Y8_FORCES_Electricity_booklet

Year 8 Science Electricity and Magnetism

Overview of Units and Lessons

• Lessons Overview:

  • Static Electricity

  • Electrical Circuits – Series and Parallel Part 1

  • Electrical Circuits – Series and Parallel Part 2

  • Current

  • Potential Difference

  • Resistance (HA only)

• Class Information:

  • Name: ________________________

  • Class: _________________________

  • Teacher: ______________________

  • Room: ________________________

• Motto: "Together towards our Lord, through learning, love and faith"

Laboratory Safety Rules

1. Never use equipment without knowing how to use it properly and safely.

2. Follow all safety instructions from teachers and other staff.

3. Do not work in the lab without a teacher present.

4. Wear safety goggles during practical work with chemicals.

5. Clean up ALL spills immediately; check with the teacher for special instructions.

6. Tie back long hair and remove dangling jewellery.

7. Do not put anything in or near your lips/mouth in the lab.

8. Wash chemicals off your skin immediately.

9. No messing around in the lab.

10. Do not point test tubes at others.

11. Do not dispose of chemicals down the sink unless instructed by the teacher.

12. Keep bags and coats off the floor in the lab.

• Confirmation of Understanding:

  • Signature:

  • Date:

Big Ideas in Electricity

• Electricity as an Energy Store:

  • Understanding conductors and insulators of electricity.

  • Exploring how to build circuits to discover and measure electrical current and energy transfer.

  • Examining magnetism in detail and its link to electricity via electromagnets.

  • Modeling and explanation of unseen phenomena in electricity.

• Challenge Questions:

  • What is electric current and how is it measured?

  • What is potential difference and how is it measured?

  • What differentiates series and parallel circuits?

• Feedback Mechanisms:

  • Feedback from teachers via modeling techniques.

  • Importance of asking for help and marking peer answers in red pen.

Booklet Expectations

• Use only black or blue ink.

• Always write the date for new objectives.

• Draw diagrams with a pencil.

• Avoid graffiti in workbooks.

• Mark corrections in red pen.

• Do not tear out pages.

• Maintain neatness in work presentation.

Lesson 1: Static Electricity

Objectives

• Aim:

  • Understand interactions of charged objects.

  • Describe effects of charged objects near each other.

  • Explain how objects can become charged.

New Knowledge

• Definition of Electricity:

  • Defined as the flow of charges, which can be positive or negative.

  • Good conductors allow charge flow easily, creating electric currents.

  • Insulators do not permit easy charge flow, resulting in static electricity.

  • Static Electricity Notable Examples:

    • Lightning formation from static charge in clouds (up to 1 billion volts).

    • Everyday experiences: shocks from touching metallic objects, balloon tricks, etc.

Lesson 2: Electrical Circuits - Series and Parallel

Objectives

• Aim:

  • Construct circuits from circuit diagrams.

  • Understand series and parallel circuits.

Key Concepts

• Electrical Circuit Defined:

  • A continuous loop of conductors that includes an energy source like a battery.

  • Electrons move around to transfer energy through circuit components.

• Circuit Symbols:

  • Importance for efficiency and accuracy in setting up circuits.

  • Commonly used symbols for components in circuit diagrams.

Lesson 3: Measuring Current and Potential Difference

Objectives

• Aim:

  • Utilize ammeters and voltmeters in various configurations of series and parallel circuits.

• Current Measurement:

  • Ammeter:

    • Measures current in series.

    • Units: Amperes (A).

• Potential Difference Measurement:

  • Voltmeter:

    • Measures potential difference across components in parallel.

    • Units: Volts (V).

Lesson 4: Current in Circuits

Definitions

• Electric Current:

  • Movement of charged particles through a circuit.

  • Consistency in current across series circuits; shared in parallel circuits.

Lesson 5: Potential Difference

Learning Outcomes

• Defined as:

  • The electrical potential energy difference between two points.

  • Measured using voltmeters in parallel across components.

• In Series Circuits:

  • Potential difference is shared across components; energy fraction depends on component resistance.

• In Parallel Circuits:

  • Each branch has equal potential difference equal to that of the power source.

Lesson 6: Resistance

Key Ideas

• Resistance Explained:

  • Measures the difficulty of current flow; impacts flow speed and contributes to energy loss as heat.

  • High resistance generally indicates poor current flow.

  • Measured in Ohms (Ω); determined via a resistance meter or calculated from current and potential difference.

  • Various components exhibit different resistances, with conductors having low resistance to allow easier flow.

Models and Example Demonstrations

• Electricity as Water Analogy:

  • Thick pipes for parallel circuits vs. thin for series circuits exemplifying ease of flow.

Glossary of Key Terms

• Ammeter: Device for measuring current.

• Potential Difference (Voltage): Difference in electrical potential energy.

• Resistance: Measurement of opposition to current flow, measured in Ohms (Ω).

• Electric Current: Flow of electrically charged particles.

• Conductor: Material through which electricity can flow easily.

• Insulator: Material that does not conduct electricity well.

• Electromagnet: Magnet created by electric current.