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High School Physical ScienceUnit 8SPS10.a–c

Electricity & Magnetism

Sparks. Circuits. Invisible fields. And the one spinning machine that powers almost everything you own.

The doorknob ambush.

You shuffle across the carpet in socks, reach for the doorknob, and — ZAP. That tiny spark is a few THOUSAND volts. A wall outlet is only 120 V. So why can the outlet run a TV all day long, while the spark is over in a millionth of a second? And why is it so much worse in winter?

Start: What Do You Already Know? → Explore on your own ↓
8activities
14new words
4parts
∞replays — new every time
Open world

Explore

Jump in anywhere, in any order. Every activity reshuffles each time you play, so there's always something new. You earn volts for every right answer.

Think about it

Big questions to wonder about

By the end of this unit, you'll be able to answer every one of these.

Why does a few-thousand-volt spark barely hurt, while a 120 V outlet can run a TV all day?

When one bulb burns out, why do some light strings go dark while your house lights stay on?

How can a spinning magnet near a coil of wire power an entire city?

Why can a junkyard crane drop a whole car just by flipping a switch?

Vocabulary

Word Wall

The 14 words you'll own by the end of this unit. Tap any card to flip it. Words you collect in the activities get a ✓.

The road ahead

Unit Roadmap

Four parts, in the order we'll learn them.

1

Part 1: Static Electricity & Charge

  • Where charge comes from
  • The law of charges
  • Friction, conduction, induction
  • Conductors, insulators & grounding
SPS10
2

Part 2: Current, Voltage, Resistance & Ohm's Law

  • What every circuit needs
  • V, I, and R
  • What changes resistance
  • V = I × R
SPS10.a
3

Part 3: Series & Parallel Circuits

  • Circuit symbols
  • Conventional current vs. electron flow
  • Series vs. parallel
  • DC vs. AC
SPS10.aSPS10.b
4

Part 4: Magnetism & Electromagnetism

  • Magnets & fields
  • Oersted's discovery
  • Electromagnets
  • Induction, motors & generators
SPS10.c
Where we're headed

Learning Targets & Success Criteria

Learning Targets

I am learning to…

  • Explain the properties of electricity and magnetism
  • Explain the relationships between electricity and magnetism
Success Criteria

I will be successful when I can…

  • Calculate Ohm's Law
  • Identify the flow of electrons in simple series and parallel circuits, including direct and alternating currents
  • Convey the advantages and disadvantages of series and parallel circuits
  • Explain how an electrical charge would move through a magnetic field
  • Build or illustrate electromagnets, simple motors and generators
  • Explain how the strength of a magnetic field changes with the amount of current in an electromagnet
Georgia Standards of Excellence

Standards

SPS10

Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to explain the properties of and relationships between electricity and magnetism.

SPS10.a

Use mathematical and computational thinking to support a claim regarding relationships among voltage, current, and resistance.

SPS10.b

Develop and use models to illustrate and explain the conventional flow (direct and alternating) of current and the flow of electrons in simple series and parallel circuits.

SPS10.c

Plan and carry out investigations to determine the relationship between magnetism and the movement of electrical charge.

Watch

One-minute videos

Quick previews from Simple Science Videos.

Circuits

SPS10.a · SPS10.b

Electromagnetism

SPS10.c

Fields

SPS10.c