Explore Electricity!: With 25 Great Projects
By Carmella Van Vleet and Bryan Stone
()
About this ebook
Given the pace of how we harness and utilize electricity, as well as the importance of developing new sources of energy, electricity is a timely subject for kids to explore. In Explore Electricity! With 25 Great Projects, kids ages 6-9 will learn the basics of electricity: currents, circuits, power, magnetism and electromagnetism, motors and generators. They'll become more attuned to how much they rely on electricity in their daily lives. They'll also understand that while electricity is a wonderful resource, and one we've used to our advantage ever since it was discovered, the future of how we make and use electricity is still changing and there are things they can do today to impact these changes.
This title invites kids to experiment on their own with 25 simple projects that will "spark" their learning and enthusiasm, including making their own clothespin switch, lemon battery, compass, electromagnet, and flashlight, as well as generating their own "lightning." These hands-on activities combined with informational text will excite kids about STEM? the interrelated fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Carmella Van Vleet
Carmella Van Vleet is a former teacher and the award-winning author of nearly two dozen books for kids and adults. She is the author of Explore Ancient Rome, Robotics, and Aviation: Cool Women Who Fly from Nomad Press. She lives in Ohio.
Read more from Carmella Van Vleet
Robotics!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Ancient Egypt Projects: You Can Build Yourself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAncient Civilizations: Greeks!: With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Explore Ancient Rome!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiements Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing Arctic and Antarctic Projects: You Can Build Yourself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAncient Civilizations: Romans!: With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAncient Civilizations: Egyptians!: With 25 Social Studies Projects for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAviation: Cool Women Who Fly Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmazing Ben Franklin Inventions: You Can Build Yourself Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExplore Ancient Greece!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExplore Ancient Egypt!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Electricity: Circuits, Static, and Electromagnets with Hands-On Science Activities for Kids Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Explore Electricity!
Related ebooks
Explore Gravity!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExplore Light and Optics!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mad Scientist Teaches: Electricity & Magnetism - 50 Fun Science Experiments for Grades 1 to 8 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnergy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power & How We Get It Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnergy: Physical Science for Kids Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to be Brilliant at Electricity, Light & Sound: How to be Brilliant at Electricity, Light, Sound Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Batteries Work Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJunk Drawer Chemistry: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Conductors Work Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmazing Kitchen Chemistry Projects: You Can Build Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stomp Rockets, Catapults, and Kaleidoscopes: 30+ Amazing Science Projects You Can Build for Less than $1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fascinating Science Experiments for Young People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Investigating Electricity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCanals and Dams!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExplore Water!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Explore Solids and Liquids!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSimple Machines!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBridges!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNatural Disasters: Investigate Earth's Most Destructive Forces with 25 Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExplore Rivers and Ponds!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExplore Forces and Motion!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Explore Flight!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Water Cycle!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJunk Drawer Physics: 50 Awesome Experiments That Don't Cost a Thing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExplore Night Science!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Robot Book: Build & Control 20 Electric Gizmos, Moving Machines, and Hacked Toys Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How the Earth Works: 60 Fun Activities for Exploring Volcanoes, Fossils, Earthquakes, and More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow Do Electric Motors Work? Physics Books for Kids | Children's Physics Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExploring the Solar System: A History with 22 Activities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Explore Comets and Asteroids!: With 25 Great Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Children's For You
Into the Wild: Warriors #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pete the Kitty Goes to the Doctor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Number the Stars: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coraline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mind-Boggling Word Puzzles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cedric The Shark Get's Toothache: Bedtime Stories For Children, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Write A Children’s Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5House of Many Ways Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The School for Good and Evil: Now a Netflix Originals Movie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island of the Blue Dolphins: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn's Missing Colors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Little House on the Prairie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Crossover: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice In Wonderland: The Original 1865 Unabridged and Complete Edition (Lewis Carroll Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Garden: The 100th Anniversary Edition with Tasha Tudor Art and Bonus Materials Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Shadow Is Purple Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Day My Fart Followed Me Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bridge to Terabithia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Much Ado About Nothing (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmari and the Night Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Witch of Blackbird Pond: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stone Fox Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Graveyard Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Explore Electricity!
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Explore Electricity! - Carmella Van Vleet
Newest titles in the Explore Your World! Series
Nomad Press
A division of Nomad Communications
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © 2013 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use. The trademark Nomad Press
and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.
August 2013
ISBN: 978-1-619-30182-5
Illustrations by Bryan Stone
Educational Consultant, Marla Conn
Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to Independent Publishers Group
814 N. Franklin St.
Chicago, IL 60610
www.ipgbook.com
Nomad Press
2456 Christian St.
White River Junction, VT 05001
www.nomadpress.net
CONTENTS
TIMELINE
INTRODUCTION
Let’s Explore Electricity
CHAPTER 1
Static Electricity
CHAPTER 2
Currents
CHAPTER 3
Circuits
CHAPTER 4
Electromagnetism
CHAPTER 5
Motors and Generators
CHAPTER 6
Earth–Friendly Electricity
Glossary
Resources
Index
For my nieces and nephews and my little buddy Sebastian—who light up the world.
Let’s Explore Electricity
What is the first thing you did when you woke up this morning? You probably turned on a light or went to the kitchen for breakfast. Maybe someone made you pancakes on the stove or toast in the toaster. Did you watch television or listen to music or use a computer? All of these things required electricity.
Electricity is a kind of natural energy. Some people think Thomas Edison or Benjamin Franklin invented it. But nobody really invented electricity. It’s been around since the earth was formed.
WORDS TO KNOW
electricity: a form of energy caused by the movement of tiny particles. It provides power for lights, appliances, video games, and many other electric devices.
energy: the ability to do things, to work.
WORDS TO KNOW
BCE: put after a date, BCE stands for Before the Common Era and counts down to zero. BCE is a non-religious term that means the same thing as BC.
amber: a piece of fossilized tree sap or resin.
static electricity: the buildup of an electric charge on the surface of an object.
CE: put after a date, CE stands for Common Era and counts up from zero. CE is a non-religious term that means the same thing as AD.
Thousands of years ago people knew about electricity because they could see it in action. But they didn’t understand it.
For example, the ancient Greek scientist Thales of Miletus lived from 625 to 547 BCE. He knew that if you rub a piece of amber with wool or fur it attracts lightweight objects like feathers and dust.
Maybe you have seen something similar happen when you rub a balloon on your head. The balloon will stick on the wall without falling. Today we call this static electricity. The ancient Greeks had no name for it.
Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), an ancient Greek scientist, knew that being shocked by an electric catfish could help numb a person’s pain. Later on, many scientists around the world studied electricity and how it works. But it’s only been in the last few hundred years that we’ve learned how to make the power of electricity useful to us.
DID YOU KNOW?
The word electricity comes from the ancient Greek word elektron. This was the Greek word for amber.
Today our modern-day lives depend on electricity. A lot! Think about the last time you lost power at your home. It was probably hard to live without lights and the phone and the computer. Did you have to cook on a grill outside instead of on the stove or in your microwave? Maybe you used a cell phone to communicate with friends and family. But what happened when the phone lost its charge? No way to make a phone call. That could be very scary if you’re out of power for a while and need some help.
WORDS TO KNOW
charge: an amount of stored electricity.
power: electricity made available to use.
force: a push or a pull.
blackout: a loss of power.
WORDS TO KNOW
generate: to create something.
conductor: something that electricity moves through easily, like copper wire.
insulator: a material that prevents heat, sound, or electricity from passing through it easily.
circuit: a loop that starts and finishes at the same place.
motor: a machine that turns electrical energy into motion.
generator: a device that turns motion into electricity.
resource: something that people can use.
electric current: the flow of an electrical charge through a conductor.
outlet: a device in a wall that an electric cord plugs into.
appliance: an electrical machine used in the home, such as a toaster or washing machine.
In this book, you’ll explore what causes electricity and the ways it’s generated, stored, and used. You’ll learn about its power and the role it plays in our lives. You’ll find out what conductors and insulators are, how circuits work, and the difference between a motor and a generator. You’ll also explore how scientists are trying to generate Earth-friendly electricity and energy resources. Along the way, you’ll get to do some fun projects and experiments. So get charged up and