Download Electricity Notes (Unit 8 Lesson 1)

Electricity Notes (Unit 8 Lesson 1)
Electricity is: A form of energy made of a negative charge (electrons) that can be used to make heat,
light or motion.
2 Types of Electricity:
1. Static Electricity
- an electric charge that builds up on the surface of an object
- it is discharged in one quick burst
- Examples: static shock, lightning, static cling
2. Current Electricity
- the flow of electrical charges carried through a wire or other conductor.
- it is a steady FLOW of electrons
- it can be controlled by changing the voltage or resistance of the current
- Voltage is the power behind the circuit & Resistance is the material it’s flowing through
- Examples: power lines, computers, appliances
Conductor
- any material that allows electric charges to move through it
- Examples: metals, your body, electric wires, water
Insulator
- materials that resist the flow of electrical charges
- Examples: wood, glass, rubber, plastic
Ways Electricity is transferred
Friction
- occurs when two objects are rubbed together, causing a transfer of electrons between the two
objects
- Examples: rubbing a balloon against your hair; getting shocked when you rub your socks
on a carpet when you’re walking across the rug
Contact
- when a charged object comes into contact with an uncharged object, the charged object will
transfer some of its charge to the area it touches
- Examples: touching a Van de Graaff generator
Induction
- way of rearranging the charges within an object without touching it
- Examples: lightning in a cloud