1. Electricity and movement
What is the connection between electricity and movement?
Teacher notes
This illustration contains several discussion points relating to electricity and movement, as well as electricity to the home in general, including:
wind turbines in the background: kinetic energy being converted into electrical energy
power lines in the background: supplying electricity via the National Grid
electric fan: electrical energy being converted into kinetic energy
exercise bike and hamster wheel: a potential source of electrical energy?
electric guitar and amplifier: kinetic energy being converted into electrical energy, and electrical energy into sound energy
other electrical devices: laptop, uplighter, TV, DVD player, hi-fi, computer, mobile phone, iPod
electricity bill: cost of electricity

2. Energy transfer in the home
Electricity in the home is an essential source of energy for many appliances.
In all electrical appliances, electrical energy is transferred to other types of energy, for example:
a fan converts electrical energy into kinetic energy
a speaker converts electrical energy into sound energy
a kettle converts electrical energy into heat energy
How is electrical energy created in the first place?

3. How is electrical energy produced?
Most methods of producing electricity involve converting movement (i.e. kinetic energy) into electrical energy.
Coal, oil, gas and nuclear power stations convert kinetic energy from high-pressure steam into electrical energy.
Wind turbines convert kinetic energy from wind into electrical energy.
Photo credit (left): © 2006 Jupiterimages Corporation
Photo credit (right): Energy Northwest / NREL
Teacher notes
See the ‘Non-Renewable Energy Resources’, ‘Renewable Energy: Solar and Thermal’ and ‘Renewable Energy: Wind and Water’ presentations for more information on how electrical energy is produced from a range or energy sources.
How does this key energy transfer take place?

4. Creating electricity from movement
Electricity is created from the movement of a wire in a magnetic field, or the movement of a magnetic field within a coil of wire.
This is called electromagnetic induction. It was discovered by Michael Faraday, a British chemist and physicist, in 1831.
Teacher notes
A generator that produces alternating current (AC) is sometimes called an alternator.
In power stations and wind turbines, induction takes place in generators. Here, a large turbine spins a magnet around within a set of coils, inducing a large electrical current.

5. Electromagnetic induction
Teacher notes
This virtual experiment illustrates the principle of electromagnetic induction. It could be used as a precursor to running the practical in the lab, or as a revision exercise.

6. Factors affecting induction
Electricity is induced when a magnet moves inside a coil of wire. When the magnet stops moving, so does the electrical current.
What factors affect the size of the electrical current induced?
The speed of the magnet – the faster it moves, the larger the current.
The strength of the magnet – the stronger the magnet, the larger the current.
The number of turns in the coil – the more turns in the coil, the larger the current.

7. How can motion produce a current?
Teacher notes
This true-or-false activity could be used as a plenary or revision exercise on electromagnetic induction, or at the start of the lesson to gauge students’ existing knowledge of the subject matter. Coloured traffic light cards (red = false, yellow = don’t know, green = true) could be used to make this a whole-class exercise.