Electricity | Physics

Van de Graaff generator generates static electricity.

We first looked at this video of static electricity by TedEd. 

Static Electricity

A build up of electrical charges on an object

Current Electricity

A flow of electric charge.

Electrical Charge

Electrical particles that are negatively charged

Circuit

A system that provides a pathway for electrical current to flow through

Cell

Supplies energy to circuit, by pushing current from the positive to negative end

Voltmeter

A device used to measure voltage, or electrical potential energy difference

Activity:

1 - Fill in the table

	Static electricity	Current electricity
What is it caused by?	When there is an imbalance between negative and positive charges within or on the surface of a material.	It can be generated when a moving metal wire through a magnetic field.
Do the negative charges move?	Yes	No
Does it power appliances?	No	Yes

Van De Graaff generator

2 - What are some examples of static electricity:

• Carpet

• Lightning

• Trampoline

• Hair

Write up for a Van der Graaff experiment:

How does the Van der Graaff machine work?

The Van der Graaff machine pulls electrons, moves them along a belt and stores them on the large sphere. These electrons repel each other and try to get as far away from each other as possible, spreading out on the surface of the sphere.

What was one of the experiments they did with the machine?

Putting your hand on the Van der Graaff machine and waiting for your hair to stick up. 

Describe what happened, what did you see?

After some time, the hair sticked up which looked cool. But, when the machine stopped then the hair goes back to normal.

Why did you see this happen?