Electricity and Magnetism
Electricity and magnetism are important in many of the objects you use daily in your house. In fact, the generator that provides electricity for your house uses magnets. The electric current is produced by a magnet circulating around a wire. Find out more about electricity and magnetism as you use the sites at the Times Launch Point Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/
Level 1
Magnequench: MagnetZone: Just like the Earth, every magnet has a north pole and a south pole. Read how a Greek shepherd may have discovered the first natural magnet, learn how magnets are used in compasses and find out other interesting uses for magnets.
https://www.mqii.com/kids.html
Magnet Activity Book: Did you know that animals use magnetism to help them find their way around? Use this online activity book to help you learn about magnetism in your everyday life and how Michael Faraday discovered that magnetic fields are created by magnets.
https://k12.magnet.fsu.edu/activity/
The Story of Electricity: Lightning is one source of electricity, but how is electricity created every day to light our lights and turn on our televisions? Learn about generators of electricity and view diagrams that trace the path of electricity from the power plant to your light switch at home.
https://www.bedison.com/resident/kidspace/ks_bk1.htm
Level 2
BrainPop: Electricity: What are the three components of a circuit? View an animated movie that teaches about electricity and magnets, and test your knowledge through a fun online quiz.
https://www.brainpop.com/electric
What Is Static Electricity? Electrons are tiny particles that can move from one object to another, and we cannot see it happening. Learn how this is possible and how it is related to static electricity.
https://www.waterw.com/~science/january.html
Newton’s Apple: Electricity: Good conductors of electricity include many metals and some liquids. Substances such as rubber, wood and plastic are called insulators because they don’t conduct electricity well. Find out why birds don’t get electrocuted when they sit on power lines and try building a conductivity tester to see if an object conducts electricity.
https://ericir.syr.edu/Projects/Newton/12/Lessons/electric.html
Level 3
Theater of Electricity: What do Tesla coils do? What is the truth behind Benjamin Franklin’s experiment with flying a kite during a lightning storm? Learn about the history of studying electricity through photographs, diagrams and video clip demonstrations.
https://www.mos.org/sln/toe/toe.html
Electricity & Magnetism: Tiny charged particles keep your lights on and shock you when you drag your feet on the carpet. Learn all about these particles and how they are responsible for electricity and magnetism through this animated online tutorial.
https://ippex.pppl.gov/ippex/module_4/intro.html
Voltage Circuit Simulator: Ohms’ Law determines whether a circuit is working. Practice using this principle by adding resistors and batteries to make a light work through this online animated exercise.
https://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/Voltage/index.html
EXPLORER’S QUEST
The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.
Where is a magnet’s greatest strength?
CLUE: See Magnequench: MagnetZone
Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 90 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.
Answer to last week’s Quest: Alexander II
Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Christie Engesser and Anna Manring.
