Tag Archives: electricity

To compare the responses of objects with similar and dissimilar charges. Students use a hand-crank Van de Graaff Generator to charge different objects to determine whether they attract or repel each other.

Electricity is the flow of electrons through a substance. Those materials permitting this flow are called conductors; those which do not are nonconductors (or insulators). Among those materials which are conductors, some are better at conducting electricity than others. In this exercise, we will study a number of materials to see whether or not they are conductors. In general, among solid substances, metals are conductors and nonmetals are not. Distilled water is not a conductor. Solutions containing ions (salt water, acids, tap water) are conductors.

Students will construct series and parallel circuits with both bulbs and resistors. The lab begins with bulbs, but since taking measurements with bulbs can often be imprecise, the measurement portion of the lab uses resistors and a DC power supply.

Lab #35.1   Electricity & Magnetism: Batteries & Bulbs
Purpose
In this activity, students will explore various arrangements of batteries and bulbs, and the effects of those arrangements on bulb brightness.
Discussion
Many devices include electronic circuitry, most of which are quite complicated. Complex circuits are made, however, from simple circuits. In this activity you will build one of the [...]

Purpose
In this experiment, students will arrange a simple circuit involving a power source and a resistor. They will attach an ammeter and a voltmeter to the circuit. They will measure corresponding values of current and voltage in the circuit. They will then interpret observations to find the relationship between current, voltage, and resistance.
Discussion
The current, voltage [...]

Looking for a Hands-On Activity to Excite your Students about Learning Electricity?In this issue of CoolStuff we have just the thing! A series of hands-on electricity activities that students can use to to explore key electricity concepts. No matter what level students you teach, elementary, middle school, or high school; we have something for everyone. Real life electricity investigations where your student's see, hear, and feel actual results in electronic configurations.

Static charge (electrons, in this case) can be physically transferred from one object to another through friction. Students will use rubber, glass, fur and silk to create positive and negative charges, and investigate how these charges cause forces.

You might assume that most of your students are capable of lighting a light bulb given a battery, a bulb, and a single strand of wire. In actuality, when faced with this challenge, some students may succeed at the task immediately while others may never be able to make the bulb light without assistance.

The electrical force is so pervasive that it is difficult to name many aspects of the physical world not affected by it. At the most fundamental level, the attractive electrical force between electrons and protons holds atoms together. On a bit larger scale, electrical interactions between atoms are responsible for the formation of molecules. On a much grander scale, a rapid discharge of atmospheric electricity manifests itself as a flash of lightning. All these phenomena are governed by the same basic principles.