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Unit 10: Electricity Page 19

Activities, Experiments, Projects

Lesson 1: Circuits and Components

Note: This section is an abbreviated overview of the experiments online.

move electrons around and have
Experiment: Static
them stick, not flow, so we call this
Electricity
'static electricity'.

The smallest thing around is the
These next experiments rely
atom, which has three main parts -
heavily on the idea that like
the core (nucleus) houses the
charges repel and opposites
protons and neutrons, and the
attract. Your kids need to
electron zips in a ring around the
remember that these activities are
core, much like the chunks of rocks
all influenced by electrons, which
and ice zip around the planet
are very small, easy to move
Saturn.
around, and are invisible to the
eye.
The proton has a positive charge,
and the electron has a negative Blow up a balloon. If you rub a
charge. In the hydrogen atom,
balloon on your head, the balloon
which has one proton and one
steals the electrons from your
electron, the charges are balanced.
head, and now has a negative
If you steal the electron, you now
charge. Your head now has a
have an unbalanced, positively
positive charge because your head
charge atom and stuff really starts
was electrically balanced (same
to happen. The flow of electrons is
number of positive and
called electricity. We're going to
negative charges) until the balloon Expt. 1: Static Hairdo Charge a
stole your negative electrons, balloon by rubbing it on your head
leaving you with an unbalanced for 30 seconds. Pull the balloon up
positive charge. Let' play with a about six inches to check your
more static electricity experiments, progress - if the hair isn't sticking
including how to make water to the balloon, try again on

wiggle by just using a charged someone with clean, dry hair
balloon! (without any hair styling goop).
When you put the balloon close to

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