Week 3: Electricity

 

This week, we talked about electricity. Here are some of my main takeaways: 
  • Electricity: the movement of electrons from one atom to another 
  • Electrons are negatively charged particles
  • Current: flow of electrical charge 
  • Circuit: a path through which electricity can flow
    • Closed circuit: circle is closed, so energy is flowing 
    • Open circuit: circle is opened, so energy cannot flow 
  • Making a circuit, you need: 
    • Battery (source of potential energy in the form of electricity) 
    • Copper wire (path for electricity to flow through) 
    • Light bulb (uses electricity from the circuit to light up) 
  • Anode: negative side of a battery 
  • Cathode: positive side of a battery 
  • Series circuit: electricity flows through one continuous loop (holiday lights: if 1 light burns out, the entire string will not work because the energy flow was interrupted)
  • Parallel circuit: electricity flows through multiple loops in the same circuit (holiday lights: if 1 light burns out, the string will still work because each light is connected to the circuit by different pathways) 
  • Electricity in nature: 
    • Lightning 
      • Lighting works by: 
        • Particles move rapidly due to the energy of a thunderstorm. Particles collide & become positively or negatively charged. 
        • Positive/negative charges build up within clouds & atmosphere. Smaller particles lose electrons and. become positive. They move into the upper part of the cloud. Larger particles gain electrons and become negative. They move into the lower part of the cloud. 
        • Separated charges build up and are discharged in the form of lightning. 
  • Electricity in living things: 
    • Neurons in the human brain use electricity to send messages between cells
    • Fish (like electric eels) produce electricity to locate & stun prey 





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