Fremont Magnet Elementary

• You can make a generator (electricity) by moving a magnet back and forth through copper coiled wire.

• Electromagnets can be turned off and on.

   

  Which is not a way to make an electromagnet stronger

    add more coils of wire
    put a iron core in the middle
    add water

  Which of these is true?

    An electromagnet is a permanent magnet
    An electromagnet is a temporary magnet
    An electromagnet is always the same strength

2. What is static electricity?

Have you ever rubbed a balloon against your hair and watched your hair grab onto the balloon as you pull it away? Is it magic?  Is it magnetic? No, it's static electricity.  It's a little like a magnet because, like a magnet, there are positive and negative electrical charges that are pulling it.

Let's watch a BrainPop movie to help us understand how static electricity works

So what is static electricity?
A type of energy that is made when something has too many electrons or protons.

3. Where do the positive and negative charges come from? 

You know that everything is made of atoms.  Atoms have tiny particles called protons and electrons that move around them. 
Click here to see an animation. 

Protons have a positive charge.

Electrons have a negative charge. 

Atoms usually have an equal amount of protons and electrons, so there is a balance, but the interesting thing about  electrons is that they can move from one thing to another. 

4. How do electrons move?

When you rub the balloon against your hair you are rubbing electrons from your hair onto the balloon. Since the atoms in your hair have lost electrons, your hair has more protons than electrons, so your hair will have a positive charge.  The balloon now has more electrons than protons, so it has a negative charge.

Remember that unlikes ( positive and negative) attract. So the balloon atoms and the hair atoms attract or pull toward each other.

5.  Challenge Question

What do you think would happen if you had two balloons that both have a negative charge?  Think about a magnet. 

What happens if you put two negative ends toward each other.

  The balloons would do nothing
  The balloons would attract
  The balloons would repel

6. Remember

More electrons means a negative charge.

More protons means a positive charge.

A positive and a negative attract

A positive and a positive or a negative and a negative repel.

7.  Can you answer this question?

If you want to shock something with static electricity, you rub your feet across the carpet.  Why does rubbing your feet on the carpet cause you to shock something? 

Click here to see an animation to help explain

Let's watch a more advanced BrainPop movie to review what we've learned