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Electrostatics Lab

The document explores electric charges through simulations. It describes particles like electrons and protons and their properties. It then provides instructions for simulations where students drag a charged balloon to a neutral sweater, observing how the charges change. They also bring the balloon near a neutral wall to see the wall's charges polarize and attract the balloon due to its overall charge.

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downdrift1
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62 views4 pages

Electrostatics Lab

The document explores electric charges through simulations. It describes particles like electrons and protons and their properties. It then provides instructions for simulations where students drag a charged balloon to a neutral sweater, observing how the charges change. They also bring the balloon near a neutral wall to see the wall's charges polarize and attract the balloon due to its overall charge.

Uploaded by

downdrift1
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Exploring electric charges – simulations

Warm-up: Fill in the table with the descriptions of each particle.

Electron Proton Neutron


Relative size/
Charge
Can it move?

Activities: explore the fundamentals of charge and the interactions between charges
Go to the Canvas Calendar, and click on today’s date. The links for these activities are provided for you
there. These activity pages will be collected at the end of class. You will work individually on these
activities.

Part 1: Balloons

1. Using the picture on the right, draw the charges


that you see when you open the simulation. Then
fill in the table. To get overall charge, subtract # of
negative charges form # of positive charges.

Charges of Balloon and Sweater before moving


Balloon Sweater
# of positive
charges
# of negative
charges
Overall Charge

2.
Click on the balloon and drag to rub the Charges of Balloon and Sweater AFTER moving
balloon against the sweater, then
Balloon Sweater
record your new results in the table
# of positive
to the left.
charges
# of negative
charges
Overall Charge

Matt Simkins, 2017


Matt Simkins, 2017
3. When I rub the balloon against the sweater, what happens? Fill in the table below
The charges that can move are the

Rubbing the balloon against the sweater


does what to the electrons of the sweater?
Is the balloon material an insulator or a
conductor?
Of what kinds of charge does the balloon
have extra?
What, therefore, is the charge of the
balloon?
Of what kinds of charge is the sweater
lacking?
What, therefore, is the charge of the
sweater?
4. Click and drag the balloon to the center of the screen, then release the mouse. What happens?
Explain why in terms of charges.

5. Notice the wall on the right side of the screen? There are 54 positive charges and 54 negative
charges in the wall. What is the overall charge of the wall? ____________________

6. Make a hypothesis: What do you think will happen if you bring the balloon with all those
negative charges over to the neutral wall? Circle one choice from below:
Attract Repel Nothing
7. Make an observation: Click on the balloon and slowly drag it towards the wall. What happens as
it gets closer to the wall?

Can electrons move?

Can protons move?

What do like charges do?


What do the electrons in the
wall do when the balloon
comes closer? Why?
8. Draw what the charges in the wall do when
the balloon comes closer to the wall. Wall
This process of separating charges temporarily
is call polarization.

Matt Simkins, 2017


Polarization is how a charged object can be
attracted to a neutral one.

Matt Simkins, 2017

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