Science - Electricity

This half term our science focus is been all about electricity. Keep an eye on this page to see what we have been up to!

Circuits

In our first lesson, we started to look at the different components that form a working circuit. We recognised that for a circuit to work it needs to be closed (fully formed and connected) and have a power source. We used cells as a power source. We learnt that a cell is singular and that a battery is formed from multiple cells. 

Every group experimented with different ideas such as how can you make a bulb brighter or a motor faster? What materials will conduct electricity? What happens when you add too many components to a circuit? And, why doesn't a circuit work when there is a break?

Please ask us about our learning and see some pictures of the circuits we made below. 

Circuit Symbols

Today we learnt the correct symbols to represent components of the circuit. We can now draw the circuits we make using the correct representations.

Here is a link to a website that will help us review our learning:

How does the brightness of a lamp change as you add extra lamps in a circuit?

We looked at the impact of adding additional lamps (bulbs) to a circuit. We noticed that as more bulbs were added the dimmer they became; this is because the electrical current was shared/spread out. In some groups, one bulb was dimmer and the others did not light! Take a look at some of our circuits below.

Making Batteries

Today we learned about the components of a battery. 

Anode - The positive battery electrode.

Cathode - The negative battery electrode.

Electrolyte - Liquid of gel, present in a battery, which irons can flow through

We attempted to make our own batteries using lemons, limes, oranges or potatoes. We then used nails and coins to act as the electrodes and cathodes. We didn't have much success but watched some videos to help us see how it could work. 

We made predictions and hypothesised why the experiment was not working as well as we had hoped. 

This explanation helped us to understand what was happening scientifically. 

Most regular cylindrical AA batteries are filled with a paste, that acts in the same way as the juice in your lemon/fruit.  Both the paste and the juice are called the Electrolyte.

Batteries are all about the movement of tiny particles called electrons.  Lemons work well as batteries because their juice contains citric acid.  The best anode for the lemon battery will probably be the nails.  These nails are made from a metal called zinc.  The citric acid helps make the zinc anode release electrons, getting them moving and releasing ions.

Other fruits and vegetables can act as batteries as long as they contain chemicals that will release electrons and provide a pathway for them to flow.  There are lots of different types of batteries.

Below are some pictures of our circuits and links to helpful information about the topic.