*Scientific Lab Report*
By Fidelya, Daphne and Ayla
Aim:
To explore what happens when you use a 5c coin, a paper clip, wire, a steel pin and a metal ruler as conducters to light up a light bulb.
Hypothesis/ prediction:
What happens when you use a 5 cent coin, a paper clip , wire , a steel pin and a metal ruler as conducters to light up a light bulb.
I predict that the light is will be dim because of the conducters.
Materials:
- 5 cent coin
- Paper clip
- Wire
- Steel pin
- A metal ruler
- A battery box
- A light bulb
- Alligator clips
Method:
- First get your battery box and plug it in.
- Then grab your materials and test them out individually and record your results on a table.
- First connect the metal ruler to the battery box with a wire and alligator clips.
- Keep connecting all the materials until you have none left but the light bulb must be at the end.
- Turn battery box on and record results.
- Observations:
| Materials | Dim/bright | description |
| 5 cent coin | Bright/ Dark | Dark and bright |
| Paper clip | Bright | Bright and hot |
| Wire | Bright | Warm and yellow |
| Steel Pin | Bright | A bit bright |
| Metal Ruler | Dim/bright | Dim, dark and orange |
| All objects together | Bright | Bright and yellow |
When we tested all the materials separately they all lit up, the brightest one was the paper clip. The dimmest one was the 5 cent coin. We think the 5 cent coin was the dimmest because it is not all made out of metal it has copper in it. When we tested all of the materials all together it was the brightest of all the materials by them self’s.
Diagram:
Discussion:
Why is metal a good conduct of electricity?
Metals are good conductors of electricity, because they have free electrons. The free electrons act as charge carriers in the metal structure, allowing electric current to flow through the metal.
In our group we observed what happens when we use 5 different objects made out of metal light up a light bulb according to what type of metal. With our 5 different objects we tested the objects individually and then we recorded the results in a table. All the items lit up the light. They all lit up because they were all made out of metal. Metals are good conductors of electricity, because they have free electrons. The free electrons act as charge carriers in the metal structure, allowing electric current to flow through the metal.
Conclusion:
Our aim was to explore what happens when you use a 5c coin, a paper clip, wire, a steel pin and a metal ruler as conductors to light up a light bulb. Our hypothesis was I predict that the light is will be dim because of the conductors. It was disproved because all the conductors put together made it very bright.
We found out that metal is a good conductor of electricity because there are free electrons that act as charge carriers in the metal structure, allowing electric current to flow through the piece of metal.
Our experiment went good I wouldn’t change much about it except I would like to try it out with different and more conductors. I would like to test out other conductors such as water or damp wood etc.
