4-5.5 Explain how electricity, as a form of energy, can be transformed into other forms of energy (including light, heat, and sound).
Changing Electricity to Light
Lamps, TVs, and computer monitors change electricity into light. When you switch on a lamp, electricity flows through a light bulb. Inside the bulb, electricity moves through a thin wire called a filament. The wire gets so hot that it glows. |
Changing Electricity to Heat
A light bulb gives off heat as well as light. Some of the electricity that flows through the bulb is changed into heat. Heat is energy that makes things feel warm. You may use a blow-dryer after you wash your hair. You may use a toaster to make your breakfast. An adult may use an iron to press your clothes. All these devices change electricity into heat. An electric stove or oven also changes electricity into heat for cooking. All electrical devices give off some heat. When electricity is transformed, some of the energy is always changed into heat. |
Changing Electricity to Sound
Sound is energy you can hear. Every sound is made by something vibrating, or moving back and forth very fast. An iPod changes electricity into sound. So do police sirens, school bells, electric guitars, telephones, radios, TVs, doorbells, music players, and computers. Your telephone gets signals from another telephone in the form of electricity. Your phone changes these signals into sound by making a part of the phone vibrate. |
Learning Task #1:
Students discuss what they know and would like to know about electric circuits. Create a KWL chart. Students brainstorm a list of items that use electricity. As a class, classify/ categorize the items into groups titled “light,” “sound,” and “heat.” Learning Task #2: Students investigate how to light a bulb. Students are using the items from the kit to make a bulb light. Students should record all of their attempts and explain what they did that worked and did not work. Students create a T-chart in their notebooks or using the Show Me app; Answer the question, “Why did some circuit configurations light the bulb, but others did not?” Formative Assessment: What other forms of energy can electricity be changed into? Use evidence to support your claim. Graphic Organizer Write Like a Scientist: Electricity as a Form of Energy (page 2) |
Resources:
ABDO e-Book: ● Electricity pgs. 18-21 Reading A-Z Book: ● High Speed Trains (Level X) (pgs. 9-10) Discovery Ed Techbook: ● About Electricity ● Electric Circuits Techbook Resources: ● Electricity in the Real World Video Segment ● Electricity, A Form of Energy ● Transferring Electricity into Sound_ ● Light and Heat |