Learn about the physics of resistance in a wire. Change its resistivity, length, and area to see how they affect the wire's resistance. The sizes of the symbols in the equation change along with the diagram of a wire.

Through this activity, students come to understand the environmental design considerations required when generating electricity. The electric power that we use every day at home and work is usually generated by a variety of power plants. Power plants are engineered to utilize the conversion of one form of energy to another. The main components of a power plant are an input source of energy that is used to turn large turbines, and a method to convert the turbine rotation into electricity. The input sources of energy include fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil), wind, water, nuclear materials and refuse. This activity focuses on how much energy can be converted to electricity from many of these input sources. It also considers the impact of the by-products associated with using these natural resources, and looks at electricity requirements. To do this, students research and evaluate the electricity needs of their community, the available local resources for generating electricity, and the impact of using those resources.

Dope the semiconductor to create a diode. Watch the electrons change position and energy.

Dope the semiconductor to create a diode. Watch the electrons change position and energy.

Students learn about electricity and air pollution while building devices to measure volatile organic compounds (VOC) by attaching VOC sensors to prototyping boards. In the second part of the activity, students evaluate the impact of various indoor air pollutants using the devices they made.

Why do the lights turn on in a room as soon as you flip a switch? Flip the switch and electrons slowly creep along a wire. The light turns on when the signal reaches it.

Why do the lights turn on in a room as soon as you flip a switch? Flip the switch and electrons slowly creep along a wire. The light turns on when the signal reaches it.

Students build and use a very basic Coulter electric sensing zone particle counter to count an unknown number of particles in a sample of "paint" to determine if enough particles per ml of "paint" exist to meet a quality standard. In a lab experiment, student teams each build an apparatus and circuit, set up data acquisition equipment, make a salt-soap solution, test liquid flow in the apparatus, take data, and make graphs to count particles.

Students learn about the daily and annual cycles of solar angles used in power calculations to maximize photovoltaic power generation. They gain an overview of solar tracking systems that improve PV panel efficiency by following the sun through the sky.

Students learn how the innovative engineering of photovoltaics enables us to transform the sun’s energy into usable power—electricity—through the use of photovoltaic cells. Watching a short video clip from “The Martian” movie shows the importance of photovoltaics in powering space exploration at extreme distances from the Earth. Then students learn that the photovoltaic technologies designed to excel in the harsh environment of space have the potential to be just as beneficial on Earth—providing electricity-generating systems based on renewable energy sources is important for our electricity-gobbling society. Two student journaling sheets assist with vocabulary and concepts.

This hands-on activity explores the concept of static electricity. Students attract an O-shaped piece of cereal to a charged comb and watch the cereal jump away when it touches the comb. Students also observe Styrofoam pellets pulling towards a charged comb, then leaping back to the table.

In this hands-on activity, students construct a simple switch and determine what objects and what types of materials can be used to close a switch in a circuit and light a light bulb.

Students come to understand static electricity by learning about the nature of electric charge, and different methods for charging objects. In a hands-on activity, students induce an electrical charge on various objects, and experiment with electrical repulsion and attraction.

Students explore how the efficiency of a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is affected by the ambient temperature. They learn how engineers predict the power output of a PV panel at different temperatures and examine some real-world engineering applications used to control the temperature of PV panels.

This lesson is an introductory topic in thermodynamics, on the conversion of energy. The aim of this video is to support students in visualizing the conversion of energy and its importance in real world applications. For this reason, everyday examples are used to help students see the conversion of energy around them. Energy conversion is explored through a simple example of generating electricity for lighting up a shadow puppetry play in a village. The chain process of energy conversion is illustrated until the end product of electricity. This example of electricity generation is further illustrated in an actual industrial setting by taking the viewers to a Power Plant, where viewers will see and hear the explanation of a mechanical engineer on the equipment used to produce electricity that we use in homes and businesses. This important concept of energy conversion is crucial for students to understand as a basis for learning other concepts in Thermodynamics.

Students build their own two-cell batteries. They also determine which electrolyte solution is best suited for making batteries.

Students learn more about magnetism, and how magnetism and electricity are related in electromagnets. They learn the fundamentals about how simple electric motors and electromagnets work. Students also learn about hybrid gasoline-electric cars and their advantages over conventional gasoline-only-powered cars.

Students discuss the characteristics of storms, including the relationship of weather fronts and storms. Using everyday materials, they develop models of basic lightning detection systems (similar to a Benjamin Franklin design) and analyze their models to determine their effectiveness as community storm warning systems.

Students are introduced to the concept of electricity by identifying it as an unseen, but pervasive and important presence in their lives. They are also introduced to the idea of engineers making, controlling and distributing electricity. The main concepts presented are the science of electricity and the careers that involve an understanding of electricity. Students first review the structure of atoms and then learn that electrons are the particles behind electrical current and the motivation for electron movement. They compare conductors and insulators based on their capabilities for electron flow. Then water and electrical systems are compared as an analogy to electrical current. They learn the differences between static and dynamic forms of electricity. A PowerPoint(TM) presentation is included, with review question/answer slides, as well as assessment handouts to practice using electricity-related terms through storytelling and to research electricity-related and electrical engineering careers.

Students use conductivity meters to measure various salt and water solutions, as indicated by the number of LEDs (light emitting diodes) that illuminate on the meter. Students create calibration curves using known amounts of table salt dissolved in water and their corresponding conductivity readings. Using their calibration curves, students estimate the total equivalent amount of salt contained in Gatorade (or other sports drinks and/or unknown salt solutions). This activity reinforces electrical engineering concepts, such as the relationship between electrical potential, current and resistance, as well as the typical circuitry components that represent these phenomena. The concept of conductors is extended to ions that are dissolved in solution to illustrate why electrolytic solutions support the passage of currents.