Student groups create working radios by soldering circuit components supplied from AM radio kits. By carrying out this activity in conjunction with its associated lesson concerning circuits and how AM radios work, students are able to identify each circuit component they are soldering, as well as how their placement causes the radio to work. Besides reinforcing lesson concepts, students also learn how to solder, which is an activity that many engineers perform regularly giving students a chance to be able to engage in a real-life engineering activity.

Find out which material will save Steve from getting shocked by the electric eels. Following the activity, read more about electrical conductors, and then take a quick quiz to check for understanding.

Gives a clear explanation of how BC Hydro's electric generation system and thermal generating system work. Its transmission and distribution systems are also explained. There are maps showing where facilities and dams are located, but this information is not given in detail due to security concerns.

Paul Andersen introduces electric charges. The amount of charge in a system is conserved but individual charges can move through a conductor as current. [4:19]

Mr. Andersen illustrates and explains how all objects contain positive and negative charge. [5:24]

In this video Paul Andersen describes the relationship between energy and forces. When objects are directly touching electromagnetic forces can result in forces and energy exchange. When objects are not directly touching fields; gravitational, magnetic, and electric result in forces and energy and exchange. [5:29]

In this hands-on activity, students explore the electrical force that takes place between two objects. Each student builds an electroscope and uses the device to draw conclusions about objects' charge intensity. Students also determine what factors influence electric force.

We are surrounded everyday by circuits that utilize "in parallel" and "in series" circuitry. Complicated circuits designed by engineers are made of many simpler parallel and series circuits. In this hands-on activity, students build parallel circuits, exploring how they function and their unique features.

Everyday we are surrounded by circuits that use "in parallel" and "in series" circuitry. Complicated circuits designed by engineers are composed of many simpler parallel and series circuits. During this activity, students build a simple series circuit and discover the properties associated with series circuits.

Science Buddies profiles careers you perhaps never even considered. Do you know what a power distributor and dispatcher does? Someone has to control the flow of electricity along the transmission lines to be sure nothing takes the power out of service. Find out what kind of education is necessary for this career and watch a brief video of power engineers keeping the lights on.

Students use balloons to perform several simple experiments to explore static electricity and charge polarization.

A large complete authoritative biography of Coulomb. Five large pictures, over a dozen links to contemporaries, references, a poster, other mathematicians. A fine source.

As part of the General Chemistry Virtual Textbook, this site examines a variety of topics related to electrochemistry. Several of the topics included at this site are chemistry and electricity, electroneutrality, potential differences at interfaces, cell description conventions, and more.

Here you can learn all about plasma. Explore what plasma is, its basic characteristics, and how plasma is created.

Students use the same method as in the activity from lesson 2 of this unit to explore the magnetism due to electric current instead of a permanent magnet. Students use a compass and circuit to trace the magnetic field lines induced by the electric current moving through the wire. Students develop an understanding of the effect of the electrical current on the compass needle through the induced magnetic field and understand the complexity of a three dimensional field system.

Hydropower generation is introduced to students as a common purpose and benefit of constructing dams. Through an introduction to kinetic and potential energy, students come to understand how a dam creates electricity. They also learn the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy.

Students are challenged to design a method for separating steel from aluminum based on magnetic properties as is frequently done in recycling operations. To complicate the challenge, the magnet used to separate the steel must be able to be switched off to allow for the recollection of the steel. Students must ultimately design, test, and present an effective electromagnet.

In the everyday electrical devices we use calculators, remote controls and cell phones a voltage source such as a battery is required to close the circuit and operate the device. In this hands-on activity, students use batteries, wires, small light bulbs and light bulb holders to learn the difference between an open circuit and a closed circuit, and understand that electric current only occurs in a closed circuit.

Students learn how the total solar irradiance hitting a photovoltaic (PV) panel can be increased through the use of a concentrating device, such as a reflector or lens. This is the final lesson in the Photovoltaic Efficiency unit and is intended to accompany a fun design project (see the associated Concentrating on the Sun with PVs activity) to wrap up the unit. However, it can be completed independently of the other unit lessons and activities.