What is measured to demonstrate how temperature affects the resistance of a metal wire?

To demonstrate how temperature affects the resistance of a metal wire, it is essential to measure resistance directly. Resistance is a property of materials that quantifies how strongly they oppose the flow of electric current. As temperature changes, the atoms in the metal wire vibrate more, which affects the movement of electrons, ultimately altering the wire's resistance.

By measuring the resistance at various temperatures, one can observe and quantify how this relationship behaves, typically showing that resistance increases with temperature for most conductive metals. This relationship is often described by the equation:

[ R = R_0(1 + \alpha(T - T_0)) ]

where ( R ) is the resistance at temperature ( T ), ( R_0 ) is the resistance at a reference temperature ( T_0 ), and ( \alpha ) is the temperature coefficient of resistance.

Voltage and current are related to resistance through Ohm's Law (( V = IR )), meaning they are secondary measurements that do not directly demonstrate the effect of temperature on a material's resistance. Power, although related to voltage and current (( P = VI )), is also not a direct measure of resistance. Therefore, to specifically examine how temperature influences resistance, the most appropriate measurement is