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What Affects the Resistance of a Wire?

Part of Resistance & Ohm's Law — GCSE Physics

This deep dive covers What Affects the Resistance of a Wire? 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 4 of 16 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 4 of 16

Practice

14 questions

Recall

30 flashcards

🔧 What Affects the Resistance of a Wire?

Four factors:

  • Length — longer wire = more resistance (R ∝ L)
  • Cross-sectional area — thicker wire = less resistance (R ∝ 1/A)
  • Material — different materials have different resistivities
  • Temperature — for metals, hotter = more resistance

Why length increases resistance:

  • Electrons must travel further through the material
  • More collisions with metal ions along the way
  • More opposition to flow overall

Why thickness decreases resistance:

  • More pathways for electrons to flow side-by-side
  • Like a wider road with more lanes — less congestion
  • Less crowded = easier flow

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Resistance & Ohm's Law. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

The V-I-R TriangleOhmic vs Non-Ohmic ConductorsThe Narrow Pipe ProblemUnderstanding Resistance and Ohm's Law

Practice Questions for Resistance & Ohm's Law

Which of the following best describes electrical resistance?

  • A. The amount of charge flowing past a point per second
  • B. The opposition to the flow of current in a circuit
  • C. The energy transferred per unit charge by the source
  • D. The rate at which electrical energy is transferred
1 markfoundation

Explain what is meant by an ohmic conductor.

2 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

Unit of resistance?
Ohm (Ω)
Ohm's Law equation?
V = IR where V = voltage (V), I = current (A), R = resistance (Ω)

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The V-I-R Triangle

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Ohmic vs Non-Ohmic Conductors