Gravity, magnetism, and electricity

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Draw a sketch of howYOU think electricityis made and how itgets to your house.Label as many thingsas you can. Write ashort paragraphexplaining thesketch.

All solids, liquids,and gases aremade of tinyparticles calledatoms.

Atoms are made ofeven smallerparticles calledprotons, neutrons,and electrons.

Protons andneutrons are heldtogether tightly inthe nucleus at thecenter of an atom,but electronsswarm around thenucleus in alldirections.

Protons andelectrons haveelectric charge,but neutrons haveno electric charge.

Two types of electriccharge—positive andnegative.

Protons --- positivecharge

Electrons --- negativecharge.

Amount of negativecharge on an electron= Amount of positivecharge on a proton.

Atom becomesnegatively chargedwhen it gains extraelectrons.

If an atom loseselectrons it becomespositively charged.

These atoms arereferred IONS

- Electric Charge and Static Electricity

Charges that are the same repel each other.Charges that are different attract each other.

All chargedobjects exert anelectric force oneach other

The electric forcebetween twocharges can beattractive orrepulsive.

Electric force between two charged objectsdepends on the distance between them andthe amount of charge (THINK OF AS“MASS”) on each object.

•Electric force between two electric chargesgets stronger as the charges get closertogether.

•Electric force between two charged objectsincreases if the amount of charge on at leastone of the objects increases.

Charged objects don’t have to be touchingto exert an electric force on each other.

Electric charges exert a force on each otherat a distance through an electric field thatexists around every electric charge.

Gets stronger as you get closer to a charge,just as the electric force between twocharges becomes greater as the charges getcloser together.

- Electric Charge and Static Electricity

An electric field is a region around a chargedobject where the object’s electric force isexerted on other charged objects.

- Electric Current

Electric current is the continuous flow ofelectric charges through a material.

Electrons can be made to move from oneatom to another.

When those electrons move between theatoms, a current of electricity is created.

Electric current- the flow of electric charge.

Take a piece of wire.

The electrons are passed from atom to atom,creating an electrical current from one endto the other.

Electrons are very, very small.

A single copper penny contains more than10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (1x1022)electrons.

Electricity "flows" or moves through somethings better than others do. Themeasurement of how well somethingconducts electricity is called its resistance.

As electrons flowthrough a circuit, theycollide with the atomsand other electriccharges in the materialsthat make up thecircuit.

These collisions causesome of the electrons’electrical energy to beconverted into heatenergy and sometimesinto light.

- Electric Current

Two factors that affect the resistance:

diameter of the wire (the gauge)

length of the wire

HERE’S A BRIEF EXPANATION OF WHAT IS OCCURRING:

Scientists andengineers havelearned many waysto move electronsoff of atoms.

Leaving the atomwith more protons

All atoms want tobe balanced, theatom that has been"unbalanced" willlook for a freeelectron to fill theplace of the missingone.

Unbalanced atomhas a "positivecharge" (+) becauseit has too manyprotons. ION

The free electron moves around waiting foran unbalanced atom to give it a home.

Free electron charge is negative, and has noproton to balance it out, so we say that ithas a "negative charge" (-).

The electrons are passed from atom to atom,creating an electrical current from one endto other

Energy cannot be createdor destroyed, but it can besaved in various forms.

One way to store it is inthe form of chemicalenergy in a battery.

When connected in acircuit, a battery canproduce electricity.

Inside the battery, areaction between thechemicals takes place. Butreaction takes place onlyif there is a flow ofelectrons.

INSULATOR--- Amaterial in whichelectrons cannotmove easily fromplace to place

Electrons arebound tightly inthe atoms

Examples ofinsulators areplastic, wood,glass, and rubber.

CONDUCTORS--materials thatcontain electronsthat can move moreeasily in thematerial.

When metal atomsform a solid, themetal atoms canmove only shortdistances.

However, theelectrons that areloosely bound to theatoms can moveeasily in the solidpiece of metal.

The electric wire ismade from aconductor coatedwith an insulatorsuch as plastic.

The best conductorsare metals such ascopper, gold, andaluminum.