Conductors and Insulators

Leona Williams                 Cregier Vocational High School
                               2040 W. Adams St.
                               Chicago, Illinois 60612
                               312-997-3690

Objectives:

1. To provide an understanding of basic electrical terms.

2. To compare the electric current flow in conductors and insulators.

3. To teach the operations of a series circuit by designing a quiz board.

Materials:

(For each group of four)

wood                           12 volt automotive bulbs
rubber                         sockets
glass                          electrical wire
paper clips                    piezo buzzers
1.5 volt dry cell              battery holders
cardboard                      nails
aluminum foil                  coins
plastic                        paper

Recommended Strategy:

(Teacher Preparation)
Prepare four series circuit units for testing materials.  Each unit will consist 
of a light or buzzer connected to a battery and placed on a wooden board for 
support. 

All materials will be separated into five stations on laboratory desks.  
Students will be divided into groups. 

Activity 1

Students will test 10 different objects to determine if they are conductors or 
insulators.  All data should be recorded. 

Activity 2

Construction of quiz board.

Remove the insulation from 4 pieces of electrical wire for about 1 inch on both 
ends.  Wrap several turns of one end around a paper clip.  Wrap the other end 
around a second paper clip.  Repeat process until you have four wires with paper 
clips at each end.  Place a 1.5 volt battery into holder.  Connect piezo buzzer 
to the battery.  Prepare questions and answers for quiz board.  The correct 
pairs have to correspond to your wiring.  Arrange the wiring on the quiz board 
to conform to it.  Whenever a question is answered correctly, by placing the 
wire from the buzzer to paper clip next to the question and a second wire from 
buzzer to the paper clip next to the answer, the circuit will be completed and 
the buzzer will sound.  Students will return to seats.  A question and answer 
period will follow. 
                              
Results:

After we connect a wire between the terminals of an electric cell, we find that 
there is an electric current in the wire.  A wire that will carry or conduct an 
electric current is called a conductor.  In order to have a current, there must 
be a complete circuit of conductors, a path that the electrons can follow back 
to their starting point.  Insulators are materials that cannot easily conduct an 
electric current.