OHM's Law-Explained to a 12yr old

[cupsmom]

My 12 yrold is doing a report on Georg Ohm.. We have researched his life and have found the Ohm's LAw.. As much as we try to explain it to her in simple terms she doesn't understand it..(we are not knowledgeable in these subjects so we are probably not much help to her) Can anyone explain this simply to her? We appreciate it thank you very much

 

[berkeman]

Sure. Welcome to PF, BTW. For straightforward explanations of technical subjects, wikipedia is a very useful resource:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohms_law

 

[tim_lou]

use the analogy of a river. Resistance is like rocks and obstacles, potential difference is like the differience of height, current (the flow of electrons) is like the flow of water.

current is directly related to potential, similar to how when the height difference is great, more water flows through (faster rate). when there are obstacles, the water slow down, hence reducing the current...

 

[chroot]

If you push water through your showerhead with a greater pressure, more water will come out of it per unit time.

- Warren