Name __________________________________________

Date ______________

Electricity and Magnetism Study Guide

Fill in the blanks

Vocabulary:
1. ____electric field___________ - The space in which an electric force acts
2. ____resistance_____________ - The measure of how much a material
opposes the flow of current
3. ____static electricity_________ - The buildup of charges on an object
4. ____insulator______________ - An object that does not conduct electricity
5. ____series circuit____________- A circuit that has only one path that
electricity can follow
6. ____parallel circuit__________- A circuit that has two or more paths that
electricity can follow
7. ____electromagnet__________ - A temporary magnet made of wire wrapped
around a core
8. ____conductor______________ - An object that allows electricity to flow

Science Concepts:
9. A ____electromagnet_______ is made by wrapping current-carrying wire
around an iron core.
10.

___Negative__________ charges move easily through most electrical

conductors.

11.

An _______Electric Charge is a property of matter that causes objects

to attract or repel each other.

12.

_______Plastics_____________ are materials that make good insulators

of electricity.
13.

In a _____series circuit____the lights will become dimmer when

someone adds another light to an electrical circuit.

14.

In a ______series circuit_____________if one bulb burns out it will

cause all of the lights to fail in a circuit.

15.

Which of the following materials are needed to build an electromagnet?

Circle the needed materials: insulated wire, compass, iron bar, batteries and
holder, light bulbs, magnet

16.

What will happen if a compass if it is close to an electromagnet? when

you close the switch the compass needle will turn

Inquiry Skills:
17.

In a parallel circuit with three light bulbs, what would happen to the

middle light bulb if one of the other light bulbs was removed? Why?

The middle light bulb would remain lit. Parallel

circuits provide more than one route for electric
currents to pass through.

18.

List the advantages of using a parallel circuit in

a home or school.

18.
If something blocks one path of the electrical
current, the current can still flow through
another path. Adding more bulbs to a parallel

circuit doesnt affect the brightness of other

bulbs in the circuit.

19.

In a series circuit what will happen if one piece

is removed?
The light bulb will not light.

20.

List the materials needed to make an electric

circuit.
A battery, electric wire, and a bulb are needed.

21.

Explain how the materials you listed above

work together to make a circuit work.

The battery provides the energy to move the
electric charge. The wire carries the electric
charge to the bulb, which lights up when the
current reaches it.

22.

Create an experiment testing whether or not

damp clothes can be electrically charged by rubbing

them against each other. Make sure you include a
test using dry clothes for comparison.

-Take damp clothes out of a washing machine and

rub them together to see if they would have a
charge. (They would not because charges cannot be
rubbed off unless they were completely dry).
-Take clothes out of the dryer. They would have
static electricity because the rubbing of the clothes
against each other in the dryer causes a buildup of
charges in one place.