PhET Simulation: Resistance & Ohm's Law

This product contains two separate physics lab activities, Resistance and Ohm’s Law, to be completed with two different PhET Interactive Simulations. The lab activities focus on the qualitative relationships governing two physical phenomena by using visual representations to show the factors that affect the resistance and current. A minimum amount of math is needed to answer the included questions. Your students will have fun playing with the simulation sliders and seeing what happens.

In the first activity, your students will use the simulation called Resistance in a Wire HTML5. The learning goals for this activity are:
(1) to know the definition of the terms resistance and resistivity.
(2) to discover how resistivity relates to the resistance of a wire.
(3) to discover the relationship between the length of a wire and its resistance.
(4) to discover the relationship between the cross-sectional area of a wire and its resistance.

In the second activity, your students will use the simulation called Ohm’s Law HTML5. The learning goals for this activity are:
(1) to discover the relationship between the voltage in an electric circuit and the current through the circuit.
(2) to discover the relationship between the resistance of an electric circuit and the current through the circuit.
(3) to discover the relationship between the voltage in an electric circuit and the resistance of a circuit.

These online guided inquiry labs are geared towards middle school and high school students.

These are HTML5 web-based simulations that will run right in your web browser. Nothing to download or install. PhET Interactive Simulations incorporate research based, student centered activities that are fun and easy to use. All of the PhET simulations are available from their website. This PhET online simulation can be done in the classroom or during distance learning.

This product includes:
(1) The lab activity worksheets.
(2) An answer key for the worksheets.
(3) Two pages of notes covering resistance and Ohm’s law.
(4) A Getting Started Teachers Guide explaining the learning goals of the online lab and the important points of the simulation that you should point out before students begin their investigations into resistance and Ohm’s law.