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9.3.4—That the resistance of a filament lamp increases

Syllabus
9702–2028–2029
Objective
9.3.4
Level
AS

A filament lamp’s resistance rises as its filament heats

Increasing current heats a filament, raising its temperature and increasing resistance because lattice vibrations scatter charge carriers more strongly.

Read the curved I–V characteristic rather than assuming V/I is fixed. Cooling on reduction can make the path history relevant.

At higher voltage a lamp’s current rises less than proportionally, showing a larger operating-point resistance.

The lamp is not non-ohmic because current stops; its resistance changes as temperature changes.

ConceptA-Level CAIE Physics AS