Electricity2

Shaw STEM Lab 2014

Questions/Research

1. Define Electricity.

2. 4.What do AC and DC stand for? Why are they named these?

3. Define Fossil Fuels & Renewable Energy.

4. Cite two (2) examples of each.

5. Describe why Renewable Energy is a better resource or option than Fossil Fuel.

6. Watch the YouTube video on the website and describe how Solar Power works.

What is electricity?

What You Should Know…Electricity is simply the flow of electrical power or charge. There are different forms of electricity. You’ve almost certainly experienced static electricity after walking on a carpet and touching a door knob. That shock you felt was a flow of charged particles from your finger to the door knob. Lightning is an extreme form of static electricity caused by the build up of charged particles in rapidly moving air currents.

As you probably know, atoms have positively charged particles called protons and negatively charged particles called electrons. Both carry an electrical charge. It’s relatively easy to dislodge electrons from the outer orbit of an atom in certain substances like copper wire. Such substances are called conductors. When that happens, the atom’s charge is out of balance and it attracts another electron. This flow of electrons is the electricity we use to power our homes and appliances.

What You Should Know…Electrical energy flows in wires like water in pipes…

Similar to a stream of water though a hose, electricity is a stream of electrons flowing in a conductive wire. It flows when electrical pressure is applied to the wire. We call that electrical pressure voltage.

The resistance in this heater consumes electrical energy as it converts the

electricity to heat and light.

Nozzle(Resistance)

Smaller Pipe(Resistance)

Flow Control Valve

Gravity Pressure

(force)

The flow of electrons starts with a generator and travels

through wires to the point where it is consumed

Flow Volume in Gallons per Minute

Evolution of AC and DC electrical currents…

What You Should Know…

There are two types of electrical currents – AC (Alternating Current) and DC (Direct Current).

Thomas Edison was a supporter of DC current, so he built DC power stations in many major cities in the late 1800’s. But DC power had one major limitation – power plants could only send DC electricity about one mile before the electricity began to lose power.

In 1896, George Westinghouse introduced a high-voltage alternating current (AC) transmission line from his Niagara Falls hydroelectric plant to Buffalo New York, 20 miles away. This project established the common practice of locating electric generating plants long distances from the end consumer.

Study the two animations on this page carefully to see the difference in the direction the current is flowing in the top DC circuit and the bottom AC circuit.

Source: PBS Online – AC/DC: What's the Difference?

DC Circuit

AC Circuit

DC current flows in one continuous direction.

AC current alternates

its direction 60 times

every second.

All your experimental circuits will

use DC current.

Safety first…Be sure you read these safety points!Fortunately, none of the electronic components in your Snap Circuits kit carry enough power to be dangerous. But that might not always be the case with electrical circuits you might encounter elsewhere.

So when you are working with electricity, it’s always a good idea to develop safe work habits.

Caution!

NEVER touch loose wires unless you are SURE they are disconnected from a power source.

ALWAYS make sure that power is switched OFF when making changes to an electrical circuit.

If in doubt, ask for HELP from a knowledgeable responsible person. Better safe than sorry!

Some things you will work with in the SmartLab are STRONG and TOUGH. But electronic equipment is fragile and delicate by nature, because the wires are very small and easy to break.

So how should you treat them?

Electronic components are fragile, handle them with care!

Proper care of delicate electronic equipment…

Caution!

About the Snap Circuits Green Kit

When you check out the Snap Circuits Green Kit, you are responsible for returning it with all the pieces and back in the same place as you found it.

It is important that you build theProjects exactly as they are shownin the examples. If you don’t, you could ruin the

kit or injure yourself.

Warning!

Project #1

We need to make sure the battery is charged. Set up the Snap Circuits according to the next slide.

Make sure you ready the yellow and white boxes on the Project page.

Project #1

Project #3

Let’s double check the battery. Let’s try using Solar Power instead.

Set up Project #3, Circuit #1 according to the next slide. If the weather is nice, ask to go outside. While outside carefully rotate the solar panel.

Which way does the solar panel work best? Describe why this is.

Project #3

Project #13

Assemble Project #13

If the weather is nice ask to go outside.

While outside answer these questions Did the LED light up? Describe how the light from the sun is changed

from sun light into energy to turn on the light.

Project #13

Project #2Part A

Assemble Project #2 Make sure you assemble exactly like the diagram! Be sure to read the text in the white textbox before

assembling the project.

Rotate the hand crank clockwise and describe what happens.

Rotate the hand crank in counter clockwise and describe what happens.

Cite why the light does or does not turn on when you rotate the hand crank clockwise.

Project #2Part A

Project #2Part B

Assemble Project #2 Make sure you assemble exactly like the diagram except

rotate the horn and LED pieces 180 degrees (opposite of the diagram)

Rotate the hand crank clockwise and describe what happens.

Rotate the hand crank in counter clockwise and describe what happens.

Cite why the light does or does not turn on when you rotate the hand crank clockwise.

Project #2Part B

Keep it going!

If you’ve finished all of the projects listed in this PowerPoint, check out the rest of the Snap Circuits Green pieces and the workbook.