Conductors

The Big Idea:

Some metals are good conductors of
electricity, and most other materials are
poor conductors.

Are all conductors the same?

You know that lots of materials are good

conductors, now we will find out if some
materials are better than others

Lets compare between Copper and

Graphite
 Material How bright is the bulb
Copper
Graphite
Paper

In this experiment we used the brightness

of the light bulb to measure the amount
of current flowing the circuit.
Scientists use a piece of equipment called
an Ammeter
The stronger the current is the higher the
number on the ammeter
Look at the information in the table below

Why do you think gold is not used in wires

often?

Why is copper used in wires more than

the other metals?

What material is the casing of the plug

made of?
Overhead cables:

Overhead cables sometimes have to

stretch across very large distances. They
connect homes and other buildings to the
main supply of electricity. Aluminum is
the best metal for overhead cables. This is
because it is cheaper than other metals. It
is also strong when it is made into wires.
The aluminium cables carry more
than'765 000 volts of electricity. The
batteries you used in your investigations
carry about 1.5 volts