Research Paper Topics - Finding the Root Causes

Research Paper Topics - Finding the Root CausesThere are a wide variety of research paper topics that can be used to study the black community. This can give a different perspective of the issues and challenges in the community. Often times, there are specific problems that affect the black community in one area or another that is very important to address. Research paper topics such as housing discrimination, job opportunities, and economic well-being can help the researchers in gaining new insights into the lives of the community.One of the more popular research topics is one that examines housing discrimination within the black community. Many of the black neighborhoods in the United States have found it hard to find rental units. Because of this, many of the black community's economic stability comes from their ability to stay in the family home. Unfortunately, most of these families still live in overcrowded housing.These research paper topics examine how this affects the commun ity. Sometimes, it is a result of the racist attitudes of landlords and other local individuals. Other times, this may be a direct result of the city government doing little to combat racial discrimination.The research paper topics on employment in the black community also fit in very well with the major research programs in the sociology department at a college or university. Most students who enroll in these programs focus their education on the areas of criminal justice, social welfare, and community relations.This particular topic examines why it is that the black community is underrepresented in jobs in certain positions. Often times, the reasons for this are either lack of preparation, or a negative stereotype about black people. Because of this, many organizations and businesses have hired black workers for jobs that they might not have thought to look for.In the past, studies often considered black men to be unintelligent and prone to violence. While this might be true in so me instances, it is certainly not true in the majority of cases. There are now studies that have shown that black males have a better shot at getting a job than any other demographic group.It is amazing that the black community is experiencing so much diversity all at once. With this many differences, it is important to keep these research paper topics in mind as you prepare your own research report.

Open Ended Essay Topics - Setting the Stage For Writing Your Open Ended Essay

Open Ended Essay Topics - Setting the Stage For Writing Your Open Ended EssayWhen preparing for an open-ended essay, the most important aspect is to keep a balance between structure and content. This means you should always end on a subject that has some kind of form or meaning to it. Some examples are:o Open ended essays are normally a well-written document that requires no explanation at all. However, they usually require some kind of topic, a topic of study, the topic of research, the topic of hypothesis, etc. This requires an entire different essay as the topic for an open-ended essay is often too broad. In general, an open-ended essay will be longer and more involved than the typical essay. You can usually accomplish this by making the topic a focus of your research.o The more abstract you make the topic, the more abstract the argument you will make. A more abstract topic is much harder to address with the use of words, than a specific topic that has concrete and agreed upon inf ormation. As long as you remain within the confines of the topic of study and argument, you can essentially write anything you want in an open-ended essay. In most cases, the point of the essay is to give an idea or thesis statement of what your idea is about, not to actually give details about it.o Open ended essays, unlike the original large format essay, do not require an introduction. As long as you have a reasonable outline of the thesis and argument, you can introduce your ideas without having to give an introduction. Many times an open-ended essay can become quite long and convoluted if you do not begin at the beginning of the essay.o A thesis statement is very similar to a thesis but is presented in a bit more detail. In order to be able to get into the most detail possible, you should consider outlining your thesis for the article. An outline can also help you decide how many pages to make of the essay, and as such, where to break the essay up into sections.o Open ended ess ays require that you do not start any argument until the introduction. It is very difficult to properly address a statement or argument if you start discussing something that you do not have all the facts. Even if you find out later, you do not know the facts at that time, the introduction should provide enough of a foundation for the discussion.Open ended essays are quite easy to write and can serve as a great way to start an interesting article. However, you must ensure that you outline the essay and start the argument with the introduction, otherwise the discussion might get very scattered and begin to feel rather lost. The proper introduction and discussion can help make the essay far more productive and more worthwhile.

Pestle Analysis And 5 Forces Analysis Essay Example

Pestle Analysis And 5 Forces Analysis Essay Although it has been nearly 4 years since the destruction of the twin towers in the US, terrorism remains a very real threat in much of the world, and a powerful political and economic influence on business. The political unrest caused by insurgencies is very detrimental to the economic situations of countries, affecting economic factors like interest rates, consumer spending, and foreign investment. Terrorism is especially relevant to the confectionery industry terrorist attacks have taken the form of food poisoning in the past1. Companies in the confectionery industry will have to select the countries that they operate in wisely, and take the necessary security measures to ensure that their products are not tampered with. The ALF in 1984 claimed to have poisoned MARS Bars in the UK. Every MARS candy bar in the UK was removed from the shelves at a cost of over 3 million pounds. Again, in 1988, the ALF terrorists poisoned a lot of confectionary sugar at a Swiss chocolate factory with rat poison and sent the results to the media. As a result the company had to halt production and clean the factory at a cost of over 30 million US Dollars. An economic trend with profound effects on operations of Western European confectionery companies has to do with the cost of labour. Growing wages are currently pushing production of confectionery products out to Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, the Czech Republic is emerging as new centre for European confectionery production2. Companies that do not quickly adapt to this trend will find themselves at a cost disadvantage, which will hinder their competitiveness in the industry. We will write a custom essay sample on Pestle Analysis And 5 Forces Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pestle Analysis And 5 Forces Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pestle Analysis And 5 Forces Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Changes in world demographics also have weighty sociocultural implications for the confectionery industry. Western European populations are growing very slowly and in some instances actually declining (Eastern European countries have negative growth rates) while Africa, parts of Asia and South America have rates of population growth near 3 percent per year. Europe is also said to have an ageing population, whereas Africa, South America, and most of Asia have populations that consist of 30-40% who are under the age of 15 (See Appendix A). There is a grave threat for confectionery companies operating in European countries due to the declining and aging population. An extremely substantial portion of the confectionery market is made up of children; even adult purchases are often motivated by children. These threats have to be addressed in order to maximize profits in the industry. The growing populations in Asia and South America, on the other hand, are a source of much opportunity. Tho ugh they are outside of the Western European market, it would be wise for the large multinationals to start giving them more attention. Perhaps marketing strategies in Europe may need to be adjusted while using the original strategies to penetrate Asia and South America further. A relevant sociocultural trend occurring in developed countries today is increased health consciousness; there is growing public concern over the ingredients in products, appropriate labelling, and other related health issues. Consequently, ethical marketing is becoming more prevalent, both in Europe and in the United States3. Much of the focus has been on childrens diets being loaded with sugar, salt and fat, as well as the related issue of childhood obesity. In the UK, Martin Paterson, Deputy Director General of the Food and Drink Federation made a statement to the press in February 2003 in response to heightened media coverage of the ethics of targeting children with food and drinks, saying advertisements should not: Encourage children to eat or drink frequently throughout the day; condone excessive consumption; suggest confectionary or snacks should replace balanced meals; take advantage of childrens natural sense of loyalty4. This trend has legal implications as well. The food industry is finding itself increasingly under pressure from legislators to accurately inform customers of the nutritional value of their products5. Confectionery companies will have to adapt to the laws that are passed due to these changes in consumer lifestyles and perceptions, or face legal consequences. Growing health consciousness has sparked the pursuit of healthier chocolate. For example, recent research has shown that natural cocoa contains the highest capacity of the antioxidant procyanidin6 has allowed for technological developments such as the process of retaining polyphenols in cocoa beans throughout chocolate processing7. Another technological development resulting from growing concern for the environment is the use of biodegradable wrappers. Australias confectionary manufacturer Cadbury Schweppes was the first manufacturer in the world to implement a new form of environmentally friendly packaging in 2003. They used the biodegradable polymeric material for packaging Cadbury Milk Tray Chocolates8. These new developments are vital opportunities for the industry in its current situation, and if exploited, may be the means by which companies can quell some of the threats brought about by the sociocultural trend of increasing health consciousness. Threat of Entry Entering the industry to compete with the leading players is extremely difficult. Scale economies in production, research, and marketing are very high. In the two years from December 2002, Mintel (2004) recorded nearly 300 new product launches into the chocolate confectionery market and an average of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8.67 million spent by the top three advertisers in the industry. Product differentiation is also a powerful entry barrier. Branding plays a key role, particularly in the impulse market. And according to Porter (1985, p. 135), overcoming customer loyalty towards more venerable players is likely to cost new entrants substantial amounts. Capital requirements are also very high. One of the market leaders, Cadbury Schweppes, had tangible fixed assets amounting to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1.63 billion and total assets amounting to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9.7 billion in 20049. Overall, the huge investment needed to create and maintain a market-leading brand means that it is difficult for smaller, or new, pl ayers to enter the market (Mintel, 2004). Bargaining Power of Suppliers The main inputs for the manufacture of confectionery include dairy products, sugars, cocoa and other ingredients. Since these products are commodities, which can hardly be differentiated and do not imply high switching costs for buyers, their suppliers have little bargaining power over chocolate manufacturers (Porter, 1985, p.137). However, there are also more specialist additions supplied to the industry, such as flavours, fragrances, chemicals, and machinery for cocoa processing and confectionery manufacturing. These suppliers would have more bargaining power than those previously mentioned since the products that they supply are more specialized, and imply higher switching costs (Porter, 1985, p.137). A chocolate manufacturer would, for example, be highly dependent on the company that supplies it with machinery. The supplier would be responsible for things like training employees to use the machinery as well as its service and maintenance. Intensity of Rivalry However, it is the larger players that dominate the market, particularly for chocolate confectionery. Branding plays a key role, particularly in the impulse market. The investment needed to create and maintain a market-leading brand has meant that it is difficult for smaller, or new, players to enter the market. As with other food sectors, there are considerable legislative needs to be met, which requires a larger scale of activity in order to operate profitably. Consumers of chocolate bars and confectionery are very price conscious, especially on basic items. The market is highly competitive and price-cutting is widespread. Retail prices and margins vary widely according to product and outlet. Prices in large food stores, especially for products sold under distributors brands, are much lower than those of products retailed by other miscellaneous shops and this has been an important factor in the growth of own labels in this market. Bargaining Power of Buyers The retail distribution of take-home and eat-later confectionery is basically done through two groups of channels, i.e. multiple grocers and impulse retail channels. Like with most food products, the major multiples have substantial buying power, and often buy directly from chocolate manufacturers. This is primarily because they buy in very large volumes and because they are highly concentrated. It is also because the product is not of strategic importance to the retailer, since large groceries and supermarkets offer a wide range of products and even offer own-brand ranges. The impulse market experiences a higher level of distribution through smaller outlets such as kiosks, confectioners, tobacconists, and food courts. These outlets have much less bargaining power and According to a retail panel, 87 per cent of the value of sales of chocolate bars of all types went through large grocery outlets in 1995 while the market share of small grocers shops was 13 per cent.

5 Steps to Writing a Hassle-Free Literature Review

5 Steps to Writing a Hassle-Free Literature Review When youre tasked with writing a lengthy academic study such as a journal article, thesis or dissertation, a literature review will likely be a part of that process. The literature review portion of your research is perhaps one of the most difficult sections to write. A well-written literature review will provide a summary of the scholarly sources youve used in your research. It will also summarize the current knowledge and scholarship surrounding the topic youve chosen to study in more depth, including any patterns, themes, or gaps that are in the research. If the research you plan to conduct will fill any of these gaps, the literature review should mention that, as well.Depending on the type of writing that will be required, your literature review could be a separate chapter, or it could part of the introduction or part of the theoretical framework. In some cases, a literature review might be written on its own as a survey of scholarly knowledge on a topic. However, in either case, here are the five steps to writing a hassle-free literature review.A literature review is a survey of scholarly knowledge that has been published on a certain topic. Photo by Henry Be on Unsplash.Step 1- Narrow your topicOne of the first and easiest mistakes to make when writing a literature review is to start with a topic that is too broad. Since the literature review will provide a foundation for your research, it needs to be narrowed enough to provide a solid one.For example, lets say you want to research the topic of childhood obesity. Obviously, there will be hundreds of scholarly sources that focus on that topic, so trying to summarize all of them would be not only difficult- it would be useless for the purposes of your own research.However, you can break that topic down even further to narrow the scope of your research. For example, instead, you could research childhood obesity and social development among middle-school-aged children. With this narrowed topic, the scholarly research you find will include all (or most) of the important keywords of your research: childhood obesity, social development, middle school. That makes your search for pertinent, relevant research a much easier task.Step 2- Gather your sources and pick the right ones to useNow that you have a narrowed topic, step two will be much easier than it would have been otherwise. In this step, you find recent, relevant research that includes your keywords and informs your knowledge on the topic. While reading the most recent scholarly articles or books, youll begin to notice certain studies or theories that the authors consistently refer to as a foundation for their own study. This is usually a good indicator that you should include those previous studies and theories in your own literature review, to provide your readers with a summary of the most relevant ideas surrounding that topic.To put it simply- determining which sources you will include in your literature review is really a matter of: 1) knowing how to identify the important, foundational (landmark) studies that have been conducted and 2) knowing how to identify current, relevant studies.Landmark studiesIf youre researching in a field youve studied extensively already, youre likely to already know the relevant research that is important to note, otherwise known as landmark studies. For example, in the field of Education, the early childhood development research of Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and John Dewey are foundational in almost any research related to a childs development. Therefore, many literature reviews will mention them and briefly summarize what they added to the scholarly knowledge foundational to the topic.Current studiesWhile its impossible to read everything thats published relating to a topic- even a narrow one- you can find the relevant research by noticing the attention its getting and the number of times its been cited in other studies. You can use several websites to discover how many time s an article has been cited and this article provides easy links and instructions on how to do this.However, just because an article or book has been often cited doesnt mean you have to use it for your own research. You can find other relevant articles by looking through abstracts and determining if the research is both credible and useful for your own. You should also use this opportunity to see if there is perhaps a gap in the research- something that needs to be explored that hasnt been thoroughly explored by other researchers. Or, is there a different approach you want to take in your own methodology that will close a gap or answer a question that is still out there in the scholarly writing available on your topic?Step 3- Find connections, patterns, disagreements, pivotal changes and gapsNow that youve determined which sources you plan to use, you can begin reading over them in more detail to look for connections, patterns, disagreements, pivotal changes and gaps in the literatu re. Its important at this step to find trends that keep showing up as you read, as well as themes that arise. Youll also want to note where different researchers agree or disagree, and why there is a discrepancy in their understanding or hypotheses.You might also find that a certain past study changed scholarly discourse in a major way. That would be a pivotal moment to note in your literature review, since it is foundational in the overall scholarship surrounding the topic.Finally, you want to find and acknowledge any gaps you note in the literature. For example, for our childhood obesity and social development among middle-school-aged children, you might find that none of the research youve come across seems to take into account comorbidity of obesity and mental health issues in middle-school-aged children. Therefore, its a gap in the research that you can address in your literature review and potentially fill in your research.Its important that you, as a researcher, find and ackn owledge any gaps you note in the literature. Photo by Bruno Figueiredo on Unsplash.Step 4- Determine how you will organize your literature reviewNow that you know which sources you plan to use to compile your literature review (and thus, inform your own research), its important to organize the summary of these sources to make your analysis easier for your reader to follow.ChronologicalThis is one of the easiest and most popular ways to organize a literature review. Its easy to do because you simply mention each source in the order it was published, beginning with the earlier, landmark studies. However, the problem with this organizational structure is its easy to just list your summaries, one after the other, without pointing out any patterns or themes that occur among them. Youll need to focus on showing how the scholarship has changed and evolved over the years, as well as mention any important turning points that might have occurred.TheoreticalSince the sources you have been read ing have all resulted in a theoretical analysis or hypothesis, you can organize your literature review from a theoretical standpoint, showing how the framework was built. If there is a certain theoretical approach to your topic of study that you prefer above others, this might be the best way for you to organize your literature review.ThematicThematic organization of your literature review is the best way to approach it if you want to point out various themes that have come up in your exploration of the topic. For example, returning to our previously mentioned topic, childhood obesity and social development among middle-school-aged children, we might find multiple themes that arise, such as forming friendships, self-confidence, bullying, and family bonds. If we want to study the topic within these four themes or parameters, a thematic-organized literature review will be the best bet.MethodologicalMethodological organization for your literature review will focus on the various method ologies used in prior studies and mention each based on that factor. For example, you might first look at quantitative studies that were done on the topic, then look at qualitative ones, comparing the results of both. Or, you might first analyze literature that shows empirical methodologies, then analyze a more theoretical approach.Step 5- Write your literature reviewNow that youve gone through the other steps, this should be the easy part. As you write, remember that your task is to summarize and synthesize all relevant scholarly work on your topic, while also analyzing any gaps, patterns, inconsistencies, or themes that emerge.Note that as you write, you need to remain as critical and objective as possible in your overview of literature. If you feel that there were biases and you have a substantial case to make with it, include your analysis on that fact. If you feel that certain studies had stronger methodologies or frameworks than others, mention that, as well. The point of a li terature review is to let your reader know that you have researched your topic in depth and have a credible, solid foundation from which to continue that study or pose hypotheses connected to it.

Influence of Perception on Interpersonal Communication Essay

Influence of Perception on Interpersonal Communication - Essay Example As noted by Wood (2010), there is a need to distinguish facts from inferences for interpersonal communication to be considered competent. The author clearly defined facts as â€Å"an objective statement based on observation; (while) an inference involves an interpretation that goes beyond the facts† (p. 85). In this regard, the essay aims to present instances when languages are used to accurately signify facts as contrasted to inferences. Through observing conversations with people one normally interacts with, the discourse would find and discuss instances when tentative language would be more accurate; and when there is a need to distinguish between fact and inferences, and to address them, as required. Using Tentative Language In addressing the requirements of becoming more sensitive to the difference between facts and inferences, one observed interpersonal communication that occurred within one’s family members and noted the following: In one instance, I asked my hus band to load the washer and empty the dryer. I specifically said: â€Å"Honey, I am still finishing up preparing for lunch. Would you please see that the washer is loaded and find out if the drying is likewise empty?† I proceeded preparing our meal and by the time I remembered what I asked my husband to do, I found out that nothing was done. I could have easily inferred based on one’s initial perception that â€Å"My God! Honey, you are such as irresponsible person. The tasks I requested you to do is so simple; yet, you did not comply! You are so insensitive and selfish!† By using tentative words, one could initially reflect that â€Å"my husband may be irresponsible or may be insensitive or selfish† so as not to treat the inference as a fact. However, by analyzing the situation, the fact is that the washer was not loaded and the dryer was not emptied. Now, one would like to know the reasons why these tasks were not complied as requested. Therefore, I ask ed my husband: â€Å"Honey, I told you earlier to please see that the washer is loaded and find out if the drying is likewise empty. How come you did not comply?† My husband replied: â€Å"Oh, I am so sorry dear. I did not hear what you said. I went out for a while this morning to take the garbage out. You must have thought I was still in the living room when you gave the instructions. I will do it now.† So, apparently, the reason why the tasks were not complied, as instructed was that my husband was not even there when I relayed the message. Had I barged and shouted the terms I inferred such as â€Å"irresponsible, insensitive and selfish† I would have definitely gone beyond the facts. Extending the Observation When the observation was extended to other people, the work setting is the most appropriate environment where facts and inferences abound. My husband relayed to me his experience in the workplace as he was requested by his boss to work with other personn el, as a team in complying with a new project of targeting new customers to increase their monthly sales. The boss specifically identified a colleague, Mr. X, to conduct a simple market research on a Friday afternoon at the nearby supermarket to determine if their products are fast moving and who their competitors are. The details are needed

The Case for the Metropolitan Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Case for the Metropolitan Insurance - Essay Example But what good is the image when it is not properly stored Documentum serves as the file cabinet where the documents and images are arranged and stored. The introduction of the document imaging system and the establishing of the database Documentum has provided opportunities in to cut down costs in aspects of the business' operations. They are enumerated and discusses as follows: documents coming in everyday. One can just imagine the volume of storage space occupied by the microfiche images and equipment. File Cabinets, indexing materials and rooms must be provided for the storage of the images. Since microfiche images are not considered as "legal archives", there is really a need to provide storage and indexing mechanism for the paper documents. File folders, envelopes, cabinets, rooms and indexing materials represent a rather large cost to the business. Added to this is the labor cost associated with the people employed to attend and safeguard the documents and images. The Imaging system eliminated the need for microfiche images and paper document storage. Because of this, there is no more need to purchase filing and indexing materials. Provision for storage space such as rooms is no longer necessary. Furthermore, the pre-existing materials and rooms can be sold or used in other business works. ... Added to this is the labor cost associated with the people employed to attend and safeguard the documents and images. The Imaging system eliminated the need for microfiche images and paper document storage. Because of this, there is no more need to purchase filing and indexing materials. Provision for storage space such as rooms is no longer necessary. Furthermore, the pre-existing materials and rooms can be sold or used in other business works. The Metropolitan can also cut down labor costs as the system does not require many filing personnel. b. Maintenance Costs Paper documents and microfiche images can be corroded by environmental elements thereby reducing it to a useless material. This problem becomes more important since the insurance business operates in a very wide time frame. This temporal criterion makes it imperative that the documents are properly maintained. Furthermore, insects or animals may reside in the file cabinets and consume/ruin records. There is a need to purchase chemicals to prevent corrosion and animal destruction. Maintenance personnel must also be properly trained for them to be able to protect the documents. All of these represent a large capital cost for Metropolitan. Since the document's images are stored in the computerized database and since this is considered "legal archives", the paper documents need not be thoroughly taken cared of. Environmental and animal concerns are also eliminated. These improvements lessen the need for chemicals and maintenance personnel. 3B. Explain how the System shortens cycle time. The system also shortened cycle time because it eliminated the need for manual imaging of the pertinent documents. It can even image

Investigating Basic Circuits Essay Example for Free

Investigating Basic Circuits Essay Introduction What is an electrical circuit? How can you manipulate components and design a circuit that will do what you want it to? This guided activity will introduce you to some components, tools, and concepts that are fundamental in electronics. It will allow you to investigate and discover: What are voltage, current, and resistance? How are they related to one another? What are some of the basic components that make up simple circuits and what do they do? What are the important characteristics of a circuit and how do I measure different parts of a circuit? How do I measure voltage in a circuit? How does the arrangement of components affect the characteristics of the circuit? How do I work safely with circuits? How can I use calculations to design circuits before I start creating one? Equipment Digital Logic Board (DLB) or breadboard (2) Light emitting diodes (LEDs) (2) 330 Ohm resistors (orange/orange/brown/gold or silver) Digital multimeter (DMM) #22 Gauge solid wire Procedure Follow the instructions to create different types of circuits. As you create each circuit, you will be asked to make measurements and record observations to gain understanding about the circuit and its components. Let us begin by investigating two components that are commonly used in circuits. They are resistors and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Part A: Creating a Circuit and Measuring a Circuit’s Properties 1. A Simple Circuit Arrange the components according to the picture shown. You will need to plug the USB cable from the myDAQ into your computer to provide power to the Protoboard. Notice that the LED has a flat notch on one side. Make sure the notch is  initially oriented on the bottom as shown in the picture. In this arrangement, the flow of conventional current is from the top (5V) to the bottom (0V) through the resistor and the LED. What do you think the role is of the resistor in this circuit? (1a) Components on a Breadboard (1b) Circuit Diagram In a circuit, the flow of conventonal current can be described as a positive charge moving through a complete circuit path (VCC to GND). Can you trace the flow of conventional current in both of the above pictures? 2. With the LED illuminated, flip the direction of the LED on the breadboard (notch on top now), and then flip it back to its original position (notch on bottom). What does your observation tell you about diodes (and LEDs)? 3. Using the DMM to Measure Values Making sure that the RED lead is plugged into (V) and the black lead is plugged into (COM) on the Digital Multi-Meter (DMM), turn the DMM on to direct current voltage range 0-600V or first click (see 3a). Place the RED DMM lead on the top of the resistor, and the black lead on the bottom of the LED. Note the reading on the DMM. Now switch the DMM leads. (3a) Digital Multimeter DMM(3b) Reading voltage across the resistor and LED What did you notice about the value on the DMM when you switched the leads? 4. Now place the DMM leads across the circuit as you did initially in picture (3b) and turn the DMM to the next smallest voltage range (0-200V). You may need a classmate to help you. Note the value on the DMM and then turn one more click to the next smallest ranges (0-20V). What is happening on the display with each click, as the range you are measuring gets smaller and smaller? 5. Turn one last click of the DMM to read the range (0-2V). What happened and why? What was the most accurate measurement were you able to make of the voltage across the resistor and LED? 6. Set the DMM to the range that will give you the most accurate voltage  measurement and touch the lead across the two ends of the red wire. Note the reading on the DMM. Now touch the leads across the two ends of the black wire. Note the reading. (6a) (6b) Voltage (ΔV=Vf-Vi) is a description of a components potential to do work. (1 volt means the component could do 1 joule of work for every coulomb of charge that passes though it (1V= 1J/1C). In order for a component to do work, there must be a difference in the potential across the component to do work (often called a potential difference). Why do you think the reading was the same for both of these sections of the circuit? What you have just observed is exactly why birds can land on high power lines unharmed. 7. In Step 3 you measured the voltage across the resistor and the LED combined. Now touch the leads across both ends of the resistor. Note the reading on the DMM. (a) Voltage across LED and Resistor (b) Voltage across Resistor Only Can you guess the reading you will see when you touch the DMM leads across the LED only? Were you correct? Why did you guess that value? 8. You might be asking why we need a resistor in this circuit. Is it doing any work? Some components have limitations on how much electrical current can pass through them or how much voltage they should have across them. We can calculate the relationships between Voltage, Current, and Resistance for a component using Ohm’ Law (V=IR). Let’s assume the voltage you saw across the 330â„ ¦ resistor was roughly 3V when the circuit was active. What is the conventional current (measured in Amps) traveling through the resistor according to Ohm’s Law? In this arrangement, the electrical current has only one path through the components (top to bottom in the picture). These components can be described as being in series with each other. The amount of current flowing through an LED must each be equal in the same path. Warning: Do not attempt to verify the current in the circuit at this time using the DMM. While the DMM can  handle this amount of current, you must learn how to use the ammeter portion of the DMM properly to protect it from blowing a fuse. Shorting voltage sources is dangerous and can damage the DMM. Part B: Series and Parallel Circuits 9. These two identical 330â„ ¦ resistors are in series with each other. There is only one path through the circuit from the power source to the ground. In this diagram, the power source is a 9V battery. One end of the battery has 9V of potential to do work (positive terminal-top). The other end of the battery has zero potential to do work (negative terminal/ground-bottom). (a) Based on your observations, what would you expect the voltage read if you touched the DMM across both R1 and R2? (b) Due to the fact that R1 and R2 are identical, what would you guess is the voltage across each resistor is individually? Why? (c) We can actually replace these two resistors with one resistor that would have the same impact on the circuit. (This theoretical resistor is called an equivalent resistor). What would the value of this equivalent resistor have to be in Ohms (â„ ¦)? 10. Create this series circuit on your breadboard. With both LEDs illuminated, remove one of the LEDs from the circuit path. What happened and why? 11. You can try 3 LEDs in series but none will light up. Why do you think that is? 12. Components in a circuit can also be arranged in parallel. Create this parallel circuit on your breadboard. With both LEDs illuminated, what happens if you remove one of the LEDS from the circuit path? 13. Using the diagram shown to you in Step 9 for series circuit as a reference, can you draw a circuit diagram showing 2 resistors in parallel?  (Draw circuit below) 14. In a series circuit all component have the same current (Amps) flowing them (even if the resistors have different values. That is not the case for components in parallel with each other. What do components in parallel share in common? 15. Based on your observations and what you have learned about parallel circuits, use Ohm’s Law (V=IR) to calculate the current in each of the 3 resistors? Imagine you add more two more resistors (R4 and R5) in parallel. For each new path to the battery you create, what do you think that does to the total amount of current going into and out of the battery? Conclusion 1. Describe the proper way to place the DMM leads and the steps you use to attain the most precise measurement value for voltage across components using a Digital Multimeter (DMM). 2. If the value on the DMM is negative, what does that tell you about the orientation of the DMM leads in relation to the flow of conventional current? 3. LEDs and resistors transfer electrical energy into light and thermal energy. What is an important characteristic about LEDs (and diodes) that make it unique compared to a resistor? 4. In your own words, describe what it means for components to be in series with each other. What characteristic do components in a series always share in common? (Voltage, Current, or Resistance) 5. In your own words, describe what it means for components to be in parallel with each other. What characteristic do components in parallel always share in common? (Voltage, Current, or Resistance) Going Further 6. In this investigation you were introduced to the idea of equivalent resistance (replacing multiple resistors in series with one that does the same job. Equivalent resistance for a series circuits can be shown as a simple mathematical expression. How would you express this relationship to the total resistance in the circuit mathematically? 7. A theoretical equivalent resistor can be placed in parallel circuits and shown mathematically as well. This relationship is a little less straight forward than equivalent resistance in series circuits. With a little research, can you determine how the equivalent resistance for this parallel circuit would be expressed mathematically? We will expand our understanding on these concepts in later activities.