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Episode 101:

New Pals

Shaw

EXPERIMENT SUMMARY

  • EXPERIMENT: Power me up, using lightning!
  • HYPOTHESIS: If lightning hits a lightning rod that is attached to me – PAL – by a wire, its electrical energy will travel through the wire to strike me.
  • METHOD: Build a lightning rod and connect a wire that will attach to me, PAL.
  • RESULT: The lightning struck me – PAL – and was strong enough to power me up.
  • CONCLUSION: Lightning contains LARGE amounts of electricity.
lightning rod

EXTENSION ACTIVITY

Let’s experiment with another form of electricity - Static Electricity!

When electricity gathers in one place it is known as static electricity. Static electricity is usually created when materials are pulled apart or rubbed together. This process causes positive charges to collect on one material and negative charges to collect on the other surface.

Try this experiment to see how you can bend water using static electricity:

  • 1. You will need a balloon for the experiment. When you have your balloon, blow it up and tie the end.
  • 2. Turn on the kitchen faucet to get a narrow, continuous stream of water.
  • 3. Rub the inflated balloon on your hair several times until some of your hair starts sticking to the balloon when you lift the balloon.
  • 4. Place the balloon near, but not touching, the stream of water.
  • 5. Observe how the water bends towards the balloon.

What's happening?

The static electricity you built up by rubbing your hair against the balloon attracts the stream of water, bending it towards the balloon like magic!

When you rubbed your hair against the balloon, tiny parts of the atoms in your hair, called electrons, are collected on the balloon. These electrons have a negative charge. Just like magnets, a negative charge will attract things that have a positive charge. When you bring the negatively charged balloon near the faucet it is attracted to the positive force of the water. The attraction is strong enough to actually pull the water towards the balloon as it is flowing!

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SYNOPSIS FOR TEACHERS / PARENTS:

In this episode, Nick moves into a new house across the street from a mysterious junkyard. Nick and his new friend Shania learn that the junkyard is the home of a genius kid scientist named Anne. Anne builds her own androids but one of her androids named PAL is not powered up yet. Nick, Shania and Anne design an experiment to power up PAL using electricity generated from a lightning bolt.

This episode introduces children about the different pieces that make up a scientific experiment such as a hypothesis and conclusion. It also teaches children about the science behind lightning and electrical energy.

CURRICULUM EXPECTATIONS:

Grade 6 Science - Understanding Matter and Energy: Electricity and Electrical Devices

  • 2.1 Follow established safety procedures for working with electricity
  • 2.5 Use technological problem-solving skills to design, build, and test a device that transforms electrical energy into another form of energy in order to perform a function
  • 3.3 Identify materials that are good conductors of electricity (e.g. metal) and good insulators (e.g. rubber)
  • 3.6 Explain the functions of the components of a simple electrical circuit