Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Investigating Testing for Electrical Conductivity Using Materials

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this activity, students will understand that electricity moves through different circuits and discover what types of materials are conductors and insulators.
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Electrical Conductivity

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the encyclopedic entry for electrical conductivity from Wikipedia.com. The site provides a brief introduction to the topic but provides numerous links to information relative to the topic.
Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Conductivity of Water

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students discover that pure water does not conduct electricity and that dissolving different substances in water may or may not cause it to conduct electricity.
Activity
Science is Fun

Science Is Fun: Conducting Solutions

For Students 4th - 8th
An experiment where one must first build a conductivity tester, then use it to test how well water conducts electricity when different materials found around the home are each dissolved in it.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: What's the Conductivity of Gatorade?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students use conductivity meters to measure various salt and water solutions, as indicated by the number of LEDs (light emitting diodes) that illuminate on the meter. Students create calibration curves using known amounts of table salt...
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Put a Spark in It! Electricity

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Uncountable times every day "with the merest flick of a finger"each one of us calls on electricity to do our bidding. What would your life be like without electricity? Students begin learning about electricity with an introduction to the...
Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Ionic Bonds and Ionic Compounds

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] In the following online tutorial students will learn to explain how an ionic bond is formed when electrons are transferred from one atom to another in terms of the...
Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Physical Science: Transfer of Electric Charge

For Students 7th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Transfer of electric charge: transfer of electrons, conservation of charge and three ways electric charge can be transferred.
Activity
Maryland Science Center

Maryland Science Center: Build a Conductivity Tester [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 6th
Instructions on how to build an instrument that can be used to test which materials are conductors and which are insulators, in order to bridge a gap in an electrical circuit.
Interactive
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Static Electricity: Charging Interactive

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore charge interactions, the charging of objects by conduction and induction, and the grounding of objects in this interactive.
Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Electric Conductors and Insulators

For Students 7th - 8th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] In this lesson, students learn about materials that conduct electricity and those that insulate against it. Includes a simulation for exploring conductivity, and a...
Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: Physical Science: Electricity and Magnetism

For Students 9th - 10th
Students learn about static electricity using terms such as friction, induction, and conduction. They also explain and illustrate the difference between alternating and direct current, and understand the relationship among voltage,...
Handout
Wolfram Research

Wolfram Science World: Eric Weisstein's World of Physics: Electrical Conduction

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief definition for what electrical conduction is. Also provides the definition for related terms.
Graphic
Curated OER

Physics4 kids.com: Electricity Conduction

For Students 3rd - 8th
Illustration showing how the space between atoms in a material affects the production of heat when an electric current passes through it.
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Chemical Bonding: Metallic Bonds

For Students 9th - 10th
Given scenarios or diagrams, students will describe the nature of metallic bonding and explain properties such as thermal and electrical conductivity, malleability, and ductility of metals.
Interactive
BBC

Bbc Schools: Ks2 Bitesize: Science: Physical Processes: Electrical Conductors

For Students 3rd - 8th
A review of electrical conductors and insulators, with diagrams, activities, and quiz questions.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Saltwater Circuit

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students build a saltwater circuit, which is an electrical circuit that uses saltwater as part of the circuit. Students investigate the conductivity of saltwater, and develop an understanding of how the amount of salt in a solution...
Interactive
University of Colorado

University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Band Structure

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the origin of energy bands in crystals of atoms. The structure of these bands determines how materials conduct electricity. Java required.
Handout
University of California

University of California: Seawater Density & Salinity [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the properties of seawater and the variations depending on its location, e.g., near a shoreline, in an estuary, or as sea ice. Discusses the instruments scientists use to measure the density of water and explains other...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Lights On!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students in this activity will build simple circuits using a battery, wires, and light bulbs. This activity allows students to examine how electricity is conducted through a light bulb using a battery as a power source. Students will...
Lesson Plan
SRI International

Performance Assessment Links in Science: Mystery Card 3

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Straightforward introduction to electrical circuits using minimal materials and time. Students learn about the basics of electrical circuits by experimenting with "mystery cards" -- index cards with hidden aluminum foil used to conduct...
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Energy

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Through nine lessons, students are introduced to a range of energy types--electrical, light, sound and thermal-as well as the renewable energy sources of wind, hydro (water) and solar power. Subjects range from understanding that the...
Website
Nobel Media AB

The Nobel Prize: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1908

For Students 9th - 10th
At this site read about Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937 CE), the scientist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, "for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances." This...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Renewable Energy Living Lab

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students become familiar with the online Renewable Energy Living Lab interface and access its real-world solar energy data to evaluate the potential for solar generation in various U.S. locations. They become familiar with where the most...