Resources: Class presentation, batteries, bulbs, alligator clips and wires. A variety of materials and objects that can be investigated, such as tin foil, fabric, a coin, rubber, paper, wood and classroom objects that could have both a part that is a conductor and a part that is an insulator.
Support Handout (1): This handout provides the children with a scaffolded way to record their prediction, results and conclusion.
Core Handout (2): An investigation sheet that provides children with space to record their prediction, results and conclusion. Page two asks children to sort their materials into a Venn diagram.
Enquiry Skill - Setting up tests
Carefully following a method and using equipment accurately to carry out a scientific enquiry. The method may be designed by teachers or children themselves.
Enquiry Approach - Comparative / fair testing
Conducting a test that controls all but one variable to answer a scientific question.
Recap on the previous lesson by asking the children to explain what they need to do to make a lamp light in a simple series circuit. Why might an electrical circuit not work?
Use the presentation to enable the children to discover what electrical conductors and insulators are. In this lesson, they will discover materials that make good conductors, materials that make good insulators and why these materials are used for specific purposes.
Rocket Thinking - Teacher Notes: An agree or disagree question enables the children to think critically, explore different viewpoints and identify misconceptions or errors. Use this question to spark debate about the role and importance of conductors and insulators. The children may suggest several ideas, such as:
Career Film: Take a tour around Rolls Royce Submarines' Nuclear Skills Academy to find out about Michka's job. Michka works as a Systems Engineer for Rolls Royce Submarines.
Expert Film: This is Chris. Chris works as a Materials Engineer for Rolls Royce Submarines. Listen to Chris as he describes conductors and insulators.
Ask the children to use simple electrical apparatus to investigate which materials are electrical conductors and which are insulators. Give the children a range of materials and everyday objects to test. Ask them to predict which materials and objects will act as an electrical conductor and which will act as an electrical insulator. Ask them to record their results on the table and transfer their results onto a Venn diagram. Which objects did they discover were made of both insulating materials and conducting materials?
Ask them to write up a conclusion that answers the following questions: What materials make good conductors? What makes a good insulator? Use the slides after the mission assignment to support this.
Challenge Task: Ask the children to write a summary statement to explain the results shown in their Venn diagrams. Can they give some examples of appliances that use both conducting and insulating materials? For example, kettles have a plastic covering over their switch to keep the user safe.
Ask the children to present their Venn diagrams, explaining any relationships they discovered between insulators and conductors.
In an electrical circuit, conductors and insulators are materials that play important roles in the flow of electric current.
Conductors are materials that allow electric current to flow through them easily. Metals are good conductors of electricity because they have free electrons that can move freely through the material, allowing an electric current to flow. Copper and aluminium are commonly used as conductors in electrical wiring because they have low resistance and are readily available.
Insulators are materials that do not allow electric current to flow through them. Insulators are used to prevent electric current from flowing in unwanted directions and to protect people from electrical shock. Common insulators include rubber, plastic, glass, and air. Insulators can be used to cover conductors to prevent accidental contact, or they can be used to separate conductors from each other to prevent short circuits.
The properties of a material that determine whether it is a conductor or an insulator include its atomic structure and the number of electrons in its outer shell. Metals have many free electrons in their outer shells, which allows them to conduct electric current easily. Nonmetals have fewer free electrons in their outer shells and are therefore poor conductors of electric current.
Semiconductors are materials that have some of the properties of both conductors and insulators. They can be used to regulate or amplify electric current in electronic devices. Silicon and germanium are commonly used as semiconductors in electronic devices like transistors and integrated circuits.
Understanding the properties of conductors and insulators is important for designing and building safe and effective electrical circuits. Choosing the right materials for each component of a circuit can help ensure that the circuit functions properly and reduces the risk of accidents or damage.
When pupils are adding a conductor to their circuit, such as a paper clip, they may ask why they do not receive an electric shock if they touch the paper clip while the circuit is complete. This is for two reasons: the amount of electric current flowing through the circuit is very low, and humans are not as good an electrical conductor as metal is. Therefore, the current continues to flow through the paperclip, rather than diverting through the human. Pupils should be reminded to treat all electrical currents as dangerous and to avoid touching the material being tested as much as possible.
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