Static Electricity

Question 1

How do you bend water without touching it?

Answer 1

Rub a plastic balloon against your hair, transferring electrons to the balloon. This creates a static charge that results in the thin stream of water bending.

Question 2

Whats the difference between an insulator and a conductor?

Answer 2

• Insulators do not allow electrons to flow through them.
• Conductors allow the movement of electrons through them.

Question 3

Two examples of insulators and/or conductors:

Answer 3

INSULATORS
- Rubber
- Plastic
- Wood
CONDUCTORS
- Copper
- Silver
- Human Body

Question 4

How do you make the left side of a balloon temporarily (positively) charged using induction?

Answer 4

Hold a positively charged object (Ex: rod) near the right side of the balloon. This causes the electrons to be attracted, leaving the left side with fewer electrons. This leaves the left side of the balloon positive.

Question 5

How do scientists think the particles in clouds become “charged” (enough to produce lightning?

Answer 5

1. Particles rub together
2. Wind picks up
3. Particles become charged (friction)
4. Negative charges drop to ground. (induced charge seperation)

Question 6

Why does lightning strike a lightning rod instead of a building?

Answer 6

• Height: Lightning rods are tall, meaning that they are closer to the storm.
• Conductivity: they are made of metal, meaning that the rod provides a low-resistance path for electricity.

Question 7

What does the lightning rod do with the electrons?

Answer 7

• Attracts lightning
• Conducts the charge
• Grounds the electrons.

Question 8

When you charge a balloon on your hair it will stick to the wall. If you charge a balloon but then rub your hands all over it, it does not stick to the wall. Why not?

Answer 8

• When you rub a balloon against your hair, you are transferring electrons to the balloon, making it negatively charged.
• When you rub your hands on the balloon after it’s charged, you are neutralizing the charge by redistributing the electrons between your hands and the balloon.

Question 9

“Law of Electrical Charges”

Answer 9

• Unlike charges attract
• Like charges repel

Question 10

Static Electricity:

Answer 10

The imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material.

Question 11

Static Electricity can be made by:

Answer 11

1. Friction (Most Common)
2. Induction
3. Contact

Question 12

Simple device to show if an object is charged:

Answer 12

Electroscope (doesn’t tell you the charge.) (, +)

Question 13

Grounding

Answer 13

• Refers to taking away a charge