Topic 5 General Notes
Practicals and simulations are an important part of this unit. Great opportunities to do calculations and make predictions to be test in real scenarios. I also get my students working with breadboards here so that they are familiar if the students take electronics in university.
Topic 5.1 - Electric Fields
Teaching Notes:
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Student Notes:
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Formative Assessment:
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Useful Videos:
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Chris Doner
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Electric Fields Playlist (First video ties into topic 10)
Electron Drift video above
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Practical Ideas:
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- Rubbing balloons on shirt/heads to create static charge
- Using ebonite and plastic rods with a wool cloth to create charge and demonstrate attraction/repulsion (potentially with the baloons) - Using Van De Graff Generator to demonstrate static charge |
TOpic 5.2 - Heating effects of electric current
Teaching Notes:
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Student Notes:
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Formative Assessment:
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Useful Videos:
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Chris Doner
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Circuits Playlist (See videos 1 and 3-8)
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Practical Ideas:
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- Having students identify resistors by their colour bands
- Testing different lengths of 0.1mm or 0.2mm nichrome wire to find the relationship between length and resistance (can calculate resistivity of the wire) - Setting up resistors in parallel and series and determining equivalent resistance - Providing a source with too high a voltage and having students make a potential divider circuit to light a light bulb without burning it out - Using theoretical values and Kirchoff's laws to find expected currents/voltages and then using a simulation to demonstrate accuracy |
Topic 5.3 - Electric Cells
Teaching Notes:
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Student Notes:
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Formative Assessment:
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Useful Videos:
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Chris Doner
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Practical Ideas:
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- Determining the internal resistance of a lemon (or potato) using a copper strip and a magnesium strip stuck into the lemon
- Putting lemon (potato) cells in arrangement to try to light an LED |
Topic 5.4 - Magnetic Effects of Electric Currents
Teaching Notes:
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Student Notes:
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Formative Assessment:
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Useful Videos:
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Chris Doner
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Practical Ideas:
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- Have students compete in a competition to make the strongest electromagnet, given the same power source and nail.
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Topic 5 Formative assessment

topic_5_problem_set_2016.doc | |
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topic_5_-_additional_questions.pdf | |
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topic_5_-_additional_questions_-_answers.pdf | |
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topic_5_-_auto-test.pdf | |
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