Registro: 1

Electricity. By: Currie, Stephen. Electricity (ELL). 2009, p1-2. 2p. 2 Color
Photographs, 3 Diagrams. Abstract: Electricity is a source of power.
Many machines work because of electricity. There are two kinds of
electricity. One kind is static electricity. The other kind is electrical
current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Reading Level (Lexile): 700.
(AN: 33467664)
Electricity
Electricity is a source of power. Many machines work because of electricity. There are two kinds of electricity.
One kind is static electricity. The other kind is electrical current.

Electrons
Everything in the world is made of tiny parts called atoms. Atoms are made up of even smaller parts. The
smallest parts of atoms are called electrons, neutrons, and protons. Two of the parts of an atom-electrons
and protons-have a charge, or power.

: [Caption] This is a model of an atom. The yellow lines show electron move around the nucleus of the atom.

Protons have a positive (plus or +) charge. Electrons have a negative (minus or -) charge. (Neutrons have
no charge.)

Most of the time, atoms have the same number of protons as electrons. These atoms are balanced. If a
balanced atom has four protons, it will also have four electrons. Sometimes atoms do not have the same
number of protons and electrons. These atoms are charged atoms. Atoms with more protons than electrons
have a positive charge. Atoms with more electrons have a negative charge.

Sometimes, electrons jump from one atom to another. When electrons move from one atom to another, they
make or produce energy (power). This kind of energy is called electrical energy, or electricity.
Static Electricity
There are two kinds of electricity. One kind is called static electricity. Static electricity is electricity that does
not move. It stays in one place.

However, static electricity seems to jump from one thing to another. That is because millions of electrons
move between things at the same time. One example of this is lightning. Lightning is a kind of static electricity.
Lightning happens when electrons move between the ground and storm clouds in the sky.

Static electricity is in people's homes, too. If a person walks across a rug on a dry day, the number of electrons
in the person's body can change. When that person touches a light switch, a cat's fur, or a piece of metal, lots
of electrons might move between that object (thing) and the person's body. This causes a sudden sting in the
person's hand. That is called an electric shock. Electric shock is an example of static electricity.

Electrical Currents
The other kind of electricity is called an electrical current. In an electrical current, electricity moves from one
place to another. Electrical current is a lot like a river. The energy moves or flows from one place to another,
just like water in a river. People use this kind of electricity every day.

: [caption] Wires or cables are used to delivery electricity.

Electrical current can move through many different kinds of objects. If electricity (the current) moves easily
through a certain material, the material is a good conductor of electricity. Wood is not a very good conductor
of electricity. However, salt water isa good conductor.

Metal is an excellent conductor of electricity. That is why people usually use metal wire to send electric
currents. Most towns and cities have electric wires. The wires may hang overhead, or they may be under the
ground. These wires carry electricity. There are electric wires inside homes and schools, too.

In most homes and buildings, the source (starting place) of electrical power is electrical outlets in the walls.
This is a place in the wall where people can plug in things like stoves, televisions (TVs), lamps, and computers.
When people plug in a stove, they are connecting a wire from the stove to a wire inside the wall through an
electrical outlet. The wires carry electricity to power the stove.

Power Plants
People use a lot of electricity, so they need to make a lot of it. Electricity is made at special factories called
power plants. Power plants take materials, such as oil, coal, or gas, and burn them to make electricity. Then
the electricity flows out through power lines. The power lines deliver or bring the electricity to homes and other
buildings, so that people can use the electricity.

: [caption] This illustration shows how electricity is created in power plants and delivered to homes.

Some electricity is made from other kinds of power, too. For example, the water in rivers can make electricity.
People build dams to stop rivers. As water pours over the dam, it makes electrical power. Windmills and wind
turbines can also make electricity. Parts of windmills and wind turbines move when the wind blows on them,
and this makes electrical power.

[Caption] These wind turbines take energy from the wind and turn it into electricity.

86008913 - Copyright Getty Images

Batteries
People can also get electricity from batteries. Batteries turn chemicals into electrical currents. The battery
holds the energy.
Batteries all work the same way. A person connects the battery to something that uses electricity, such as
a radio. The person turns the radio on. Then the electricity moves from the battery into the radio. This lets
the radio start to work.

[caption] Batteries contain chemicals that are turned into electrical current.

sb10065391m-001 Copyright Getty Images

Bibliography
Reference Book

Baldasso, Renzo. "Electricity." Encyclopedia of the Scientific Revolution, 2000. Online. EBSCO. 26
September 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com.bdigital.sena.edu.co/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=sch&AN=20062902&site=ehost-live.

Websites

Energy Kid's Page. Department of Energy. 27 September 2008.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/science/formsofenergy.html.

Energy Story: What Is Electricity? California Energy Commission. 27 September 2008.

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter02.html.

Energy Story: Static Electricity and Resistance. California Energy Commission. 27 September 2008.
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter03.html.

Comprehension Test

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. What charge do electrons have?

A. Positive (plus of +)
B. Negative (minus or -)
 C. They do not have a charge.
D. They have a positive and negative charge.

2. Electrical energy, or electricity, can occur when

A. protons jump from one atom to another.

B. electrons jump from one atom to another.
C. neutrons jump from one atom to another.
D. both protons and electrons jump from one atom to another
at the same time.

3. Something that can be used to make electricity is

A. a power plant.
B. a windmill and wind turbine.
C. a dam.
D. all of the above
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

4. If an atom has the same number of protons as it does electrons,

the atom is .

5. is electricity that stays

in one place and does not move.

6. Metal and salt water are examples of good

, meaning electricity moves
easily through them.
~~~~~~~~
By Stephen Currie

Stephen Currie has extensive experience in writing for middle and high school readers. He has published
books on topics ranging from invasive species to child labor and from the Mississippi River to the construction
of Steinway pianos. He has also written curriculum materials for secondary-level subjects including math,
history, science, and personal finance. He has taught classes and given workshops for students of all ages
from kindergarten through college.

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