Resistivity vs Temperature: Four-Wire Lab Skills for H2 Physics

Q: What does Resistivity vs Temperature: Four-Wire Lab Skills for H2 Physics cover?
A: Use a Kelvin bridge setup, thermocouples, and spreadsheet linearisation to map how conductor resistivity changes with temperature.

TL;DR
Build a four-wire (Kelvin) measurement rig with a constant-current source, thermocouple probe, and Logger Pro or Google Sheets to capture resistance as a function of temperature.
Linearise the data to extract temperature coefficients for copper, nichrome, and graphite, then discuss systematic errors like self-heating and thermal gradients.
The experiment deepens Paper 4 understanding of resistive materials and gives you a real dataset for planning-style questions on resistivity control.

Why This Lab Merits a Slot in Your Practical Calendar

• It extends the familiar internal-resistance experiment into material science, matching examiner emphasis on real-world instrumentation.
• Students practise proper four-wire techniques that appear in university physics and engineering labs — a valuable talking point for UCAS and admissions essays.
• The investigation integrates thermal physics, circuits, and error analysis, reinforcing multiple chapters of the 9478 syllabus at once.

Apparatus and Instrumentation