Explain the resistance of and electrical component and what affects its value in a wire.

Resistance primarily is 'how difficult it is for an electron to travel through a material'. When the electron travels through a material, it collides with ions which causes it to lose energy with each collision. The amount of energy lost by the electron in that length of the material is proprtional to the resistance. In the context of a wire, the resistance increases if the wire gets hotter or if it is replaced by a longer or thicker wire. If the wire is hotter, the ions in the metal vibrate more vigoursly, which cause more energy to be lost by the electrons. If it is longer or thicker, there are more ions for the electrons to collide with, so more collisions means more energy is lost. A visual analogy of resistance could be a school corridor scnenario. If a teacher (the electron) walks through an quiet corridor (low resistance wire), they can travel through the corridor quickly and with ease. If the corridor is now very busy with students (high resistance wire), the teacher may collide with some students on their journey, slowing the teacher down and requiring more effort to pass through.

Answered by John H. Physics tutor

2455 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How does heat transfer through convection work?


If fusing hydrogen nuclei together puts them into a lower energy state, and matter always wants to be in a lower energy state, then why hasn't all the hydrogen in the universe already done this?


Kinetic theory describes the movement of particles in three states of matter. If a cube of ice is put in a tin with a tight fitting lid and continuously heated, why does the lid explode off?


Explain why the stability of a car can be improved by widening the wheel base and lowering the centre of gravity.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences