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Five 50-minute class periods.
Georg Simon Ohm, son of a self-taught man was the first person to devise
a mathematical relationship among the three units of electrical measurement,
volt, ohm, and amp. Although early publications began reporting his
work in the 1820’s, he was not well received by the physicists
of the time. His work was eventually recognized by the Royal Society
with its award of the Copley Medal in 1841.
Ohm’s Law deals with the relationship between voltage and current
in an ideal conductor. This relationship states that: “The potential
difference (voltage) across an ideal conductor is proportional to the
current through it.”
This, simply put, means that experimentation will find that as voltage
is increased, current will also increase. If voltage is held constant
and resistance increases, amps (current) will decrease.
In this series of activities, students will be led to make the same
generalizations through online research, experimentation, and through
a hands-on laboratory approach.
Mathematics,
Physical Science
The learner will:
• Define the terms volt, amp, ohm, and watt.
• Explain the relationship among these units of electricity.
• Use a multimeter to measure volts, amps, and ohms.
• Calculate each of these units .
• Illustrate the calculations through a series of experiments.
• Analyze resulting data to develop generalizations relating these terms.
Louisiana Science Content Standards
http://www.louisianaschools.net/conn/standards1.php
Science-Inquiry
SI-H-A6: communicating and defending a scientific argument; (1,
3, 4)
S1-H-A7: utilizing science safety procedures during scientific
investigations (3, 5)
Physical Science
PS-H-E1: recognizing the characteristics and relative strengths
of the forces of nature (gravitational, electrical, magnetic,
nuclear); (4, 5)
PS-H-G2: analyzing the relationship and interaction of magnetic
and electrical fields and the forces they produce; (1, 2, 3,
4)
Math-Algebra
A-3-H: using tables and graphs as tools to interpret algebraic
expressions, equations, and inequalities; (1, 3)
A-4-H: solving algebraic equations and inequalities using a variety
of techniques with the appropriate tools (e.g., hand-held manipulatives,
graphing calculator, symbolic manipulator, or pencil and paper)
(2, 3)
Louisiana Mathematics Framework
http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/uploads/1646.pdf
Math-Measurement
M-1-H: selecting and using appropriate units, techniques, and
tools to measure quantities in order to achieve specified degrees
of precision, accuracy, and error (or tolerance) of measurements;
(3)
• Appendix - STUDENT SHEET 1: Electricity: Units of Measurement
• Appendix - STUDENT SHEET 2: Measuring Electricity and Ohm’s Law
• Appendix - STUDENT SHEET 3: LAB: Measuring Electricity and Ohm’s Law
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