1. ELED4312 Science Content Dr. Lee
What is electricity?
ELED4312
Science Content
Dr. Lee

2. TEKS Alignment
Science Process Skills: All of grades in elementary science
- From K to Grade 2 basic process skills are focused in TEKS
- From Grade 3 to Grade 5 integrated process skills are emphasized in TEKS as well as basic skills
Science concepts about Electricity
- Grade4, (5) and Grade5, (7) & (8) in TEKS

3. What is electricity? The flow of electrical power or charge
Mysterious force
Secondary energy source
Controllable and convenient form of energy used in the applications of heat, light, and power

4. Scientists who worked for electricity
Benjamin Franklin (1706)
- Conducting experiments to generate electricity
- Lighting is electricity
Thomas Edison (1847)
Inventing the light bulb and many other electric machines
Nikola Tesla (1856)
Induction motors, radio-frequency wave, transmission of electrical power, and AC Electric power

5. What are atoms?
Everything is made of atoms (every star, plants, animals, etc)
The building blocks of the universe
Very, very tiny particle
Atoms are made of even smaller particles such as nucleus (neutron & proton) and electron.
Mostly empty space

6. Atoms Look like the sun with the planets spinning around it
The center is called the nucleus that is made of protons (positive charge) and neutrons.
Electrons (negative charge) move around the nucleus in clouds.

7. Electricity is moving electrons!
Atom
= Nucleus :Protons (+ Charge)
Neutrons
+ Electrons (- Charge)
N Protons (+charge) + N Electrons (- charge)
= 0
Electrons can move out or in easily!
= +2 (positive)
= (negative)

8. Static Electricity
Lighting is electricity; It is electrons moving from one cloud to another or jumping to the ground
A bunch of electrons jumped to you from another object. This kind of electricity is called static electricity (no wire)

9. Electricity travels through wires.
Electricity moves through the wires very fast! In just one second, electricity can travel around the world seven times!

10. Conductor & Insulator
A conductor is an object that allows electrical charges to flow easily.
Simply stated, most metals are good electrical conductors.
A nonconductor is an object that doesn’t allow electrical charges to flow.
Examples: glasses, fabric, wood, rubber, plastic, pure water, etc.

11. Batteries produce electricity.
Produce electricity using two different metals in a chemical solution

12. Electricity travels in a circuit.
Electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits (from the word circle).
If a circuit is open, the electricity can’t flow.
Electricity does work! (lighting, making pictures and sound, moving, etc)

13. Types of Circuits
Series circuits have all their components wired so that current follows a single path through the circuit.
A parallel circuit is a closed circuit, in which the current divides into two or more paths before recombining to complete the circuit. They are wired in such a way so that if one part of the circuit is broken, the whole circuit is still closed!

14. We use electricity every day!
Electricity does a lot of work for us.
It lights our homes, warms and cools and helps us clean something….