1. Jeff Davis Elementary School Fifth Grade Teachers

2. GPS Standards S5P3.A- Investigate static electricity.
S5P3.B- Determine the necessary components for completing an electric circuit.
S5P3.C- Investigate common materials to determine if they are insulators or conductors of electricity.
S5P3.D- Compare a bar magnet to an electromagnet.

3. CRCT Descriptors Describe static electricity.
Determine the necessary components for completing an electric circuit.
Classify common materials as insulators or conductors of electricity.
Compare a bar magnet to an electromagnet.

4. Unit Essential Questions
What is static electricity?
What is electric current?
What is a magnet?
How do electromagnets work?
BrainPop! Ben Franklin

5. Animated Hero: Ben Franklin…The Inventor
Unit Activator

6. Lesson 1: What is Static Electricity?
EQ: What is static electricity?
Vocabulary: static electricity, electric charges, protons, electrons, attract (attraction), and repel (repulsion)

7. static electricity
Static electricity is a buildup of electric charge on an object. It can “jump” from one object to another.

8. electric charges
Electric charges are tiny particles that carry units of electricity. There are two kinds of electric charges, positive(+) and negative(-).

9. protons Protons are positively charged particles located
inside the nucleus
of an atom.

10. electrons Electrons are negatively charged particles
circulating outside of
the nucleus.

11. attract (attraction) Unlike charges attract one
another, meaning they pull
toward one another.

12. repel (repulsion)
Like charges repel one another, meaning they push each other away.

13. Optional Read interactive textbook pp. 140-143. Optional: textbook
Preview: BrainPop! Electricity
Read interactive textbook pp
Optional: textbook pp
Optional

14. What is Static Electricity?
Static electricity is a buildup of electric
charge on an object. Unlike electricity used
in your home, static electricity doesn’t flow.
If the charge is strong enough, static
electricity can “jump” from one object to another.
Static electricity is what causes dust to collect on
your television screen at home!
BrainPop! Static Electricity

15. Where Does Static Electricity Come From?
Everything is made of matter. All the equipment and supplies located in your classroom are made of matter (even you). Matter is made up of tiny particles. These tiny particles contain different kinds of electric charge…positive (+) and negative(-), and neutral (no charge).

16. Electric Force
Electric Force is the push or pull between charged objects. Objects that have like charges repel, or push against each other. Objects that have unlike charges attract, or pull on each other.

17. Electric Force
Electric forces and magnetic forces are very similar... opposite poles/forces attract each other. Objects do not have to actually touch to exert either an electric force or a magnetic force on each other.
Provide students with sets of horse-shoe magnets to experience the magnetic force of attraction and repulsion The students should feel the pull just before they touch!

18. Charging an Object When two objects rub against each other,
some electrons may move from one to the
other. The object that gains electrons will
then have a negative charge.
The other object will have a
positive charge.
So…

19. Charging an Object If you rub a balloon on your hair, electrons move
from your hair to the balloon. The balloon will
have a negative charge (-). Your hair would have
a positive charge (+), because electrons have
been taken away.
If you bring the balloon near a
wall, it will stick to the wall
because the wall will have an
opposite charge (+).

20. Have you seen one of these? Plasma Balls
Touch The Power Of Static Electricity And Create A
Living Work Of Ever-Changing Art
The Plasma Globe, or Inert Gas Discharge Tube, as Nikola Tesla (it's inventor) first called it, is perhaps one of the most beautiful manifestations of plasma (4th State of Matter). Also known as "Plasma Spheres", "Lightning Globes", "Thunder Domes", and others, these glass spheres with dancing streams of plasma inside them have been looked at, and admired, by people all over the world, in sci-fi movies, science museums, and even some shops.
A plasma ball is a glass globe filled with low pressure gases such as neon, argon or xenon. An electrode is placed in the center of the globe and connected to the power supply which gives a high-voltage, high frequency, alternating current.

21. Have Fun! Balloon Experiment
Experiment with static electricity. using balloons.
Tear little pieces of paper…rub the balloon on your head, then hold it near the bits of paper. What happens?
Have Fun!

22. Summarizer In your journal, answer the following question.
Be prepared to share your answer!
A charged balloon attracts small
bits of paper. Why does this
happen? How is it like a
magnet attracting paper clips?
Think…Pair…Share!

23. Lesson 2: Electric Current

24. Lesson 2: Electric Current
EQ: What is electric current?
Vocabulary: conductor, electric cell, electric circuit, electric current (electricity), insulators, simple circuit, parallel circuit, series circuit

25. conductor
A conductor is any material that allows negative charges to move through it. Metals make the best conductors.
People are good conductors of electricity, especially if they are in contact with water on a damp floor or ground. Never use an electric appliance in a tub, shower or pool. Never touch an electric cord or appliance while your hands are wet.

26. electric cell
An electric cell is a device that changes chemical energy into electrical energy. Electric cells are found in car batteries.

27. electric current (electricity)
An electric current is the flow; or movement, of negative charges through a material.
Movement of electrons along the electric pathway!

28. electric circuit
The pathway that electric current follows is called an electric circuit.
pathway

29. insulators
Materials that electric charges do not flow through easily are called insulators.

30. parallel circuit
The parts of a parallel circuit are connected so that electric current passes along more than one pathway.

31. series circuit
The parts of an electric circuit are connected so that electric current passes through each part, one after another, along a single pathway.

32. Optional Read interactive textbook pp. 144-149. Optional: textbook

33. What is Electric Current?
For electricity to be useful, it must be moving continuously. So static electricity is not very useful. Negative charges can move freely from place to place in a solid. An electric current is the flow; or movement, of negative charges through a material. The energy provided by the moving charges is called electrical energy, or simply electricity.
Electricity can be used to do work. However, the energy of the moving charges that make up electricity must be controlled. You must be able to make electricity move and stop moving when you want. And you must be able to control where it goes.
When you plug something into an outlet, you tap into an electric current. The electricity flows through the plug and into the object you plugged in
BrainPop! Current Electricity

34. What is Electric Current?
Once electricity reaches the place where it is to be used, it is changed into some other kind of energy, such as light in a lamp, heat in a toaster, or motion in a fan.
Think about how energy is used and controlled in the school. Cords are plugged into outlets. Switches are flipped, and electric charges move or stop moving through wires. Dials and knobs are turned to change the amount of charge that moves through the wires. This is controlled energy.
Electricity being used in the home.

35. Where does electricity come from?

36. Conductors
Wires are the pathways through which negative charges flow. Wires are made of materials that carry these charges. A conductor is any material that allows negative charges to move through it. Metals make the best conductors. Copper is the most common metal used for that purpose. The wires used in your school and in your home are probably made of copper.
You may be familiar with the expression “live wire.” The word live is used to describe any conductor in which charges are moving. Moving charges can be dangerous Your body is a good conductor. If you were to touch a live wire, the charges in the wire would move through your body and you would receive an electric shock. If the wire is carrying enough current, the shock can cause serious injury, or even death.

37. Insulators
Negative charges do not flow freely through some materials. These materials are called insulators. Some good insulators are rubber, wood, glass, and certain plastics. To make electricity safe to use, conductors and appliances are covered with an insulator. This covering is called insulation. The negative charges can continue to move freely through the conductor, but the insulation will protect a person from the live wire.
As long as negative charges have a complete path to follow, they will continue to move through a conductor. But where do all these negative charges come from? Somewhere, there is a device that provides a steady supply of negative charges. It may be a huge generator at an electric power plant, or it may be the chemicals in a tiny cell that runs a wristwatch or calculator.
The metal cables and metal clips of the jumper cables are conductors. You are protected by rubber insulation.

38. Other Resources to Explore
Quia - Electricity: Conductors and Insulators Matching Game
Fun with Insulators and Conductors

39. The Flow of Electricity
In order for electricity to flow, a closed circuit is required. The following image shows a closed circuit with flowing electrons.

40. Types of Circuits BrainPop! Electric Circuits Make a Foldable!
Simple Circuit
Parallel Circuit
Make a Foldable!
BrainPop! Electric Circuits
Series Circuit

41. Simple Circuit
The simplest electric circuit needs an energy source and a material that electrons can easily flow through. All components need to be connected to complete the circuit.

42. Series Circuit
In a series circuit, the electric current flows in a single path… first through one bulb (or battery), then through the next. The more bulbs that are connected in series, the more dimly all will glow. If one bulb burns out or is removed, all the bulbs in the series go out (because the path would be broken).

43. Parallel Circuit
In a parallel circuit, the different parts of the circuit are connected in separate branches. The electric current travels to each branch.
A parallel circuit is more difficult to put together than a series circuit, but it has an advantage.
What is the advantage?
If one path (branch) is broken, the current will continue to move along another path! If there are multiple bulbs connected in a parallel circuit and one bulb burns out…the other bulbs will stay lit because they will continue to receive the electric current passing through the wires.

44. Components of a Complete Circuit
Battery or Energy Source
Object that uses the energy
The Switch
Conductor…usually wire
Please note that a circuit can still be complete without a switch. The switch is for convenience of turning the circuit on or off.

45. The Battery or Energy Source
A battery is an energy source often used in a circuit. It
provides the “push” to keep electrons moving in
a circuit. A simple battery has two parts. One part tends
to give up some of its electrons. The other part tends
to take in electrons. If you connect the ends of a wire
to the top and bottom of a battery, electrons will flow
through the circuit. A terminal is a place on a battery
where electrons go in or out. Often, the positive
terminal, where the electrons go in, is on top. The
negative terminal is on the bottom. Some batteries
have both terminals on top.
BrainPop! Batteries

46. The Conductor…Usually Wire
The wire used in a circuit is often made of copper. Copper is a metal. The electrons can easily move from atom to atom in a metal. The wire should have a plastic or rubber coating on it. The electrons cannot easily go through the coating. It lets you safely touch the wire.

47. The Switch A switch is a device that can open or close a circuit.
The bulb in this picture is not lit
because the switch is flipped up.
An open circuit is an electrical
path that is not complete.
Electrons will not flow when the
circuit is open.
The bulb in this picture is lit because the switch is down. The circuit is closed and the circuit is complete. A closed circuit allows electrons to flow.

48. The Bulb or Object to Receive the Energy
Most circuits have more in them than just a wire
and battery. For example, imagine a circuit that
has a bulb. A bulb has a thin wire called a filament
inside. This wire is so thin that electrons can
hardly pass through. When they do, the wire
becomes hot. It begins to glow. This glow is the
light you see from a bulb.

49. Adding To and Taking Away with Simple Circuits
You can add more bulbs to a simple circuit. Current
will flow first through one bulb and then through the other.
Devices such as bulbs or buzzers resist the flow of electrons.
Adding an extra bulb to a circuit resists the flow even more. As
a result, two bulbs in a circuit glow less brightly than one bulb
alone does. A switch does not resist the flow of electrons.
Taking a switch out, or adding another switch, will not affect
the brightness of the bulb.
What do you think would happen if you remove the battery or if
you remove one of the bulbs?

50. Junior Electrician: Current Electricity (15 min
Junior Electrician: Current Electricity (15 min.) United Streaming Video Presentation
Problems? Look in the folder for the video.

51. Let’s Try to Build a Simple Circuit
Use handout provided in class to build your
simple circuit. Be sure to answer the
questions about simple circuits in complete
sentences!

52. Summarizer In your journal… Reflect on the experience of building a
simple circuit. What procedures did you
follow? Were you able to build a “working”
simple circuit? Did you have any problems?
Explain and draw a picture to demonstrate how a simple circuit works!

53. In your journal…Sort the following items as
conductors or insulators of electricity.
Discuss with a partner. Can you think of others?

54. Lesson 3: Magnets “Bar Magnets and Electromagnets”

55. Lesson 4: Bar Magnets Vs. Electromagnets
EQ: What is a magnet?
Vocabulary:
magnet, magnetic field, electromagnet, generator, and motor

56. magnet
A magnet is an object that attracts iron and certain other metals.

57. magnetic poles
The force of a magnet is greatest at two areas called the magnetic poles.

58. Magnetic field
The area around a magnet where it can push and pull on other magnets is called the magnetic field. A magnetic field is all around a magnet, but it is strongest at the poles.

59. electromagnet
An electromagnet is a strong temporary magnet that uses electricity to produce magnetism.

60. generator
A generator is a device that uses magnetism to convert energy of motion into electrical energy.

61. motor
An electric motor is a device that changes electrical energy into energy of motion.
Inside of a motor

62. Optional Read interactive textbook pp. 150-159 Optional: textbook

63. Just What are Magnets?
A magnet is an object that can push or pull on iron and a few other kinds of metal without touching the metal.
Each end of a magnet is called a pole. The poles of a magnet are usually labeled N for north and S for south Some magnets have a bar shape. Magnets with a U shape are called horseshoe magnets.
If the north poles of two magnets are close, the magnets repel, or push apart. The magnets also repel if the south poles are close. If a north pole and a south pole are positioned toward each other, the magnets attract, or pull together.

64. Magnetic Field
A magnetic field is the area around a magnet where it can push and pull on other magnets. A magnetic field is all around a magnet, but it is strongest at the poles. The push or pull from a magnet is strongest close to the magnet. The strength of the field is weaker farther from the magnet.
BrainPop! Magnetism

65. Did you know?
No matter how many times a bar magnet is cut in half, there is always a north and south pole, even in the smallest piece.

66. Electromagnets BrainPop! Electromagnets
Magnets and electricity are related. An electric current produces a magnetic field. When a current flows through a wire, a magnetic field surrounds the wire. If you form the wire into loops, the magnetic field is like that of a bar magnet.
Just like a magnet, the wire loops with a current have a north pole and south pole. The magnetic field is strongest at the poles. You can increase the strength of the magnetic field if you add more loops. You can also increase the field if you increase the current in the wire.
BrainPop! Electromagnets

67. Making an Electromagnet
An electromagnet is a magnet made by winding a wire with a current around an iron bar. When the iron bar is placed in the looped wire, the iron itself has a magnetic field. This makes the field of the looped wire stronger.
You can make an electromagnet if you loop wire around an iron nail and attach the ends of the wire to a battery. The current in the wire will cause the iron and wire to be a magnet. You can then use the electromagnet just as you would use a bar magnet. It will attract paper clips and other iron objects.

68. Did you know you already use electromagnets ?
Electromagnets are found in may devices. Doorbells, computers, audio speakers, and telephones have electromagnets in them. A crane uses an electromagnet to pick up heavy loads of iron or steel. A wire coil in an electric motor spins because it is an electromagnet.

69. Comparing a Bar Magnet and an Electromagnet
Think about what you have learned about basic bar magnets and electromagnets.
How are these magnets similar?

70. Comparing a Bar Magnet and an Electromagnet
1. Both types of magnets have a north and south pole.
2. The field around them is strongest at these poles.
3. They both attract iron filings and other magnetic objects.
Advantages of Electromagnets Over Bar Magnets
They can be turned on and off by turning the current on and off.
They can be made stronger or weaker by either changing the strength of the battery or by changing the number of wire loops.
The direction of the field can be changed (switching the poles) by switching the ends attached to the battery.

71. Magnets (17 min.) United Streaming Video Presentation
Problems? Look in the folder for the video.

72. Let’s Try to Build an Electromagnet
Use the handout provided in class to build an electromagnet!

73. Summarizer In your journal… Draw a picture of a bar magnet and an
electromagnet.
Describe the similarities
between the two
magnets.