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The documents and all material contained therein are © Dean Baird. All rights reserved. They may be used by teachers and students for classroom instruction. Beyond that, no part of these documents may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
| GUIDES | |
| 1 | Electricity
Examples Definitions of quantities, explanations of equations, worked out example problems. |
| 2 | Electrostatic
Charge Discussion of electric charge and its characteristics. Includes the origin of the word "electric." |
| 3 | Conductors
and
Insulators An older phyzguide on electric conducts, insulators, and conservation of charge. |
| 4 | Getting
a Charge Triboelectricity, conduction, and induction. Also losing a charge: corona discharge. |
| 5 | Coulomb's
Law Step-by-step construction of Coulomb's Law with a comparison to Universal Gravitation. |
| 6 | Electric Fields Side-by-side comparison and explanation of gravitational and electric fields. |
| 7 | Batteries
and
Current Gives a brief history and explanation of the battery and a definition of current. |
| 8 | Circuit
Basics Pretty standard discussion of what happens in a simple electric circuit. |
| 9 | The Slider
Circuit Describes an analogy between electric circuits and playground slides. |
| JOBS | |
|
|
Balancing
Charges
1 - Answers
- Presentation
(QuickTime) Qualitative puzzles involving the mass and charge of electrons. |
| 2 | Be
Franklin For a Day - Answers A section of a letter in which Franklin describes his famous kite experiment, with questions based on the passage. |
|
|
Balancing Charges
2 - Answers
- Presentation
(QuickTime) Qualitative puzzles involving the mass and charge of electrons. |
| 4 | Electric
Force
by the Numbers Springboard - Answers Quantitative development of Coulomb's Law. |
| 5 | Fields Springboard
- Answers
- Presentation (QuickTime) Develops the ideas of the electric field by way of analogy with the gravitational field. |
| 6 | Field Plots
- Answers - Presentation
(Quicktime) Plot the electric field surrounding spherical charges and charges plates. |
| 7 | Lemon
Battery Lab Springboard Students are given a lemon wedge and two galvanized nails. They must construct a 0.5V or better battery. |
| 8 | Analog
Measurement Technique 2 - Answers - Presentation (QuickTime) Measurement involving a digit of estimation on the arcing scale of a voltmeter or ammeter. |
| 9 | Current and Voltage Springboard
- Answers
- Presentation (QuickTime) Mechanical analogies for developing the meanings of current and voltage. |
| 10 | Understanding
the
Slide Uses the analogy comparing simple circuits to playground slides to conceptually develop Ohm's Law. |
| 11 | Bun-Burning
Power - Answers Uses the analogy comparing simple circuits to playground slides to conceptually develop Joule's Law. |
| 12 | Simple
Circuit
Wrap-Up - Answers
- Presentation
(QuickTime) Review of the principles and ratios concerning the simple circuit. |
| LABS | |
| 1 | Charge It
PreLab Questions for students to answer before doing the Charge It lab. |
| 2 | Charge It I:
Pith Balls Inquiry-based exploration of electrostatic force. |
| 3 | Charge It
II: Electroscope Inquiry-based exploration of electrostatic force. |
| 4 | Ohm, Ohm
on the Range Hands-on development of Ohm's Law. Introduces ammeters, voltmeters, and power supplies. |
| DEMOS | |
| 1 | Charging
Ahead - Presentation
(Quicktime) Questions about several demonstrations using a Van de Graaff generator. |
| OTHER | |
| 1 2 |
Electricity
Begins
With an M -
Presentation (QuickTime) Part of the "Physics Begins with an M" series. Make a transperency and put it on the overhead on the first day of the unit to enhance curiousity in the material of the unit. Electricity Begins With an M Keynote A nifty Keynote presentation of the M's. (Keynote is Apple's presentation software; PowerPoint is Microsoft's presentation software.) Trust me, neither Keynote nor PowerPoint are The Great Saviors of education. I recommend using them sparingly if at all. Better to teach! |
| 3 | Mechanical
Universe: Static Electricity (College) This episode covers the basics of static electricity. Alternate forms accommodate students seated side-by-side. |
| 4 | Raging
Planet:
Lightning From The Discovery Channel's series, Raging Planet, this episode explores the nature of lightning and associated phenomena. Includes discussions of lightnig folklore, biological effects suffered by lightning strike victims, man-0made (triggered) lightning, jets and sprites. |
5 |
Electric Field Hockey
Competition Information on this computer program can be found here |
| 6 | Electricity Crossword Puzzle
Grid - Clues Crossword puzzles are highly personalized and may not always translate well from my classroom to yours. |
| 7 | NEW:
PracTest Complete OLD: Practice Test Questions - Answers Sample test questions covering electric charge and current electricity. |
Click here for a legend and explanation of cryptic terms and abbreviations.
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