Electricty/EnergyVocabulary & Terms

Static Electricity•When you take off your wool hat, it rubs against your hair. •Electrons move from your hair to the hat. •A static charge builds up and now each of the hairs has the same positive charge. •Remember, things with the same charge repel each other. So the hairs try to get as far from each other as possible. The farthest they can get is by standing up and away from the others. And that is how static electricity causes a bad hair day! 

What is a conductor?

ConductorsAllows electric

energy/current to flow through it

Best conductors areSilverGoldCopper

Is Water a Conductor?

What is an insulator?

InsulatorsRestrict (stop or

limit) the flow of electricity through it

Some insulators are:PaperPlasticGlassCeramic

How a Wire Works…

A Battery is…A container full of chemicals that produce electrons. These electrons produce energy.

Where do you use batteries?

Light BulbTurns electricity into light through the filament inside the glass bulb.

What is the insulator? What is the conductor?

Types of CircuitsOpen Circuits Closed Circuits

Series and Parallel Circuits•In a series circuit, both bulbs are connected in a row, with electricity passing first through one then the other. •In the parallel circuit, electricity passes through both bulbs at the same time. •A major advantage of parallel circuits is that if one bulb malfunctions, the other bulbs continue to function. •In a series circuit, when one bulb breaks, both bulbs stop working.

Which is Which? Series Circuit Parallel Circuit