We have explored the history of electricity from the Ancient Greeks creating static electricity by rubbing amber together.  We discovered that Benjamin Franklin studied electricity and was able to prove that lightning was electrical.

We looked at everyday appliances and investigated what type of power they use.  We then sorted the appliances using a Venn diagram  into mains or battery power.

We discovered that in the UK, mains electricity is produced by gas or coal power stations.   We also generate electricity by wind turbines, solar panels and hydroelectric power.  We think there should be more electricity generated this way.   Ramine  told us she has solar panels in her house💡.

During our investigation we discovered that electricity is generated at power stations, then sent sent from transformers along wires to pylons.   As the electricity gets closer to villages or cities the wires are then placed underground before it comes to our 🏠 homes.

We created posters to highlight how to be safe when using electrical appliances.  We can now state which  materials conduct electricity, like metal and which materials are good insulators, like rubber.

After all this researching we then explored electric circuits. We know that electricity flows in a circuit from the negative pole of a battery to its positive pole. This flow is called a current. We designed  a circuit using the different symbols for each componant and the tried it out using the appliances.