4th Grade Physical Science

Electricity and Magnetism

1. What are the properties of magnets?
2. How are electrical conductors and insulators different?
3. How does an electric circuit work?
4. How do we use electricity and magnetism in everyday life?
5. How are electricity and magnetism related?

1. The physical properties of magnets (some materials are magnetic and attract certain metals; opposite magnetic poles attract and similar magnetic poles repel; the strength of a magnetic field decreases with distance)
2. Electricity and magnetism have many important uses in everyday life

1. Classify a variety of materials on whether they conduct electricity (conductors) or do not conduct electricity (insulators)
2. Construct and explain an electric circuit.
3. Draw conclusions from evidence
4. Present the results of a scientific investigation

1. Magnetism is a force field that surrounds certain magnetic materials
2. Electricity is the flow of electric charge (called electric current)
3. Conductors allow electric charge to flow through them, insulators do not
4. An electric circuit requires a power source (battery, etc), a conductor, and a resistor/load of some kind (light bulb, motor, etc). Circuits must flow in a complete path from one end of the power source to the other.
5. Electromagnets use electricity to create a magnet
6. Static electricity is the build up of electric charge on a material. Materials that are statically charged can behave like magnets.