Question

1. Plastic, rubber, and wood are examples of what kind of material?
2. Name the 3 methods that can charge up objects.
3.Which part of the atom is negatively charged?
4. Give an example of when you have experienced static electricity and what happened?

5. If a negatively charged balloon is brought close to a positively charged pie plate, will they attract or repel each other?

6. My friend rubs a neutral balloon against his neutral hair and electrons jump from his hair onto the balloon. What charge the ballon have now?What charge does his hair have now?

7.Draw an atom and label its three main parts.

(this is for middle school)

Answer 1

1. Materials are either classified as conductors, semiconductors and insulators. Conductors are those materials that allow flow of charge, heat and electricity in them , semiconductors are those that partially conduct electricity and heat, while insulators are those materials that do not allow current, charge or heat to flow through them examples include rubber, plastic and wood.
 
2. Objects may be charged using various methods, these include, charging by induction, charging by friction and charging by conduction. Using these three methods charges can be transferred to build up static electricity. 

3. An atom is the smallest particle of an element or substance that can take part in a chemical reaction. Atom contains a nucleus that contains smaller particles namely proton and neutron, and the energy levels which contains the electrons. Electrons are negatively charged and therefore the part of an atom that is negatively charged is the energy levels.

4. When dry hair is combed with a plastic comb while passing the comb in the hair at night one sees often light or sparkles like that of a glow worm, this is due to the generation of static charges (static electricity) in the hair when comb passes while combing.

5. From the law of electrostatic like charges repel while unlike charges attract. Therefore is a negatively charged balloon is brought close to a positively charged pie plate the will attract each other since the two objects have different types of charges.

6. When a neutral balloon is rubbed against neutral hair electrons will move from the hair to the balloon. The balloon will become negatively charged because it will have more negative charges (electrons) than positive charges(protons) while the hair will become positively charged because it will be left with less Negative charges than positive charges

7. An atom consists of protons, neutrons and electrons. Electrons are negatively charged and found in the energy levels or electron orbit while both proton (positively charged) and neutron are found in the nucleus of an atom.