Electrical

Energy

Unit 1: Physical Science

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Standards
0 S4.C.2.1: Recognize basic energy types and sources, or

describe how energy can be changed from one form to

another.

0 S4.C.2.1.1: Identify energy forms, energy transfer, and

energy examples (e.g., light, heat, electrical).

0 S4.C.2.1.2: Describe the flow of energy through an object or

system (e.g., feeling radiant heat from a light bulb, eating

food to get energy, using a battery to light a bulb or run a
fan).

0 S4.C.2.1.3: Recognize or illustrate simple direct current

series and parallel circuits composed of batteries, light

bulbs (or other common loads), wire, and on/off switches.

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In this Unit

0Well teach the students:

0How electrical circuits are closed and opened.

0Conditions that affect the flow of electricity.
0Electromagnets.
0Ways to produce electricity.

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Benefits of Electricity
0 Can children learn to appreciate the advantages of a

ready source of electricity?

0 Have children count the number of electrical devices we
use and then to try to devise nonelectrical substitutes for
them.
0 By doing activities included in this section, children
should begin to appreciate some things that make
electrical energy available and the principles that make
them work.

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Journal!
Why do you think Electricity is
a difficult concept for children
to grasp?

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Educaton, Inc.

Children and Electricity

0 The idea of a complete circuit is complex for most students. They

have difficulty conceptualizing not only that the electrons flow

from the source but also that the circuit back to the source must
be complete.
0 It is important to use hands-on activities to develop this
understanding.

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What is Electrical
Energy?
0 Electrical energy results from the movement

of an electrical charge, and is commonly

referred to as simply Electricity.
0 Electricity manifests itself in natural
phenomena such as lightning and is essential
to life at a fundamental level.

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The Origin of Electrical

Energy
0 In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin

conducted extensive research in electricity.

0 In June 1752 he is reputed to have attached
a metal key to the bottom of a dampened
kite string and flown the kite in a stormthreatened sky.
0 A succession of sparks jumping from the key
to the back of his hand showed that lightning
was indeed electrical in nature.
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Electrical Charge
There are two types of electrical charge, called
positive and negative. If two electrically charged
objects are brought close to one another, they
will experience a force. If the charges are the
same both positive or both negative the
force will act to push the objects away from one
another. If they have different charges, they will
attract one another. This repulsion or attraction is
known as the electromagnetic force, and it
can be harnessed to create a flow of electrical
energy.
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Educaton, Inc.

Generating Electricity
0 Static Electricity
0 Almost everyone has experienced some form of static electricity.
0 The basic law of static electricity is, like charges repel each

other and unlike charges attract each other.

0 Children may discover that identical objects rubbed with the
same material will repel each other. If the objects are rubbed
with different materials, they will usually attract each other.

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Friction and Lightning

0 What causes lightning?
0 It is produced by friction.
0 A cloud contains varying amounts of dust particles, raindrops, air

(gas) molecules, and sometimes ice crystals. When violent

currents occur in clouds, these substances rub together in
various combinations. If a huge electric charge builds up, an
oppositely charged cloud or the ground may attract it.
0 When this happens, we see lightning.

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Current Electricity
0 Static electricity is both unreliable and difficult to manage, so we

use current electricity to meet our needs.

0 This electricity generally comes from two sources: batteries and
power plants.

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Concepts
0 Closed and Open Circuits
0 Switches
0 Bulbs
0 Batteries
0 Voltage
0 Electrical Flow
0 Electromagnets

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Closed and Open Circuit

Concepts

0 Each time we push a button or flip a switch that turns

on electricity, there is a continuous flow of electrical

energy in wires connected from the generating plant to
our appliance and back again to the plant.
0 A continuous connection is called a closed circuit.
Anytime a break or gap occurs in the circuit, the flow of
electricity stops. This incomplete connection is called an
open circuit.

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Switches

0 Electric switches serve only to open or close circuits. They offer

a safe and convenient way of supplying the flow of electricity

when we want it by providing a linkage through which the energy
can flow to the connecting wires.

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Batteries

0 Much of the work in this section calls for the use of dry cells

(children are more familiar with the term batteries), copper wire,
and flashlight bulbs.
0 D-size dry cells should be used because they are safe, fairly long
lasting, and relatively inexpensive.
0 Children should be reminded never to use household electric
current for investigations.

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Bulbs

0 It will be helpful to be familiar with using miniature bulbs

properly, since they are a requirement for many of the

experiments in this section.
0 Miniature bulbs are designed to be used with a loosely specified
number of 1 1/2-volt dry cells. Therefore, there are one-cell, twocell, or multi-cell bulbs.
0 Many unit activities call for the use of commercial-type miniature
bulbs and sockets.

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Voltage

0 Voltage is an electromotive force. It can be thought of as

the energy source in a circuit that produces the force

that causes electrons to flow. Voltage is measured in
volts.
0 Current is the actual flow of the electrons, and it is
measured in amps (amperes).
0 Resistance, measured in ohms, is the opposition to the
flow of electrons in a circuit or the ability to resist, or
slow down, the flow of electric current.

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Electrical Flow
0 The term conductor isConcepts
usually given to any substance that permits
an easy flow of electricity. Metals are by far the best conductors of
electricity, and so they are commonly used for wires.
0 Some poor conductors become good conductors when wet (such
as human skin). For this reason, it is safer to turn appliances on
and off with dry hands.

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Resistance

0 Although metals are better electrical conductors than nonmetals,

metal wire still has some resistance to the flow of electrons.

0 The length of the wire has a direct relationship to the amount of
resistance; the longer the wire, the greater the resistance.

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Light Bulbs
0 Tungsten is the metal used in incandescent bulbs today.
0 Any bulb that gives light from a very hot filament is called an
incandescent bulb.
0 The ever-darkening appearance of the portion of the bulb next to

the filament shows the deposition of the evaporating tungsten.

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Electromagnets
0 One day, while lecturing to a class, Hans Christian Oersted

noticed that a wire carrying electric current was deflecting a

nearby compass needle. He realized immediately that the wire
was generating a magnetic field.
0 Oersted helped spread the new concept of electromagnetism
to the world.
0 These modern devices and more originated with
electromagnetism:
0 The telephone
0 The electric motor
0 The electric bell or buzzer
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Batteries

0 Children are curious about how a battery can make

electricity. Some think it is stored, as water is stored in

a tank.
0 What really happens is that chemical energy changes
into electrical energy.
0 Dry cells are convenient, but they are too weak and
expensive for widespread residential or commercial
use. Mechanical energy, the energy of motion, is by far
the main method for generating electricity. Today, most
electricity is produced by changing the energy in fuels
and falling water.
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Producing Electromagnetic
Waves
0 Long ago, scientists learned that by rapidly varying the

electric current in a wire they could change the magnetic

field. Instead of a steady field, rapidly vibrating energy
waves were given off by the wire. These are called radio
waves.
0 At a radio station, music or voice vibrations are changed
into a variable electric current.
0 Some of the waves strike a radio antenna. A weak current
begins vibrating in the antenna, and the current is picked up
and strengthened in the radio. A connected loudspeaker
vibrates and produces sound energy much as a telephone
receiver does.
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