Energizing Science Projects with Electricity and Magnetism

Could a paper towel put an electric charge on a ruler? What happens when you rub glass with silk? How do you find the north and south poles of a magnet? How does a battery really work? The exciting experiments in this book will unlock the mysteries of electricity and its connection with magnetism. Some will even give readers ideas for their own science fair. All they need are some simple materials, most of which can be found around the home, school, or neighborhood.

* Reviews *

It is hard to remember that the electric motor is less than 200 years old. It is even harder to imagine life without it. Even so, most Americans have a very poor idea of what electricity is and the curious relationship between electricity and magnetism that makes it so useful to us. That will change for anyone willing to build the 10 demonstrations that are given in this book with care and a lot of thought. The book is written by a retired high school physics teacher, which may be why the demonstrations lend themselves so well to the classroom. In fact, teachers will find in this volume a nice sequence of demonstrations that can be assigned to small groups as collaborative learning projects. Be warned that no framework is provided. So far as I could tell, the word electron does not appear anywhere in the book in spite of the fact that the charges discussed are simply surpluses or shortages of electrons and that electricity is simply the movement of electrons across a conductor or empty space. Also there is an unfortunate error in the first sentence of the first project that claims that electricity is the result of two kinds of charged particles. From the rest of the book, I assume thats a misprint and should have read two kinds of charges. Part of the Enslow Fantastic Physical Science Experiments series., Children's Literature
RL
Grades
3--5
IL
Grades
3-5
GRL
Z
Details:
Product type: Library Bound Book
ISBN: 978-0-7660-2584-4
Author: Robert Gardner
Copyright: 2006
Reading Level: Grades 3--5
Interest Level: Grades 3-5
GRL: Z
Dewey: 537
Pages: 48
Dimensions: 7 1/2" x 9"
Full-Color Photographs, Illustrations