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Watch the Bill Nye Video and answer the
corresponding questions.
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1. What is electricity?
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2. What is an electrical circuit?
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3. How does electricity make a bumper
car go?
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4. Give an example of an electrical circuit.
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5. Where does electricity come from?
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All atoms in matter always contain
electrical charges. ( Positive and
Negative)
Electric Charge – a form of charge, either
positive or negative, that exerts an
electric force.
When objects of different materials are
rubbed together they become “charged”
with electricity.
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A build up of electric charge on the surface of
an object.
When clothes are in the dryer, many times the
electric charge remains “static.” This means
that the charge stays where the rubbing action
occurred on each of the charged objects.
* This is why we use Bounce sheets in the
dryer.
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These sheets act as a lubricant of sort for
your clothes.
You cannot eliminate these electrical
charges completely but you can
minimize them.
Companies put in a waxy compound in
sheets of Bounce or Cling Free and
liberated by the dryer's heat.
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Two objects with like charges, whether positive
or negative, always repel one another.
When a positively charged object is near a
negatively charged object, they attract one
another.
Law: “Like charges repel another, and unlike
charges attract one another.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRnZNq_6ijI
http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?
sim=Balloons_and_Static_Electricity
http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?
sim=John_Travoltage
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In order to tell this, we must observe the
object that is being repelled by an object
with a known charge.
Charged objects will attract both neutral
and objects with unlike charges.
Charged objects will only repel objects
with like charges.
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The transfer of electrons between 2 neutral
objects (made of different materials) that occurs
when they are rubbed together.
Bill Nye Video Part 2:
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The effects of static electricity occur only when
electric charges shift from their normal position
on a neutral object or are transferred from one
object to another.
There are three ways that objects become
electrically charged: by Friction, by Contact
and by Induction.
Material
acetate
glass
wool
cat's fur, human hair
calcium, magnesium, lead
silk
aluminum, zinc
cotton
paraffin wax
ebonite
polyethylene (plastic)
carbon, copper, nickel
rubber
sulphur
platinum, gold
Hold on Electrons
weak
Increasing tendency to gain electrons
Strong
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdcPeW1
XwKs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gct1BmK
NvU0&feature=related
Door Knob experience
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Electrical Insulator - a substance where
electrons cannot move freely from atom to
atom.
Electrical Conductor – a substance where
electrons can move freely from atom to atom.
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Oil
Rubber
Plastic
Wax
These objects hold electrical charge and build
up static charge better than conductors,
however even though they hold static
electricity , they can protect us from electric
shock
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Silver
Copper
Aluminum
Iron
Gold
Because the electricity is transferred as soon as
it is produced, there is no build up of static
electricity.
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Why is static electricity more evident in the
winter months??
Less water vapour in the air, or the air is dryer
which means that it is an insulator and does
not easily pick up charges from our body and
therefore creates a static build up.
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When a charged object is connected, or
grounded, to Earth, it shares its charge with the
entire Earth.
This means that the charge is removed or
spread out over a larger surface.
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Induction occurs without direct contact of an
object.
Remember: charging by friction and charging
by contact occurs only when the objects rub
against or touch one another.
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When an uncharged object, such as a dust particle,
is charged by induction, the nearby charged object
doesn’t actually touch the dust particle at all.
A computer screen or television screen becomes
charged when it is turned on.
When a dust particle is near a television screen, the
charges on the screen cause (induce) the electrons
on the dust to change position.
This causes the dust particles to have an opposite
charge than the charge on the television screen.
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About 2000 thunderstorms are occurring
throughout the world at any given time,
creating 100 lightning strikes every second, or
about 8 million strikes daily.
Lightning involves exchanging electric charges
between the atmosphere and the Earth.
Electric charges are constantly being removed
from the Earth’s surface by different processes.
Ex. Evaporation of water molecules, exhaust
gases.
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When thunderclouds form, huge numbers of
negative charges concentrate near the bottom
of the cloud.
When the negative charge at the base of the
cloud moves over tall objects, such as a
building, it is sometimes close enough to return
the ground in a huge spark, called lightning.
The jagged path that lighting has is caused by
the electric charges moving along the path of
least resistance in the air.
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Lighting tends to hit taller objects because the
taller objects shortens the path to the ground,
especially if they are metal conductors.
Why are you safe in a car during lightning
storms?
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Rubber tires aren't why you're safe in a car during a
lightning storm. In strong electric fields, rubber tires
actually become more conductive than insulating.
You're safe in a car because the lightning will travel
around the surface of the vehicle and then go to
ground.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7c6z_3d
LE4
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXS2Xw
wH_uA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=919TBO7
G3yI&feature=related