Balloons and Static Electricity A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines.



Title Balloons and Static Electricity
Description Lesson Objectives: 1. Students will be able to understand that similarly charged particles (proton-proton and electron-electron) repel each other while oppositely charged particles (proton-electron) attract each other and how electrons are transferred between two atoms. 2. Students will be able to differentiate between electricity and static electricity. 3. Students will be able to distinguish between the properties, in relation to the spread out and transfer of charges between conductors and insulators. 4. Students will be able to plan an investigation with a partner using an electroscope and various samples of materials. **Note:** The scripted version includes additional teacher resources, such as, background content, common misconceptions and a vocabulary list. It also has all worksheets as editable content.
Subject Chemistry
Level Middle School
Type Lab
Duration 60 minutes
Answers Included Yes
Language English
Keywords conductors and insulators, electric charge, electroscope, static electricity
Simulation(s) Balloons and Static Electricity (HTML5), Balloons and Static Electricity

Author(s) UTeach Middle School PhET Team
Contact Email elyse.zimmer@gmail.com
School / Organization UTeach UT-Austin
Date submitted 3/26/12
Date updated 5/27/15