Activity 1.8 - Does human body obeys Ohm’s Law?

Learning Aims:
  • Understanding that the human body acts like a resistor obeying Ohm´s law
  • Understanding what determines the danger of electricity
  • Understanding the effects of electricity on human body
  • Introducing the applications of electric current through a human body (e.g. in medicine)
Materials:

Text about the effects of electricity on human body Internet resources on the effects of electricity on human body and about other applications of electricity in human body
Suggestions for use:

In this activity students study the text about the effect of electricity on human body or they can use internet or other resources to study the topic. On the basis of it they can prepare a short presentation on the effects of electric current on human body. A group of students can do this activity on their own, looking up information in different sources, then preparing a presentation on the topic and share it with their peers. The interdisciplinary physics- biology approach can be enhanced by searching information about the physiological effects of electricity (burning, muscle contraction, heart fibrillation).

There are also good examples of the deliberate uses of the application of Ohm’s law for a human body, e.g. medical uses or bioelectrical impedance analysis for estimating body composition. Another group of students can study these applications and prepare a presentation to be discussed in the class.
Possible Questions:
  • Is the human body a good conductor of electricity?
  • What will happen if electricity travels through you?
  • Is it a voltage or a current that causes electric shock?
  • Why are people good conductors of electricity?
  • Why should you never touch anything electrical while you have wet hands or while standing in water?
  • How can you increase your safety to prevent yourself from being electrically shocked?
  • What are the medical uses of electric current in your body?