA
The thin wire circuit had a purple straw. The
thick circuit had a orange straw. The thick
wire circuit worked better than the thin one.
The thin wire circuit did not work at all.
CONCLUSION 1
I learned that electricity flows better
through thick wires better than thin wires.
Thin wires don't even make the bulb shine
at all.
CONCLUSION 2
My hypothesis was correct because the
bulb shined brighter in the thick wire
circuit than the thin wire circuit.
CONCLUSION 3
I was surprised because the thin wire
circuit did not work at all.
CONCLUSION 4
One thing that I will do differently next time
is to use more strands of steel wool in both
the thin and thick wire circuits.
CONCLUSION 5
My question for the further study is: Is it
possible for the thin wire circuit to work
better than the thick one?