Fourth Grade - Science - Lesson 42 - Electricity
Objectives
Assemble a circuit using D cells in series.
Demonstrate how a fuse works in a short circuit.
Describe why a fuse or circuit breaker is a safety device.
List ways to avoid short circuits.
Materials
A flashlight with D cells
A thin wire and a thick wire
Picture of circuit for transparency
For each group of five students: cardboard toilet paper tube, two D cells, masking tape, flashlight bulb (3 volt), bulb holder, three pieces of prepared bell wire--one 20" long, one 10" long and one 8" long, a 5" block of balsa wood or styrofoam, two metal thumbtacks, a piece of aluminum foil, metal paper clip, scissors
Sample fuses from hardware or automotive parts stores
Suggested Books
Berger, Melvin. All About Electricity. New York: Scholastic, 1995. See the section on circuits.
Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip. New York: Scholastic, 1997. Contains information about using electricity safely.
Epstein, Sam and Beryl. The First Book of Electricity. New York: Franklin Watts, 1977. Describes open and closed circuits and how a short circuit occurs.
Gibson, Gary. Understanding Electricity. Brookfield, CT: Copper Beech, 1995.
Gutnick, Martin. Simple Electical Devices. New York: Franklin Watts, 1986.
Wood, Robert. Electricity and Magnetism Fundamentals. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Pages
41 through 44 include an activity and information on short circuits.
Teacher Note
To prepare wires, strip 1" of insulation from each end so connections can be made. To
make a bare area for the short circuit, strip a small section of insulation about 4" from the end of
the 20" piece and about 2" from the end of the 8" piece. Stripping the insulation off the ends of
wires is especially easy with a pair of wire cutter/strippers. This tool is inexpensive and available
at hardware stores. Be sure to remind the students to cut foil strips (the fuses) as thinly as
possible, or cut them yourself before the lesson. If the fuse is not narrow enough, the short circuit
of only 3 volts won't blow it. Also encourage the students to tape the D cell holder and wires to
the desk to secure them.
Procedure
Ask the students to name two different kinds of circuits. (series and parallel circuits) Ask: What is the difference between the parallel circuit and the series circuits you assembled? (In a series circuit, current flows first through one bulb and then the next. In a parallel circuit, each bulb is connected directly to the dry cell/starter.) How many D cells did you use in the circuits you assembled? (one) Do you think if you added more D cells to a circuit that you would be adding more volts of electric current? (yes) What do volts measure? (the amount of push of an electric current) Show the students the flashlight and remind them that the D cells are stacked in a series to deliver more voltage to the light bulb. Point out that they are stacked with the positive ends pointing in the same direction. Give a student a D cell and have him or her read the voltage. (1.5 volts) Write this on the board. Ask: If there were two D cells in a circuit, what would be the voltage of the current flowing through the circuit? (3 volts) If there were four D cells in a circuit, what would be the voltage of the current flowing through the circuit? (6 volts)
Ask the students to think of the flow of electric current as they would a flow of cars. A wide road can handle plenty of cars. Traffic can move smoothly. Ask: What happens to the flow of cars when the wide road narrows to a single lane? (Traffic backs up.) Tell the students that the same thing happens to the flow of electric current. A traffic backup in electric current is called resistance. Write this on the board. Show the students the thin wire and the thick wire. Ask: Which wire do you think can handle more current? (thicker wire) Tell the students that the thick wire is like a wider road for the cars. Ask: What do you think happens when too much current flows through the thinner wire? (Accept all answers.) Tell the students that thinner wire offers more resistance. The greater the resistance, the smaller the current that can pass through a conductor.
Tell the students that they are going to assemble a circuit with higher voltage than the ones they have assembled in previous lessons. Show the students the transparency of the circuit they will assemble. Ask: How many D cells will you be using? (two) What is the voltage for two D cells in series? (3 volts) Point out that a gap in the circuit is bridged by a very thin piece of foil as a conductor. Ask: In looking at this circuit, where do you think the electric current will encounter the most resistance, the narrowest road for traffic? (the aluminum foil strip) Tell the students that in cutting the aluminum foil, they should try to make the strip as skinny as possible. Point out the two prepared wires. Ask: What is different about the wires you will use for this circuit? (The insulation is stripped off a middle section of the wires.)
Divide the class into groups of five students and distribute all materials except the paper clips. Tell the students to use the transparency as a blueprint for their circuit. If any group has trouble getting the bulb to light up, suggest that they check all connections. When all groups have assembled the circuit and lit the bulb, distribute the paperclips and ask the students to use a paper clip as a conductor between the two middle secions of stripped wire. Ask: What happened when you placed the conductor on the wires? (The bulb went out. The aluminum foil melted.) Have the students remove the paper clip. Ask: What do you notice about the paper clip? (It is hot.) Tell the students that when they placed the paper clip on the wires they were making a short circuit. Write this on the board. The current bypassed the light bulb and went straight back to the D cells without doing any work. It took a short cut. Ask: What happened to the foil strip when there was a short circuit? (It became hot and melted.) Tell the students that the electricity that was not used by the bulb caused the wires to become hotter. The thin foil strip melted at a lower temperature than the wires. Ask: What happened when the foil melted? (The circuit was broken and the bulb went out.)
Tell the students that the foil strip acted like a fuse or circuit breaker. Write these on the board. Tell them that when the wires started to heat up because of the short circuit, the fuse burned out and stopped the flow of electric current. It burned out first because it is the weakest conducting link in the circuit. Point out that fuses or circuit breakers protect the electric circuits in homes and in cars. Show the students some fuses. Ask: Why might I call a fuse or circuit breaker a safety device? (A fuse stops the flow of electricity when the wires get too hot. Hot wires could cause a fire.)
Ask: How did you cause a short circuit? (put a conductor between two bare wires) How
could a short circuit happen in a home or car? (Possible scenarios might include: insulation on an
electrical cord under a rug is worn off and two wires touch to make a short circuit; a pet bites an
electrical cord; the insulation on a cord too near a heater melts off and wires touch; a cord is
pinched in a door and bare wires touch; an overloaded electrical outlet becomes hot and melts
insulation so wires touch) Make a list with students of what can be done to avoid short circuits.
The list might include: Don't run electrical cords under carpets or rugs. Don't allow cords to be
near heaters. Don't overload electrical outlets. Keep cords away from pets and small children.
Don't pinch cords in doors or drawers. Have old, worn out cords with cracked insulation
replaced.
Fourth Grade - Science - Lesson 43 - Electricity
Current detector activity adapted from Weather, Electricity, Environmental Investigations by
Sandra Markle.
Objectives
Describe how electric current and static electricity are different.
Build and test an electric current detector.
Write about how electric cars might change our environment (optional).
Materials
Picture of current detector for tranparency
For each group of five students: a compass, 6 feet of copper wire with 2" of insulation stripped from each end, a 4" square of cardboard, a D cell, masking tape
Suggested Books
Gutnick, Martin. Simple Electical Devices. New York: Franklin Watts, 1986. Page 28 includes directions for building a galvanometer--a current detector.
Leon, George deLucenay. The Story of Electricity. New York: Dover, 1983. Page 23 contains information about Volta's discovery and how a wet cell works.
Markle, Sandra. Weather, Electricity, Environmental Investigations. Santa Barbara, CA: Learning Works, 1982. Includes directions and illustrations for a "sour circuit" and a current detector on page 57 as well as a description of Volta's battery.
Math, Irwin. More Wires and Watts: Understanding and Using Electricity. New York: Scribners, 1988. Pages 4 and 5 include information on Volta's simple experiments and how they affected the pace of discoveries about electricity.
Wood, Robert. Electricity and Magnetism Fundamentals. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997.
Wood's explanation on page 22 of how the lemon battery works is very clear.
Teacher Note
When the students have finished with the electric current detectors, collect them and save
them for use in lesson 45.
Procedure
Ask: What is the difference between static electricity and electric current? (Electric current
is the flow of electrons through a conductor. Static electricity does not move through a
conductor.) Remind the students that in a previous lesson (Lesson 37) they made electroscopes to
detect static electricity. Tell them that in this lesson they will make electric current detectors.
Show the students the transparency of the electric current detector. Ask: How does a compass
work? (A magnetized needle in the compass is attracted to the Earth's magnetic fields near the
north and south poles so the needle points north and south.) Do you think electric current can
affect a compass? (Accept all answers.) Divide the class into groups of five students and distribute
cardboard, compasses, wire and D cells. Show the students the transparency of how to make an
electric current detector. Suggest the students wrap the wire around the cardboard at least eight
times before connecting to the D cell.
Ask: What kind of circuit are you assembling? (a short circuit) Ask a student to explain
why it is a short circuit. (The current goes from one terminal of the D cell and does no work
before returning to the other terminal of the D cell.) Point out that since this is not good for the D
cell and can destroy it, they should connect the D cell only for a few seconds. Ask: What happens
when current from the D cell flows through the wire? Does the electric current affect the
compass? (yes) How can you tell? (The needle on the compass swings back and forth.) What does
this tell you about magnets and electric current? (They might affect each other.) Have the students
disconnect the detector from the D cell.
Remind the students that the D cell they have been using is called a dry cell. Tell them that
the first batteries were wet cells. The first wet cell was invented in 1800 by an Italian scientist
named Alessandro Volta. Ask: Is there anything familiar about his name? (volts, voltage--the unit
of measure for electric current push is named after him.) Tell the students that Volta discovered
that when he put two different metals in a chemically-active liquid, such as an acid, an electric
current was produced. Write wet cell= two different metals + chemically-active liquid on the
board. Tell the students that Volta made a wet cell using thin pieces of copper and zinc. He
stacked them up with layers of cloth soaked in salt water in between them. Ask: Where are wet
cells used today for generating electric current? (Cars use wet cells--car batteries) Tell the
students that car batteries contain metal plates in a bath of strong acid to generate and store
electricity. The batteries are very heavy. Point out that car companies have been trying to design
a car that would run on batteries and not on gasoline. Ask: Why would people want battery-powered cars? (no exhaust or pollution; don't have to depend on supply of gasoline) Point out
that the problem electric car designers have run into is that batteries are heavy. To power a car for
a long trip, it would have to carry many heavy batteries. Tell them that scientists and engineers all
over the world are working on the problem of how to make a lightweight battery for electric cars.
Possible Homework
Have the students imagine how things might be different if gas-powered cars became
obsolete and electric cars were the only cars on the road. Have the students write a paragraph
about the changes they imagine.
Fourth Grade - Science - Lesson 44 - Electricity
Objectives
Build and test an electromagnet.
Describe and demonstrate what adding voltage does to an electromagnet.
Materials
For each group of five students: D cell and D cell holder, large iron nail, two pieces of copper
wire (one 36" piece and one 12" piece with 1" of insulation stripped from ends), a knife switch,
metal paper clips, worksheet
Additional materials for each group: a cardboard paper towel tube, three more D cells, tape
Suggested Books
Franklin Institute Science Museum. The Ben Franklin Book of Easy Incredible Experiments. New York: John Wiley, 1995. Pages 59 and 60 contain directions for making an electromagnet and some information on the relationship between electricity and magnetism.
Gardner, Robert. Electricity and Magnetism. New York: Twenty-First Century, 1994. Includes
an electromagnet building activity and a color photo on page 56 of a large electromagnet in
action at a recycling depot.
Gutnick, Martin. Simple Electical Devices. New York: Franklin Watts, 1986. Section 6 on
electromagnetic devices contains a brief explanation of electromagnetism.
Leon, George deLucenay. The Story of Electricity. New York: Dover, 1983. Contains detailed
accounts of Oersted and Arago's experiments.
Procedure
Ask: What did you use to make a current detector in the last lesson? (copper wire
wrapped around a compass) Did the current detector detect a current from the D cell? (yes) What
happened to the compass needle when electric current passed through the coiled wire? (The
needle moved.) Tell the students that the first person to notice this relationship between electric
current and magnetism was a Danish professor named Hans Christian Oersted. In 1820, Professor
Oersted was demonstrating to a class that when electric current flowed through a wire, the wire
became hot. He happened to put his compass on the table next to the circuit. When he switched
on the circuit, he was very surprised to see the needle of the compass move. As he turned the
circuit on and off, the needle on the compass swung back and forth. His students were surprised,
too. They began to ask questions about why the electric current could move a compass needle just
as a magnet could. Professor Oersted and his students did more experiments to show that
electricity and magnetism were related somehow.
Tell the students that in the following year, a man named William Sturgeon found a way to
make magnetism and electricity work together. He built the first electromagnet. Tell the class that
with only a few materials, they can build a working version of Sturgeon's invention. Divide the
class into groups of five students each and distribute the materials and worksheet for making an
electromagnet. When the students have finished building and testing electromagnets, ask: Did the
nail pick up paper clips like a magnet when the switch was off? (no) What happened when the
switch was on? (The nail picked up paper clips.) What do you think the electric current did to the
nail? (It magnetized it.) Tell the students that electric current creates a magnetic field around
itself. Ask: When the electric current is switched off, what happens to the magnetic field? (It goes
away.) How do you think you could make the electromagnet stronger so that it could pick
up more paper clips? (Add more voltage--D cells)
Distribute cardboard tubes, tape and three more D cells to the students. Ask them to
construct the electromagnet with more voltage. Have them compare the number of paper clips the
nail could pick up powered with one D cell and with four D cells. Ask: What difference did more
voltage make? (More voltage made the electromagnet stronger.) Why was it stronger? (More
voltage flowing through the circuit made the magnetic field around the wire stronger and the nail
could pick up more paper clips.) Say: Suppose I wanted to pick up more than paper clips. How
would I make an electromagnet strong enough to pick up a ton of metal? (Add more voltage.)
Tell the students that powerful electromagnets on huge cranes are used to pick up loads of steel
weighing many tons. The electromagnet holds onto the steel while the crane moves it to a new
location. Ask: When the power is turned off and the electric current no longer flows to the
electromagnet, what do you think happens to the steel? (It no longer sticks to the crane's
electromagnet.)
Make An Electromagnet
Materials:
D cell and D cell holder
Large iron nail
Two piece of copper wire: one 36" piece and one 12" piece
A switch
Metal paper clips
Directions:
1. Wrap the 36" piece of wire around the nail about ten turns in the same direction.
2. Connect one end of this wire to a D cell terminal and one end to the switch.
3. Use the other piece of wire to connect the other D cell terminal to the switch.
4. With the switch off, see if the nail will pick up any paper clips. How many paper clips are you
able to pick up?__________________________
5. With the switch on, see if the nail will pick up paper clips. How many paper clips are you able
to pick up now?__________________________
6. Turn off the switch. What happens to the paper clips?
______________________________________________________________________________
Reminder: Do not leave the switch on for very long or the D cell will wear out quickly.
Fourth Grade - Science - Lesson 45 - Electricity
Objectives
Design an experiment to find out if a magnet can cause electric current to move through a wire.
Make a diagram of the experimental setup.
Create questions and answers about electricity for The Shocking Truth About Electricity
Tournament.
Materials
For each group of five students: a current detector (from Lesson 43 but without D cell), 8 feet of
insulated wire with 2" of insulation stripped from the ends, masking tape, a bar magnet
Diagram of Faraday's experiment for transparency
For each group of five students: six 3 x 5 cards
Suggested Books
Franklin Institute Science Museum. The Ben Franklin Book of Easy Incredible Experiments. New
York: John Wiley, 1995. Pages 58 through 62 include clearly written summaries of the work of
Michael Faraday and versions of his experiments.
Gardner, Robert. Electricity and Magnetism. New York: Twenty-First Century, 1994. Pages 58
through 65 examine the impact of Michael Faraday's discovery and include instructions for
making a simple electric generator.
Leon, George deLucenay. The Story of Electricity. New York: Dover, 1983. Pages 36 and 37
include background on Michael Faraday and an indepth look at his experiments.
Wood, Robert. Electricity and Magnetism Fundamentals. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. The
illustrated activities in this book include a Michael Faraday generator on page 103.
Teacher Note
Make a list on the board of key terms introduced in the student's lessons on electricity.
This may remind them of questions they would like to include on their quiz boards. Some key
terms include static electricity, friction, nucleus-positive charge, electrons-negative charge,
insulator, conductor, starter, switch, series circuit, parallel circuit, voltage, current, Morse
Code, SOS, telegraph, resistance, short circuit, fuse/circuit breaker, William Sturgeon,
electromagnet, Allesandro Volta, wet cell, Michael Faraday.
Procedure
Remind the students that in the last lesson they learned about how electricity and
magnetism could work together. Ask: What device uses electric current and magnetic fields to
pick up objects? (electromagnet) Ask the students to describe how they made electromagnets.
(coiled wire around an iron nail, assembled the wire into a circuit with D cells and a switch.) Ask:
What happened when you turned on the circuit's switch? (The nail became magnetized and picked
up paper clips) Why did the nail become magnetized? (Electric current creates a magnetic field
around itself.) Write electric current creates magnetic field on the board.
Tell the students that they have seen how an electric current generates a magnetic field.
Ask: Do you think a magnetic field can make an electric current? Can a magnet cause electrons
to move through wire? Write the question on the board. Ask: If you were going to design an
experiment to find out the answer to this question, how would you do it? What materials would
you need? (Answers might include: a magnet, wire) List the materials on the board. Ask: How
would you know when there was a current moving through the wire? (use a current detector or
light bulb) Ask: What would you do with these materials? (Answers might include: connect the
current detector or bulb to wire; move magnet near wire and see if the current detector detects a
current or the bulb goes on.) Ask: What might happen if the magnet is near the compass? (It will
make the needle move.) Remind the students to keep the magnet away from the compass so it
won't affect the results of their experiments. Divide the students into groups of five and distribute
materials. Ask the students to make a labeled diagram showing the set up of their experiment.
When the groups have diagramed and tested initial set ups, show them the transparency of
Michael Faraday's experimental setup. Tell them that after many, many tries, a British scientist
named Michael Faraday tried this setup. Ask the students to try Faraday's setup and see if they
can create a current using the magnet. Tell them they can create the coil of wire by wrapping it at
least 20 times around three fingers and then slipping the fingers out and taping the wires together.
When the setups are complete, ask the students to insert the magnet into the coil and hold it still.
Ask: Does the current detector detect a current? (no, unless the magnet is too near the compass)
Ask the students to quickly move the magnet in and out of the coil while other group members
keep a close eye on the current detector. Ask: What happens to the needle on the current
detector? (The needle moves slightly.) What does that mean? (There is a low voltage current
going through the wire when the magnet is moving in and out of the coil but not when it is still.)
Tell the students that in the 1830s, when Michael Faraday did this same experiment, he
had a lot of questions. "Why did the current stop when I held the magnet still? If I used a stronger
magnet, would the voltage of the current increase? Can I make more voltage by using more wire
in the coil? What if a moved the coil instead of the magnet? What would happen if I used two
magnets? Suppose I spun magnets around and around a coil...what would happen then?" Tell the
students that Michael Faraday was not an inventor. He was a question asker. He was not satisfied
knowing that an electromagnet worked. He wanted to know exactly why it worked and what that
might mean about the forces of electricity and magnetism. He was always asking questions,
always experimenting and always sharing what he found out with everyone, not just other
scientists. Faraday even held events especially for children to show them his experiments. They
asked a lot of questions, too. Because he asked so many questions, Faraday made important
discoveries not just about magnetism and electricity, but also about light and astronomy and
chemistry. Often his experiments did not work. Then he would say, "The failures are just as
important as the successes." He was always learning, even from failures. Faraday is remembered
as one of the greatest scientists of all time. His discoveries gave other scientists and inventors the
knowledge they needed to invent electric motors, powerful generators, the telegraph, the
telephone and just about every other electrical device.
Tell the students that for the next lesson they will need questions about electricity because
each group will be building an electronic quiz board. Other groups will try to match the questions
to the answers on the quiz board. Tell the students that each group should write six questions and
answers about electricity to use on their quiz boards. Examples of questions and answers: What is
electric current? (the flow of electrons) How many volts in a D cell? (1 volts). What did
William Sturgeon invent? (electromagnet) Remind the students that questions and answers about
safe use of electricity might also be included. Distribute 3 x 5 cards and tell the students to write
the questions and answers on the fronts of the cards. Students may want to refer to the key terms
list or books on electricity in the classroom. When the students are finished, collect the cards from
each group and keep them for the next lesson.
Fourth Grade - Science - Lesson 46 - Electricity
Objectives
Assemble and correctly wire an electronic circuit board.
Participate in the Shocking Truth About Electricity Tournament.
Materials
For each group of five students: a piece of sturdy cardboard at least 15 inches tall and 14 inches
wide with six holes punched down each side about 1 inch from the edges, flashlight bulb and bulb
holder or electric buzzer, D cell, D cell holder, 12 brass paper fasteners, 14 metal paper clips, 12
feet of prepared bell wire, scissors, masking tape, worksheet crayons for decorating the quiz
board (optional)
An old circuit board, if available, or picture of a circuit board from Suggested Books
Suggested Books
Bridgman, Roger. Electronics. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993. This Eyewitness book
contains information on Michael Faraday and other scientists and inventors as well as wonderful
color photographs, cutaways of electrical devices including several photos of circuit boards.
Parsons, Alexandra. Make It Work! Electricity. New York: Scholastic, 1992. Pages 24 and 25
include color illustrations for making a very elaborate "circuit quiz."
Teacher Note
Hole punches can be used to make holes in the cardboard big enough for paper fasteners.
Place the holes at least 2 inches apart. Wire can be cut from one length or recycled from other
student projects. Each group will need six 16-inch pieces, two 20-inch pieces and one 8-inch piece
of wire with all ends stripped of insulation. Buzzers give a multisensory appeal to quiz boards, but
light bulbs work just as well to indicate a right answer. To obtain an old circuit board, ask at an
appliance or computer repair shop or service center.
Procedure
Remind the students that in this lesson, they will be building electronic quiz boards. Each
group will try to stump the other groups with tough questions about electricity. If students can
match a question to the correct answer on an electronic quiz board, a buzzer sounds (or lightbulb
lights up). Remind the groups that in order to make their quiz boards, they must be able to match
all their questions and answers correctly so they can be wired correctly. Ask: Why must all the
connections in a circuit be secure with no loose wires? (If there is a gap in the circuit, the light
won't light or the buzzer won't buzz.) Have the students return to the groups from last lesson.
Distribute the question cards made last lesson to the respective groups for use on their quiz
boards. Distribute materials and worksheets.
When the students have finished wiring and perhaps decorating their quiz boards, ask them
to name three different conductors they used to make their quiz board circuits (paper fasteners,
paper clips, wire) Ask the students if this circuit reminds them of the one they assembled for the
conductor and insulator tests last month. Show the students the back of one of the quiz boards. If
available, show the students a printed circuit board. Point out that the quiz board is a larger and
simpler version of the circuit boards in computers, TVs, microwave ovens and other electrical
appliances. Ask students how many connections there are on the quiz boards they made (12). Ask
them to estimate the number of connections on the old circuit board (probably hundreds). Point
out that the connections on their quiz boards were made by hand. The connections on the printed
circuit board were made by machine. No wire can cross over another on the printed circuit so it
looks like a maze with wires routed around each other.
Begin a classwide competition--The Shocking Truth About Electricity Tournament. Have
each group decide on a name for their group. Invite a member of each group to present his or her
group's quiz board to members of another group. When the group members have read a question
aloud and determined the correct answer to a question, they touch the metal fasteners, complete
the circuit and buzz the buzzer or light the lightbulb. Keep a tally of correct answers for each
group on the chalkboard. When all groups have presented their quiz boards, have playoffs to
determine the winning group of the An Electronic Quiz Board.
Directions:
1. Slip a paper fastener through each hole
in the board. Bend over the ends on the back.
2. Cut the questions and answers apart.
Arrange them on the front of the board,
each one next to a paper fastener button.
Stick them down with a loop of tape on
the back of each piece.
3. Wrap the bare end of each medium-length wire around a paper clip so it makes a good contact.
The paper clips will be connectors.
4. Have a group member looking at the front of the board, guide members in the back to make the
proper connections in the circuit. Use the medium-length wires to connect questions and their
correct answers by looping the paper clip connecters to the ends of the paper fasteners.
5. Use the longest wires for the front of the board. Add a paper clip connector to one end of each
long wire. Connect the bare end of a long wire to a D cell terminal. Connect the bare end of the
other long wire to the bulb holder or buzzer.
6. Use the shortest wire to connect the other D cell terminal to the other bulb holder or buzzer
connection.
7. Test your connections by touching the button next to a question with the paper clip end of one
long wire and touching the correct answer with the paper clip end of the other long wire. Does
the lightbulb light or the buzzer buzz? If not, check all your connections to see they are secure
and try again. Double check all your questions and answers to see that you have wired them
correctly.
Bibliography
Berger, Melvin. All About Electricity. New York: Scholastic, 1995. (0-590-48077-4)
Bridgman, Roger. Electronics. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1993. (1-564-58324-4)
Cole, Joanna. The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip. New York: Scholastic, 1997.(0-590-44682-7)
Epstein, Sam and Beryl. The First Book of Electricity. New York: Franklin Watts, 1977. (0-531-00522-4)
Franklin Institute Science Museum. The Ben Franklin Book of Easy Incredible Experiments. New
York: John Wiley, 1995. (0-471-07639-2)
Gardner, Robert. Electricity and Magnetism. New York: Twenty-First Century, 1994. (0-805-02850-1)
Gibson, Gary. Understanding Electricity. Brookfield, CT: Copper Beech, 1995. (1-562-94629-3)
Gutnick, Martin. Simple Electical Devices. New York: Franklin Watts, 1986. (0-531-10127-4)
Leon, George deLucenay. The Story of Electricity. New York: Dover, 1983. (0-486-25581-6)
Markle, Sandra. Weather, Electricity, Environmental Investigations. Santa Barbara, CA:
Learning Works, 1982. (0-881-60082-2)
Math, Irwin. More Wires and Watts: Understanding and Using Electricity. New York: Scribners,
1988. (0-684-18914-3)
Parsons, Alexandra. Make It Work! Electricity. New York: Scholastic, 1992. (0-590-54461-6)
Wood, Robert. Electricity and Magnetism Fundamentals. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. (0-070-71804-0)