Practice Problems

Today in class I worked on practice problems as well as fixing my labs. The practice problems I did on ohm's law were not a problem for me at all. However, I feel I still need to work on the ones about circuits in general. For example, I sometimes get confused as to when exactly there will be a flow in a circuit. I will work on these again and get better. In addition, I might also watch some of the video's again for additional help.

What I did today and my plan for tomorrow

Today I finished the last of the 3 labs which was to compare resistance, current, and voltage. Tomorrow, I will work on the practice problems for half of the class, the other half, I will begin brain storming ideas for my project and I will get started on that. In addition to this, if I have time I will also go over all my labs and make sure they're up to my best ability. Over the weekend, I will come up with a detailed plan for my self to follow for the next week, to maximise my efficiency.

Ohm's Law

Ohm's Law refers to the relationship between the current (I), the voltage (V), and the resistance (R). The battery is basically going to give you the voltage, depending on how many volts it is. The current will be determined by how fast that electrons are traveling, and it will be measured in amps. Lastly, the resistance comes from the resistor which is slowing down the speed of the electrons, and it'll be measured in ohm's. If one is missing then you can mathematically figure the one that is missing by using the other two. For example, if the voltage isn't given, however, you have the current and the resistance, then you can multiply them together and find the voltage.

Using the picture above, it is a pyramid, and from this pyramid we can see the relationships. If we are looking for the one that is missing then we just cover that one and operate the desired function. For example, let's say that we don't know what the resistance (R) is. In that case V/I (voltage divided by current) will give us resistance (R).

Circuits (part 1) - Khan Academy Video

From this video I learnt that a resistor dictates how fast that current flows because it basically slows down the electrons moving from the negative charge to the positive charge. Therefore, current (I) is actually just the flow of charge per second. In addition, voltage refers to how badly the electrons want to get from the negative side to the positive, and how fast they're going. Lastly, Ohm's law means that V = I*R, or V/R = I.

Flow Of Electricity Week 2 day 2

I started working on the flow of electricty lab and I learnt that in a series circuit whatever the Amps are, the voltage will be the same number one decimal place to the right. For exmample, if the amps are 0.45 then the voltage will be 4.50. Likewise, if you have the amps at 0.90 then the voltage will be 9.0.  Howver, this doesn't nessasarly apply to a parrarell circuit. However, I did some resereach and concluded that V=I/R, which means voltage = current/resistance.

My plan for the next week

During class next week I will work on some practice problems as well as complete investigations 1, and 2. In addition, I will try to do the investigating electricity simulation.

At home I will watch video's 2 a, and 1 b. In addition, I will create a vocabulary list of the key terms in this unit and I will also finish the investigating electricity simulation.

Circuit construction kit simulation

From the simulation I learnt the difference between a parallel circuit and a series circuit. I also learnt some of the properties and benifits of using a parallel circuit over a series circuit. I tested the effect of the current on the number of light bulbs on the two different circuits In a series circuit when we had 1 light bulb, the current was 0.90 Amps, and when we had 2 light bulbs the current was 0.45 Amps, so it was half. On the other hand, in a parallel circuit, when we had 1 light bulb the current was also 0.90 Amps, however, when there were 2 light bulbs, the current was doubled and it was at 1.80 Amps. So the difference is that in a parallel circuit, the current actually increased. I think a parallel circuit would be useful because you won’t have a drop in the amps when you add another light bulb. In addition, if you have a break in one of the bulbs, the other’s will still work.

Need to know board (Circuit Project)

1. Think (What I think I know)
• I don't know very much about circuits. However, I know that they are used for electrical purposes, and are wires. It may often be something that starts and ends at the same place. 
2. Questions (Problems I will need to solve) 
• How much voltage is coming into the house and how is it distributed? 
• How might I make all the lights have the same voltage? 
• How can I create a circuit so that everything works the way that I want it to? 
• How can I make things in the house convenient by using a circuit, while also keeping it simple? 
3. Explore (What will I need to explore) 
• I'll need to explore inside my house, and figure out where things with the switches and lighting is not convenient. 
• I'll need to figure out how different circuits work, and how to use a circuit