What Is Electricity
Oldenburg, Albert Lindblom Tech High School
471-8700
Objectives:
To develop an understanding of the fundamentals of static electricity,
namely that of materials, conditions, and charge. To learn how to
detect a charge by the use of electroscopes. To learn how to determine
the force between charges.
Materials
Demonstration Van de Graaf generator, Jacobs ladder, thread, aluminum
foil, long plastic tubes (golf club protectors), cat or rabbits fur,
ebonite rods, glass rods, ring stands, silk pieces, scissors.
Strategy:
This lesson is usually scheduled as the first in a series at the
beginning of the second semester. In fact, the concepts given today are
usually spread over three to five class periods. The equipment is set
up before class time. Then some time is spent checking to see if it is
working properly. One must work very carefully with the Jacob's ladder
coil because its output can be deadly, therefore extreme caution must
be practiced. It has also been suggested that a clear plastic shield
should enclose the apparatus for safety purposes. The lesson starts
with the question, "What is electricity?". The student's response gives
one six or seven ideas which are written on the blackboard and then are
emphasized with the demonstrations. After these are completed the
students are divided into groups due to lack of equipment and are pre-
instructed how to rotate from station to station doing all three parts
of the lesson which consisted of detection of charge, making an
electroscope, and determining the amount of force produced by the
charge on an object. At least three trials are to be used on the force
part and or using different materials to familiarize the student with
the workings of Coulomb's Law. After the groups have been finished, the
class as a whole will discuss the concepts and develop a consensus for
their lab reports to be turned in a few days later.
Return to Physics Index