It's Electrifying
Participants gain a basic understanding of electricity by experimenting with electrical circuits, conductors, insulators and electromagnets.
This workshop introduces participants to electricity in a variety of hands-on activities and demonstrations. To begin, participants will experiment with a circuit using a wire, battery and small lightbulb. They will take part in 2 role plays demonstrating circuits and will learn about the role of electrons in creating electricity. Afterwards, they will test various materials to determine whether they are insulators or conductors of electricity. Participants will also experiment with circuits in parallel and in series. Lastly, they will create an electromagnet using wires, a nail and a battery.
What You Need
Physical Requirements
- A white board or chalk board, or flip paper.
- Open space with enough room for the participants to gather in a circle (Chicken Demonstration).
Activity 1: Circuit Design
- Circuit Design Kit (12-15 sets, each in its own plastic bag) including,
- 1.5V C Cell battery
- 1 Battery holder with wires at each end
- 1 light bulb (preferably mini sized)
Chicken Demonstration
- Chirping chickens (2)
- Foam counters (30)
- “Load” and “Source” signs
- "Electricity" signs
Activity 2: Insulators and Conductors
- Insulator and Conductor test kits (4 sets, each in its own plastic bag) including,
- Wires with alligator clips on each end (3)
- Light bulb attached to a holder
- 1.5V C Cell battery with holder
- Various testing supplies, such as: shoelaces, string, plastic ruler, wooden ruler, empty plastic cup (labelled “air”), pipe cleaner, plastic straw, aluminum foil, pencil and balloon
- Insulator and Conductor Task Card
- Troubleshooting card
- Extra blank paper for testing objects around the class (optional)
Activity 3: Parallel and Series Circuits
- Parallel and Series Circuit Kits (4 sets, each in its own plastic bag) with the following:
- Wires with alligator clips on each end (6)
- Light bulbs and holders (2)
- 1.5V C Cells battery with holder
- Blank paper
- Pencils
- Parallel and Series Circuit Task Card
- Troubleshooting Card
Activity 4: Electromagnet
- Electromagnet Kits (4 sets, each in its own plastic bag) with the following:
- 1.5V D cell battery with holder (4)
- Galvanized nail
- 1m insulated wire with ends stripped
- Paper clips (20+)
- Wires with alligator clips on each end (5)
- Electromagnet Task Card
Guide:
Safety Notes
- All batteries should be in good shape and working order. Discard any batteries that are leaking fluid or look damaged.
- Do not test any electronics with the circuit kits.
- For Activity 1: Circuit Design:
- Only allow the bulb to be lit for only 2-3 seconds. If they hold it for too long the battery will drain or heat up.
- Do not touch the red and black wires together. This will short the battery.
What To Do
Activity Prep
- Print It’s Electrifying Data Sheet (1 per participant + extras).
Activity 1: Circuit Design
- Hand out It’s Electrifying Data Sheets.
- Separate participants into groups of 2-3 and give each group a Circuit Design Kit.
- Inform the group of the safety rules.
- Give participants 5 minutes to try to find a way to make the lightbulb turn on.
- Record successful arrangements in the “bulb lights” box on their worksheet.
- Record unsuccessful arrangements in the “bulb didn’t light” box.
- Encourage them to find multiple arrangements that make the lightbulb turn on.
- As a class, have groups that were successful demonstrate the arrangement that made the bulb light.
- At the same time, draw each successful arrangement on the classroom board (there are 6 possible arrangements).
- Discuss the 4 elements of the circuit using the drawings:
- SOURCE- the battery, provides energy/electricity/electrons.
- CONDUCTOR- the wires, moves electricity/electrons from the source.
- LOAD- light bulb, receives the electricity/electrons, causing filament to glow
- CIRCUIT- the path for the electricity, includes the source, conductor and the load.
- Using the information above, discuss the reasons why some arrangements work and why others did not.
Chicken Demonstration
- Participants should be either standing up or sitting down in a tight circle for both role play demonstrations.
Role Play #1
- The group will be making a circuit. One participant will be the “battery”, one participant will be the “load/electric bell” and the rest of the group will be “wires”.
- Have each “wire” sit with their knees up and not touching their neighbour.
- Hand each “wire” and the “load” an “electron” (foam counter). The “battery” does NOT get one.
- Explain the rules:
- When they hear “GO”, they can only give an electron to the neighbour they are connected to (i.e. if your knees are touching).
- They can only give an electron to their neighbour if they don’t have one already.
- Every time the “load” passes an electron it has to make a “beep” noise.
- The battery gets to choose the direction of the current. Electrons move from the negative terminal towards the positive terminal. The way the “battery” orients the sign will determine which way the electrons flow.
- The “battery” will start with the negative terminal to their right. The current will flow counter-clockwise.
- First, participants' knees shouldn’t be touching (nothing should happen as no one can pass electrons).
- Have everyone connect his or her knees. The current should start to flow from the source's left hand neighbour.
- Get two people to disconnect from each other and see what happens
- Tell the “battery” to reverse its polarity and see what happens.
Role Play #2
- Demonstrate how the chickens chirp when the circuit is closed (by putting a finger on each terminal and by having two participants form a chain connecting the terminals together).
- Have the participants hold hands, while two participants put a finger on each terminal to complete the circuit.
- Tell two participants to break contact and observe what happens.
- Introduce a second chicken to the circuit, near to the other chicken. The circuit is now in series.
- Remove one of the chickens. The other chicken should stop chirping (broke the circuit).
- Draw a diagram of this “broken” circuit on a board.
- Have the group discuss ways that they can rearrange the circuit so that if they took out one chicken, the second chicken would keep chirping.
- To make this circuit, take some participants out of the circuit (along with one chicken). Close the original circle and check that the chicken chirps. Have the participants near the second chicken form a wire running parallel to the first chicken and tap into the circle.
- The circuit now in parallel to each other.
- If you take one chicken out, the other chicken should still chirp.
Activity 2: Insulators and Conductors
- Split participants into four groups and give each group an Insulators and Conductors Kit.
- They will test various materials to determine whether they are insulators or conductors of electricity.
- They will write their hypothesis (predictions) in the first column of the It’s Electrifying Data Sheet.
- Instruct participants to test the circuit to ensure that the lightbulb is working by clipping A & B together. If the bulb is not lighting, refer to the Troubleshooting Card.
- They may begin testing the materials by clipping materials in between points A & B. If the bulb lights, the material is a conductor. And if it does not, it is an insulator.
- They will write their answers on the It’s Electrifying Data Sheet.
Activity 3: Circuits in Parallel and Series
- Split participants into 4 groups, and give each group a Parallel and Series Circuit Kit.
- The challenge is for the participants to create a circuit that lights both bulbs with the least amount of wires.
- Once completed, instruct them to unclip one wire at one bulb and observe what happens.
- If both bulbs go out, the circuit was in series.
- If one bulb goes out, but the other one stays lit, the circuit was in parallel.
- They will draw their circuit (including all wires, lightbulbs and battery) in the It’s Electrifying Data Sheet.
- Instruct participants to make the other circuit and add it to the data sheet.
Activity 4: Electromagnets
- Split participants into 4 groups and give each group an Electromagnet Kit.
- Have participants wrap the wire tightly around the nail 20 times. Start wrapping from the middle of the wire, do not leave large gaps between coils and leave long ends hanging free.
- They will connect one end of the wire to the positive terminal of the battery using an alligator clip.
- They will do the same to connect the other end of the wire to the negative terminal of the same battery.
- Participants will test the nail by trying to attract paper clips. Once the nail is magnetized, they can move on to the experiments below.
- After they complete Experiment A and/or B, have them answer the electromagnet questions on the It’s Electrifying Data Sheet.
Experiment A
- Participants will add another battery to increase the voltage of the electromagnet. To do this, they will connect one wire to the positive terminal of a battery and another wire to the negative terminal of another battery using alligator clips. They will use a third alligator clip to connect the two batteries.
- They will test the nail by trying to attract paper clips- does adding a battery increase how many paper clips the nail attracts?
- Repeat the experiment adding up to 4 batteries at a time.
- They will record their findings.
Experiment B
- Participants will increase or decrease the number of coils around the nail while keeping the number of batteries the same.
- They will test the nail by trying to attract paper clips- does the nail pick up fewer or more paper clips?
- They will record their findings.
After the Activity
- Ensure that all materials are stored properly. Batteries should be removed from holders for safety and to prevent the battery from dying. In Activity 1: Circuit Design, place the lightbulb in the holder to protect it from breaking.
Discovery
Activity 1: Circuit Design and Activity 2: Insulators and Conductors
A circuit is the closed path of an electrical current. A basic circuit includes a source, conductor and load.
The source provides the electrical energy for the circuit (i.e. battery). This power is from the movement of tiny charged particles, called electrons, from one place to another. Electrons are generated from a chemical reaction inside the battery. The electrons move out of the negative end of the battery. Electrons will only flow from opposite ends.
A conductor provides the materials in which the electrons can move. Wire is often used as a conductor as it is made up of materials such as metal, steel and copper. These metals allow the electrons to move easily, kind of like a game of Hot Potato. The opposite are insulators, which are materials that do not let electricity pass through (i.e. plastic, rubber and glass).
The load receives the electrical current (i.e. lightbulb).The electrons flow into the side of the bulb, through the filament and out of the bottom of the bulb and into the positive end of the battery. The filament is not a good conductor and it is hard for the electrons to get through it, resulting in the filament heating up and producing light.
In both activities, there are two main reasons why the bulb did not light:
- The electricity was not forced to go through the bulb to get back to the battery. (the circuit was completed without the load attached)
- The path for the electricity to reach the bulb did not exist. (the circuit was not completed and therefore the electrons were not moving.
Chicken Demonstration and Activity 3: Parallel and Series Circuits.
Circuits will often need to have multiple sources and loads. There are two main ways to arrange a circuit with multiple components: in series or in parallel. Circuits that are in series have all their components connected together such that there is only one path for electricity to flow. All components must work otherwise the entire circuit will not work. This was shown in the Chicken Demonstration and in Activity 3, where when a part of the circuit disconnects, the chicken stops chirping or the lightbulb turns off.
In a parallel circuit, the components are arranged in a way that there are multiple paths for the electricity to flow. In this arrangement, when one part of the circuit fails, the electricity can still reach the load via an alternative route.
Activity 4: Electromagnets
Anytime an electrical current flows in a wire, it creates a magnetic field around the wire. Magnetic fields are forces that can attract or repel materials. In this activity, students create an electromagnet by coiling a wire around a nail and connecting it to a battery. The battery provides the electrical current, which transforms the nail into an electromagnet. The strength of the electromagnet increases with each coil around the nail. The strength of the electromagnet is also dependent on the amount of electrical current going through the coils.
Electricity powers almost everything that we use from lighting, heating, computers, appliances and medical devices. It is a fundamental part of modern life. Electricity can be sourced from either renewable (i.e. wind, water and solar) or nonrenewable (i.e. oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear) energy sources. In recent decades, there has been a focus on how to limit energy consumption to save resources and slow climate change.
- For younger grade levels (i.e. Grade 4), unless requested by the educator or if the class is advanced, leave out Activity 4: Electromagnets.
- For higher grade levels, the activities can be set up as stations. Younger grade levels will benefit from doing each activity together as a class.
- In Activity 1: Circuit Design, colourful lightbulbs can be used instead of the miniature ones as the load. This works best if the activity is being done at a booth event or demonstration.
- In Activity 2: Insulators and Conductors, have students test different materials around the classroom. Safety note: ensure students do not test any electronics.
- For Activity 4: Electromagnets, set up a game by seeing how far the students can carry the paper clips using the electromagnet. Can you carry the same number of paperclips 2 metres as you can 1 metre?
- Introduction to Current Electricity (Backgrounders)- learn about current electricity and why it should be handled safely.
- Why Wires? (STEM in Context)- learn about how wires are produced and used.
What's Happening?
Activity 1: Circuit Design and Activity 2: Insulators and Conductors
A circuit is the closed path of an electrical current. A basic circuit includes a source, conductor and load.
The source provides the electrical energy for the circuit (i.e. battery). This power is from the movement of tiny charged particles, called electrons, from one place to another. Electrons are generated from a chemical reaction inside the battery. The electrons move out of the negative end of the battery. Electrons will only flow from opposite ends.
A conductor provides the materials in which the electrons can move. Wire is often used as a conductor as it is made up of materials such as metal, steel and copper. These metals allow the electrons to move easily, kind of like a game of Hot Potato. The opposite are insulators, which are materials that do not let electricity pass through (i.e. plastic, rubber and glass).
The load receives the electrical current (i.e. lightbulb).The electrons flow into the side of the bulb, through the filament and out of the bottom of the bulb and into the positive end of the battery. The filament is not a good conductor and it is hard for the electrons to get through it, resulting in the filament heating up and producing light.
In both activities, there are two main reasons why the bulb did not light:
- The electricity was not forced to go through the bulb to get back to the battery. (the circuit was completed without the load attached)
- The path for the electricity to reach the bulb did not exist. (the circuit was not completed and therefore the electrons were not moving.
Chicken Demonstration and Activity 3: Parallel and Series Circuits.
Circuits will often need to have multiple sources and loads. There are two main ways to arrange a circuit with multiple components: in series or in parallel. Circuits that are in series have all their components connected together such that there is only one path for electricity to flow. All components must work otherwise the entire circuit will not work. This was shown in the Chicken Demonstration and in Activity 3, where when a part of the circuit disconnects, the chicken stops chirping or the lightbulb turns off.
In a parallel circuit, the components are arranged in a way that there are multiple paths for the electricity to flow. In this arrangement, when one part of the circuit fails, the electricity can still reach the load via an alternative route.
Activity 4: Electromagnets
Anytime an electrical current flows in a wire, it creates a magnetic field around the wire. Magnetic fields are forces that can attract or repel materials. In this activity, students create an electromagnet by coiling a wire around a nail and connecting it to a battery. The battery provides the electrical current, which transforms the nail into an electromagnet. The strength of the electromagnet increases with each coil around the nail. The strength of the electromagnet is also dependent on the amount of electrical current going through the coils.
Why Does it Matter?
Electricity powers almost everything that we use from lighting, heating, computers, appliances and medical devices. It is a fundamental part of modern life. Electricity can be sourced from either renewable (i.e. wind, water and solar) or nonrenewable (i.e. oil, coal, natural gas and nuclear) energy sources. In recent decades, there has been a focus on how to limit energy consumption to save resources and slow climate change.
Investigate Further
- For younger grade levels (i.e. Grade 4), unless requested by the educator or if the class is advanced, leave out Activity 4: Electromagnets.
- For higher grade levels, the activities can be set up as stations. Younger grade levels will benefit from doing each activity together as a class.
- In Activity 1: Circuit Design, colourful lightbulbs can be used instead of the miniature ones as the load. This works best if the activity is being done at a booth event or demonstration.
- In Activity 2: Insulators and Conductors, have students test different materials around the classroom. Safety note: ensure students do not test any electronics.
- For Activity 4: Electromagnets, set up a game by seeing how far the students can carry the paper clips using the electromagnet. Can you carry the same number of paperclips 2 metres as you can 1 metre?
- Introduction to Current Electricity (Backgrounders)- learn about current electricity and why it should be handled safely.
- Why Wires? (STEM in Context)- learn about how wires are produced and used.