PORTFOLIO IN SCIENCE

A. CONTENTS OF THE PORTFOLIO

Introduction
Electricity is the flow of electrons from one place to
another. Electrons can flow through any material, but does so
more easily in some than in others. How easily it flows is called
resistance. The resistance of a material is measured in Ohms.

Matter can be broken down into:

 Conductors: electrons flow easily. Low resistance.

 Semi-conductors: electron can be made to flow
under certain circumstances. Variable resistance
according to formulation and circuit conditions.
 Insulator: electrons flow with great difficulty. High
resistance.

Since electrons are very small, as a practical matter they

are usually measured in very large numbers. A Coulomb is 6.24 x
1018 electrons. However, electricians are mostly interested in
electrons in motion. The flow of electrons is called current, and
is measured in AMPS. One amp is equal to a flow of one coulomb
per second through a wire.

Making electrons flow through a resistance requires an attractive force to pull them. This
force, called Electro-Motive Force or EMF, is measured in volts. A Volt is the force required to push 1
Amp through 1 Ohm of resistance.

As electrons flow through a resistance, it performs a certain amount of work. It may be in the
form of heat or a magnetic field or motion, but it does something. This work is called Power, and is
measured in Watts. One Watt is equal to the work performed by 1 Amp pushed by 1 Volt through a
resistance.

NOTE:

AMPS is amount of electricity.

VOLTS is the Push, not the amount.
OHMS slows the flow.
WATTS is how much gets done.
 I. CHARTS AND GRAPHS
Conductor and Insulator Properties

 The nucleus (center) of an atom contains protons and neutrons. Electrons orbit around
the nucleus.
 The atoms of conductive material have single (or few) electrons in the outer orbit
called Valence Electrons. They are situated so they can be moved from one atom to
another easily and enhance the movement of electrons. Copper is a good conductor
and is used for most wires.
 An insulator has many (7-8) electrons in the outer orbit, these electrons are very
difficult to move from one atom to the other and resist the movement of electrons.
An electrical current (the movement of electrons) happens when there is a potential
difference (voltage) between the ends of a conductor.

Basic Electricity

Direct and Alternating Current

 120 V Sine Wave Diagram

At 0 degrees the voltage is at 0 volts and starts to rise to a peak voltage of 170 volts at
90 degrees. At 90 degrees the voltage goes back down to 0 volts at 180 degrees. The current
then reverses direction and rises to a peak voltage of -170 volts at 270 degrees. To complete
the cycle the current goes back to 0 volts at 360 degrees and the cycle starts over.

A Simple Circuit
 The simplest circuit has a power source, like a battery or outlet, a wire running from
the "hot" side to a "load", then a wire from the load back to the power source. There is also
usually a switch to "open" or "close" the circuit. The load will function only when the circuit is
closed or complete.
In more complex circuits where more than one load is connected, they may be either
in series or in parallel. In a series circuit, current must pass through one to get to the next.
Voltage is divided between them. If one goes out, they all go out.

In a parallel circuit, each load is electrically connected to the source at the same point, each
gets the full voltage simultaneously. If one goes out, the rest stay lit.
Most circuits are combinations of the two types. Circuit breakers and fuses are in series with
the load, but multiple loads on a circuit are paralleled.
Circuit breakers and fuses can be placed in the supply circuit before the plug, as in lighting
circuits, or between the plug and the load internally, as in most sound equipment, or both.
Cable, connectors, and circuits are all rated in amps according to size.
 II. PROJECTS

How to Make a Simple Electrical Circuit?

Build a Circuit

How to make a circuit? A circuit is a path that electricity flows along. It starts at a power
source, like a battery, and flows through a wire to a light bulb or other object and back to
other side of the power source. You can build your own circuit and see how it works with
this project!

What You Need?

 Small light bulb (or a flashlight bulb)
 2 batteries (with the correct voltage for your light bulb)
 2 alligator clip wires or aluminum foil*
 Paper clips
 Electrical tape (Scotch®tape also works)
 Bulb holder (optional)
 Battery holders (optional**)

 To use foil instead of wires, cut 2 strips each 6″ long and 3″ wide. Fold each one tightly
along the long edge to make a thin strip.)
 To use paper clips instead of battery holders, tape one end of a paper clip to each end
of your battery using thin strips of tape. Then connect your wires to the paper clips.

Part 1 – Making a Circuit:

1. Connect one end of each wire to the screws on the base of the light bulb holder. (If
you’re using foil, ask an adult to help you unscrew each screw enough to fit a foil strip
under it.)
2. Connect the free end of one wire to the negative (“-“) end of one battery. Does
anything happen?
3. Attach the free end of the other wire to the positive (“+”) end of the battery. Now what
happens?

Part 2 – Adding Power

 1. Disconnect the battery from your circuit. Stand one battery so that the “+” end is
pointing up, then set the other battery next to it so that the flat “-” end is pointing up.
Tape around the middle of the batteries to hold them together.
2. Set a paperclip across the batteries so that it connects the “+” end of one to the “-” end
of the other. Tape the paperclip in place with a narrow piece of tape (do not tape over
the metal battery ends).
3. Turn the batteries over and tape one end of a paper clip onto each of the batteries.
Now you can connect one wire to each paper clip. (The bottom of the battery pack
should only have one paper clip – do not connect a wire to it.)
4. Connect the free ends of the wires to the light bulb.

(Note: Instead of steps 1-3, you can use two batteries in battery holders and connect them
together with one wire.)

What Happened?

In the first part, you learned how to

make a circuit with a battery to light up a
light bulb. Batteries supply electricity.
When they’re connected properly, they
can “power” things, like a flashlight, an
alarm clock, a radio, or a timer. Why didn’t
the light bulb light up when you connected
it to one end of the battery with a wire?
Electricity from a battery has to flow out
one end (the negative or “-” end) and back
in through the positive (“+”) end in order
to work. What you built with the battery,
wire, and bulb in step 3 is called an open
circuit. In order for electricity to start flowing, you need a closed circuit. Electricity is caused
by tiny particles with negative charges, called electrons. When a circuit is complete, or closed,
electrons can flow from one end of a battery all the way around, through the wires, to the
other end of the battery. Along its way, it will carry electrons to electrical objects that are
connected to it – like the light bulb – and make them work!

In the second part, you added another battery. That should have made the light bulb
burn more brightly, because two batteries together can supply more electricity than just one!
The paper clip across the bottom of the battery pack allowed electricity to flow between the
batteries, making the flow of electrons stronger.
 III. LABORATORY REPORTS
Introduction

To introduce the definitions, symbols, and units for current, voltage, and resistance, a lab was conducted with
the basic circuit board with the end goal of comparing series, parallel, and RC circuits in mind. The first section
presented the application of restrictors’ color coding as well as the task of measuring current, voltage, and
resistance through the use of a multi-meter. Observing resistors connected in series allowed Kirchhoff’s
Voltage Law and the Voltage Divider Rule to be verified experimentally; Ohm’s Law was verified throughout
with various experimental analyses. The Second section focused on Kirchhoff’s Current Law and the Current
Divider rule for a circuit in parallel. A final resistive-capacitive circuit was constructed to observe the charging
and discharging properties of capacitors in RC circuits.

Procedure:

 A basic electricity experiment board with three light bulbs, one D-cell battery, multiple wires, resistors,
a capacitor, and a multi-meter were obtained.
 As shown in Figure A, the nominal value and range of each of three resistors were calculated using the
resistor color code and was recorded in Table 1.
 The Battery Voltage was measured to be 1.480 volts by connecting the multi-meter to the metal tabs
on the positive and negative ends of the battery terminal.
 Ohm’s Law, which states Voltage = Current * Resistance, was used to calculate the expected flow from
the D-cell battery through each of the three resistors, and each was recorded in Table 2.
 To measure the current experimentally, one resistor was used to build the circuit shown in Figure B.
The values were recorded in Table 2 as well as the percent error.
 Following the same directions to measure current, a wire ran from the negative terminal of the battery
to one of the light bulbs on the circuit board, the positive lead of the multi-meter was connected to the
battery’s positive terminal, and the negative lead of the multi-meter was connected to the unconnected
side of the light bulb as shown in Figure C.
 The current passing through the light bulb was measured and the resistance of the light bulb was
calculated.
 The series circuit with three resistors shown in Figure D was set up, the multi-meter measured the
total resistance by connecting the multi-meter across all three resistors, and, later, the multi-meter
was used to measure current between the positive terminal of the battery and the unconnected end of
the first resistor. These values were recorded in Table 3.
 Next, the multi-meter was set up to measure the voltage drop across each resistor by connecting the
positive lead to the end of each resistor nearest the positive terminal of the battery and the negative
lead to the opposite end of each resistor, meaning the multi-meter was in parallel with the resistors.
An example is shown in Figure E. These values were recorded in Table 3.
 Ohm’s Law was used to calculate the expected voltage drop across each resistor, as was the voltage
divider rule. Meanwhile, Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law was verified by adding the measured voltage drops
across each resistor and noting that they were approximately equal to the total voltage of the battery.
 For the final test of part one, two lights bulbs on the circuit board were used to build the circuit shown
in Figure F.
 To start part two, resistors with the values of 330 and 1k were measured using the
multi-meter and these resistances were recorded in Table 4.
 The parallel circuit shown in Figure G was set up and the total resistance, current, and voltage drop
across each resistor were measured and recorded in Table 4.
 Two light bulbs were connected in a parallel circuit as shown in Figure H to compare the brightness of
both bulbs and, next, one bulb to the brightness of the same bulbs in the previously completed series
circuit.
 For an RC circuit, a 100 μF capacitor and 100 kΩ resistor were used, and the actual resistance of the
resistor and the voltage of our D-cell battery were recorded in Table 5.
 The time constant and the time to charge the capacitor to 99% of its final voltage were calculated.
 A charging circuit was wired, and the multi-meter was used to observe the increase of voltage as the
capacitor charged in about five time constants, which was less than one second.
 The wire from the positive battery terminal was disconnected, and the voltage was observed.
 A discharging circuit was wired, and the multi-meter was used to observe the decrease of voltage as
the capacitor discharged in about five time constants.
 The 100kΩ resistor was replaced by a 1 kΩ resistor, and the charge and discharge tests were rerun and
observed.
 The 1 kΩ resistor was replaced by the 100 kΩ resistor, the capacitor was completely discharged, and
the multi-meter was set up to measure voltage as the capacitor charged for 55 seconds, recording the
data every five seconds in Table 5.
 After fully charging, the capacitor was discharged for 55 seconds, and the data was recorded every five
seconds in Table 5.
  The group was instructed not to complete the remainder of Part G or Part H.
 The data from the RC circuit charging and discharging was put into a graph and compared to
theoretical charging and discharging data in Figures I and J.

Results:

Figure A: Resistor Color Code Figure B: Experimental Set-Up to Verify Ohm’s Law
Tolerance

First Digit Power of 10

Second Digit

Figure C: Experimental Set- Figure D: Experimental Set-Up Figure E: Measuring Voltage

Up for Series Light Bulb Test for Series Circuit Drop across a Resistor

Figure F: Experimental Set- Figure G: Experimental Set- Figure H: Experimental Set-

Up for Series Light Bulb Test Up for Parallel Circuit Up for Parallel Light Bulb Test

Table 1: Resistor Color Code

Band In
Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Nominal Range Measured
4 Range?
330 313.5- 329.9 Yes
R1 Orange Orange Brown Gold
346.5
R2 Green Blue Brown Gold 560 532 557 Yes
R3 Brown Black Red Gold 1000 950-1050 983 Yes
Measured Battery Voltage: 1.480 V

Table 2: Ohm’s Law

Measured Calculated Measured
% Error
Resistance Current Current
R1 329.9 4.486 mA 4.442 mA 0.981%
R2 557 2.657 mA 2.62 mA 1.393%
R3 983 1.506 mA 1.49 mA 1.062%

Measured Current through Light Bulb: 191.1 mA

Calculated Resistance: 7.745
Table 3: Series Circuits

Measured Resistances Calculated Measured

Calculated Measured
R1 R2 R3 Total Total % Error
Current Current
Resistance Resistance
329.9 557 983 1869.9 1872 0.791 mA 0.78 mA 1.39%

Verification of Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law:

1.48 V = 0.2609 V +0.4400 V +0.7770 V
1.48 V = 1.4779 V
1.48 V = (approx.) 1.48 V

Table 4: Parallel Circuits

Measured Resistances Calculated Measured Measured

Calculated
R1 R2 R3 Total Total Total % Error
Total Current
Resistance Resistance Current
326.1 554 992 170.1 170.3 8.16 mA 8.10 mA 0.735%

Verification of Kirchhoff’s Current Law:

8.10mA=4.25mA + 2.50 mA + 1.40 mA
8.10mA=(approx.)8.14mA

Time to Charge Capacitor to 99% = 5 * 0.0992 = 0.496 seconds

Table 5: Series RC Circuit

Battery Voltage Resistance Capacitance Time Constant

(Measured) (Measured) (Labeled Value) τ = RC
1.354 V 992 100 μF 0.0992 s

Time Capacitor Voltage Time Capacitor Voltage

(seconds) (Charging) (seconds) (Discharging)
0 0V 0 1.354 V
5 0.59 V 5 0.940 V
10 0.790 V 10 0.641 V
15 0.965 V 15 0.418 V
20 1.018 V 20 0.276 V
25 1.189 V 25 0.180 V
30 1.243 V 30 0.120 V
35 1.275 V 35 0.085 V
40 1.300 V 40 0.060 V
45 1.319 V 45 0.049 V
50 1.329 V 50 0.030 V
55 1.334 V 55 0.021 V

Figure I: Charging Voltage

1.6
1.4
1.2
1
Volts

0.8 Experimental
0.6 Values
0.4 Theoretical
0.2 Values
0
0 20 40 60
Time (s)
 Figure J: Capacitor Voltage Discharging
1.5

Volts
Capacitor Voltage
(Discharging)
0.5
Theoretical
Values
0
0 20 40 60
Time (s)

Part C: Sample Calculation for range of resistance value:

Color bands on the resistors are: ORANGE ORANGE BROWN GOLD
Nominal Value: (33)*101 = 330 k
Range: 330 + 0.05*330 or 0.3135 – 0.3465 k
Part D: Sample Calculation for expected current based on Ohm’s Law:
1.480 = I * 329.9
I=1.480/329.9
I=4.486 mA
Part D: Sample Calculationfor resistance of light bulb based on measured voltage/current
(1.48 V) / (0.1911 A) = 7.745
Part E: Sample Calculation for expected voltage drop on resistor using Ohm’s Law:
V = (329.9 * 0.00078 A)
V = 0.257 V
Part E: Sample Calculation for expected voltage drop on resistor using Voltage Divider Rule:
(329.9 V
Part F: Sample Calculation for expected total resistance in parallel
R=1/((1/326.1)+(1/554)+(1/992))
R=170
Part F: Sample Calculation for current in parallel circuit:
I=1.389/170.3
I=8.16 mA
Part F: Sample Calculation for current in each parallel resistor:
1.385=I*326.1
I=4.25 mA

Discussion

The first test for the series circuit that resulted in slight error was measuring the current through each
resistor. When comparing calculated and measured values, the measured values were all slightly lower than
those calculated, possibly due to errors with the multi-meter when measuring resistance or the currents. In
series circuits, the current remains constant throughout the entire system, but the voltage drops across each
resistor. This was proven by measuring the voltage drop across each resistor and applying Kirchhoff’s Voltage
Law in the verification above. The voltage of the battery was supposed to be equal to the sum of the voltage
drops, and while the sum was off by 0.0021 volts, this is a very close, accurate reading, so the law holds true.
The discrepancy could be due to a slight misreading in the battery’s voltage or any of the three resistors. Later,
the light bulb test was conducted under the series circuit, and the trial using two light bulbs was significantly
dimmer than when only a single light bulb was used because the total voltage of the system was divided
between the two light bulbs. When one light bulb was removed from the two light bulb trial, the single
remaining bulb turned off because the circuit was no longer closed since the current could not pass through
the missing second light bulb to complete the circuit’s path to the negative terminal of the battery.

In the parallel circuit tests, the measured total current had a small percent error when compared to
the calculated total current. This was also evident in the Verification of Kirchhoff’s Current Law above, most
likely due to small errors using the multi-meter such as poor connections or environmental factors. The light
bulb test was then conducted with a parallel circuit, and when two light bulbs were used, both light bulbs were
significantly brighter than when both were lit through the series circuit. This is because the voltage across the
entire system in a parallel circuit remains the same. When one light bulb was removed from the circuit, the
remaining light bulb continued to brightly shine because the circuit was still complete due to the shared
connections between the remaining light bulb and the wire to the negative terminal of the battery. Based on
these results, electrical outlets are connected in parallel because the voltage needs to remain the same across
the entire circuit. Light switches are also connected in parallel because each light switch can operate each
individual light bulb. If the switches were in series and one light switch was turned off, the entire circuit would
turn off. This also allows all the lights connected to the outlet to be bright due to a constant voltage across each
resistor in the circuit.

The RC circuit was first tested by charging and discharging the capacitor. After charging the capacitor
in about five time constants, the wire from the positive terminal of the battery was disconnected, and the
capacitor’s voltage was observed to decrease slowly over time because the capacitor was leaking its charge.
After being recharged, the capacitor was discharged nearly instantly by placing a wire across the capacitor
leads because the wire provided a path for the electricity to forcibly escape while not providing any resistance
to slow the discharge. When using a 1 kΩ resistor, the capacitor charged, leaked its voltage, and discharged at
a faster rate than with the 100 kΩ resistor because the weaker 1 kΩ resistor did not slow the current flow as
much as the strong 100 kΩ resistor. The graphs for charging and discharging the capacitor show exponential
growth and decay curves, respectively.

Conclusion

By using Ohm’s Law and observing experimental trials for series, parallel, and resistive-capacitive
circuits, properties of each circuit were discussed. In series circuits, the current remains the same across each
resistor through the entire system, and, reflecting Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law, the voltage across each resistor
drops, because the resistors limit the amount that flows through. Through parallel circuits, the voltage remains
the same across each resistor and through the entire system, but, in accordance with Kirchhoff’s Current Law,
the current across each resistor drops, and the sum of each resistor’s current equals the total current through
the circuit. In RC circuits, electrons accumulate in the capacitor up to its maximum possible with an exponential
increase of charge over time until the capacitor discharges through a resistor to limit the current flow at a rate
visible through an exponential decay graph. The theory that parallel series are better to power a circuit was
proven through the light bulb test because the current remains the same over the entire system, allowing for a
more useful power system. The theory that higher powered resistors would improve the life of an RC circuit
was also proven true because the higher powered resistor did not allow the capacitor to discharge as quickly.

Reference:
Williams, Bill (2015). Basic Electricity Lab Report. Retrieved on December 5, 2019 from
https://www.scribd.com/document/251753294/Basic-Electricity-Lab-Report
 IV. RESEARCH REPORT

INFLUENCE OF EXTREME WEATHER AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE RESILIENCE OF POWER

SYSTEMS: IMPACTS AND POSSIBLE MITIGATION STRATEGIES
Mathaios Panteli Pierluigi Mancarella
A key driver for developing more sustainable energy systems is to decrease the effects of
climate change, which could include an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of severe
weather events. Amongst others, extreme weather has a significant impact on critical infrastructures,
and is considered one of the main causes of wide-area electrical disturbances worldwide. In fact,
weather-related power interruptions often tend to be of high impact and sustained duration, ranging
from hours to days, because of the large damage on transmission and distribution facilities. Hence,
enhancing the grid resilience to such events is becoming of increasing interest. In this outlook, this
paper first discusses the influence of weather and climate change on the reliability and operation of
power system components. Since modelling the impact of weather is a difficult task because of its
stochastic and unpredicted nature, a review of existing methodologies is provided in order to get an
understanding of the key modelling approaches, challenges and requirements for assessing the effect
of extreme weather on the frequency and duration of power system blackouts. Then, the emerging
concept of resilience is discussed in the context of power systems as critical infrastructure, including
several defense plans for boosting the resilience of power systems to extreme weather events. A
comprehensive modelling research framework is finally outlined, which can help understand and
model the impact of extreme weather on power systems and how this can be prevented or mitigated
in the future.

Highlights

 Effect of extreme weather and climate change on power systems resilience.

 Review of existing methodologies on assessing the impact of weather on power systems.
 Incorporation of human resilience to weather-related studies.
 Measures for boosting power systems resilience to extreme weather and climate change.
 Proposal of generic research framework for weather-related resilience studies.

Reference: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S037877961500187X
 V. SAMPLE TEST

VI. STUDENT REFLECTION

B. RUBRICS OF EACH CONTENT
C. REFLECTION