In this lesson, students build and test static charge detectors (electroscopes) to observe how materials with high and low static charge exert different levels of electric charge.
Prepared hands-on materials, full year grade-specific curriculum, and personalized live professional development designed to support mastery of current state science standards.
What is Lightning?
Scientists know some facts about lightning. Lightning flashes happen because of atoms. Atoms are the tiny parts that make up all matter. The air is made up of atoms. Water is made up of atoms. Grass and trees are made up of atoms.
Every atom has smaller parts. It has protons. Protons have a positive charge (+). They stay in the nucleus. The nucleus is in the center of the atom.
Every atom also has electrons (-). Electrons have a negative charge. Electrons orbit the nucleus.
Opposites Attract
The positive charge of the protons attract negatively charged electrons. To attract means to pull together. Opposite charges attract each other. This is a pulling force.
Like charges repel. To repel means to push apart. Two negative charges push away from each other. Two positive charges also push away from each other. This is a pushing force.
Sometimes the negative electrons separate from the positive protons of an object. This causes objects to have either a positive electric charge or a negative electric charge. The buildup of electric charge on an object is static charge.
Static Electricity
Static charge can happen when two materials rub against each other. In some materials, electrons move from one material to the other. The material with more electrons now has a negative charge. The material with fewer electrons now has a positive charge.
When a child goes down a plastic slide, the child rubs against the slide as they go down it. Electrons move from the child to the slide. A static charge builds up. The slide has more electrons. This gives it a negative charge. The child now has fewer electrons. She has a positive charge. Each of the child’s hairs has the same positive charge.
These positive charges repel each other. Each piece of hair pushes away from every other piece of hair. The hairs try to get as far from each other as possible. This makes the child’s hair stick straight up.
Something similar happens when you take off a hat. Electrons move from your hair to the hat. Your hair is positively charged. This is why it sticks up.
Surfaces that build up static charge are usually insulators. Electrical insulators don’t allow electrons to pass through easily. This is how the electrons can build up in the object. Glass, rubber, plastic, and ceramic are good insulators.
Electrical conductors are materials that electrons can easily pass through. Metals are common conductors. Silver, copper, bronze, and aluminum are all metals. They are good electrical conductors.
KnowAtom incorporates formative and summative assessments designed to make students thinking visible for deeper student-centered learning.
Discover hands-on screens-off core science curriculum for student centered K-8 classrooms. KnowAtom supports classrooms with all hands-on materials, curriculum, and professional development to support mastery of the standards.
