This higher tier covers Higher Tier Only: Resistivity within Resistance & Ohm's Law for GCSE Physics. Revise Resistance & Ohm's Law in Electricity for GCSE Physics with 14 exam-style questions and 30 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 13 of 16 in this topic. This section is most useful once the core foundation idea is secure, because it adds the detail that pushes answers higher.
Topic position
Section 13 of 16
Practice
14 questions
Recall
30 flashcards
🎓 Higher Tier Only: Resistivity
The resistance of a wire depends on its resistivity (ρ) — a property of the material itself, measured in Ω·m.
This equation shows that resistance is directly proportional to length and inversely proportional to cross-sectional area — it quantifies what the GCSE required practical investigates qualitatively. Copper has very low resistivity (~1.7 × 10⁻⁸ Ω·m), which is why it's used for electrical wiring.