What are conductors and insulators?

What is a conductor? A conductor is something which allows electricity to flow through. An example of a conductor is: Scissors Paper clip Aluminum foil Iron Steel Copper

What is a Insulator? An insulator is what makes electricity from not flowing Examples of insulators are: Cotton Paper Plastic Glass Rubber

These are pictures of conductors and Insulators

Lets demonstrate…. Materials Needed: 1.2-volt lightbulb, a matching lightbulb base, a D-cell battery, a banana three pieces of copper wire with the insulation stripped off the ends.

Procedure Draw the following picture in your science journal.

Let me demonstrate… Set up the equipment as shown and tape the wires to the battery. Does anything happen? Does the banana allow electricity to flow through the circuit and light the bulb? Is it a conductor or an insulator? Why or why not?

What is a circuit tester? Example of a circuit tester Now its your turn… What is a circuit tester? Use of a circuit tester: To test whether the material is a good electrical conductor. Example of a circuit tester

Inquiring Minds Want to Know. Conductor or Insulator Inquiring Minds Want to Know! Conductor or Insulator? That is the question! Now take the bag of materials and spread them out in front of you. Draw the following table in your journal. As you test each item, record whether it was a conductor or and insulator with a Item Conductor Insulator Did the bulb light? Spoon Paper clip pencil Rubber band eraser Foil Nail coin

How to use a circuit tester? Step 1: Set up the circuit tester as shown above. Step 2: Place the object between the open ends of the wire.

How to use a circuit tester? If the bulb lights up, it means the material allows electric current to flow through the closed circuit. The brighter the bulb, the better the conductor of electricity is the material.

Now write your conclusion based on your investigation… What objects were conductors of electricity? Why? What objects were insulators of electricity? Did any of the conductors have common characteristics? What about the insulators? How would knowing the difference between conductors and insulators help you in the real world?

Conclusions… Conductors allow electricity flow through them.  Conductors are materials that can carry electricity - they conduct electricity. Metal materials such as copper, iron, steel and aluminum are all good conductors of electricity. Insulators do not allow electricity to flow through them. Materials such as wood, plastic, rubber and glass do not carry electricity and are called insulators – they don’t conduct electricity.