Electricity
What subatomic particle moves when electric charges move?
Electrons
What is a magnetic field?
The area around a magnet where its force can be felt
What materials are commonly used to make an electromagnet?
iron core (nail), wire, and battery
What is the main principle behind how electric motors work? (Hint: what is in a motor making it work?)
An electromagnet rotates in between the poles of a permanent magnet
What is gravity?
A force that pulls objects toward each other
Name a material that is a good conductor of electricity
Any metal
Use iron filings to visualize field lines
How does the size of the iron core affect the strength of an electromagnet?
The larger the core, the stronger the magnet is
How are motors and generators related?
They both perform an energy transformation. Motors turn electrical energy into mechanical energy, and generators turn mechanical energy into electrical energy.
How does mass affect the gravitational force between two objects?
More mass = more gravitational force
What is the difference between conductors and insulators?
What factors affect the strength of a magnetic field?
The material a magnet is made of and the distance between magnetic objects
What happens to the strength of an electromagnet if you increase the number of wire turns?
The strength increases
What type of energy conversion occurs in electric motors?
Motors turn electrical energy into mechanical energy
What is the relationship between distance and gravitational force?
More distance between objects = less gravitational force
How does charge distribution differ in conductors compared to insulators?
Conductors will have charge evenly spread out across them. Insulators will have charge held or built up in one area
Explain how the distance between two magnets affects the force between them
The closer they are, the more force they apply on each other.
Describe an experiment to demonstrate the effects of varying the power supply on an electromagnet's strength.
Use a battery, wire, and nail. Increase the battery size and then see how many paperclips you can pick up compared to before.
Describe how changing the direction of current in a motor affects its motion.
The motor will rotate in the opposite direction
Describe an experiment to demonstrate the effects of gravity on falling objects.
Drop objects of different masses and calculate the time it takes them to hit the ground
Describe how electric fields can exist between charged objects even when they are not in contact
Electric charges can attract and repel each other from a distance (like repels and opposites attract)
What type of magnet is an electromagnet, and how can we increase its magnetic force?
Temporary magnet.
Increase force by 1) increasing current, 2) increasing # of coils, and 3) using a larger core
How do electromagnets differ from permanent magnets in terms of their magnetic field?
We can turn their magnetic field on and off and control the strength of it by changing variables like power supply, number of wire turns, and size of iron core
Explain how the number of wire turns in a generator affects the amount of electricity produced.
The more wire turns, the more electricity produced
Explain how gravitational fields can exert forces on objects even when they are not in contact.
Gravity is still exerting a force on us even if we are not on its surface (ex. in a plane) otherwise, we would float off into space.