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Conductors and Insulators MatchCard

The Conductors and Insulators MatchCard guides students to investigate what materials conductor or resist the flow of electricity.

science-matchcard

Conductors and Insulators

Objective: List electrical conductors and insulators.

This lesson builds on the concepts in MatchCard 8 - Electrical Circuits.

Definitions:
Conductor - Material that readily conducts electrons though them allowing an electrical current to pass through.
Insulator - Material that resists the flow of electrons and prevents electrical currents.

Materials to Test

Gather a variety of materials to test for conductivity.

A variety of metal objects
- different coins
- metal spoons/forks
- wires
plastic items
- plastic spoon
- small plastic toy
cloth
- dry cloth
- wet cloth
styrofoam

Modify the Electrical Circuit Experiment

We will modify the experiment done in MatchCard 8 which uses aluminum foil, a C battery, and a flashlight bulb.

Cut three pieces of aluminum foil approximately 12 inches long and 1/2 inch thick. Fold the strips the long ways so they are 1/4 inch thick.
Set a battery on one end of one of the first foil strip.
Touch the other end of the strip to one of the objects you are testing for conductivity
Touch the second foil strip to the other end of the object being tested.
Then touch the other end of that second strip to the metal base of a flashlight bulb.
Now touch one end of the third strip to the flashlight bulb as well.
Finally touch the opposite end of the third strip to the positive end of the battery. The bulb will light up if the object tested is a conductor.

Using Wires and Alligator Clips

Here is an easier way to do the same experiment. However, this will require special equipment. You can buy the wires and alligator clips at an electronics store inexpensively. Here is what you will need:

a 9 volt battery
6 alligator clips
3 pieces of electrical wire, each about 12 inches long

It will be easiest if you can purchase the alligator clips in pairs with the wire already attached. Each two alligator clips will be connected to the opposite end of a piece of wire.

The experiment is the same as that above, only you will connect the alligator clips to the items instead of the aluminum foil. Follow the same directions above.

Using the Conductors and Insulators MatchCard

This is the ninth Matchcard of the Light and Energy Unit Study. You can download the Conductors and Insulators Matchcard here.

The student matches the description of the wires, electrical source, and switch to the diagram of the electrical circuit..

The second page is the Instructor's Guide with the correct answers.

The third page has the Information Pieces. Student's cut them apart and place them in the correct place on their copy of the Matchcard (first page.)

For more information on how to use the Matchcards, see the MatchCard Science Instructor's Guide.

MatchCard Science

The activities and illustration above are from MatchCard Science, a homeschool science unit study. For the complete Light and Energy Unit Study follow this link. This unit study provides:

hands-on demonstrations
MatchCard reviews to master the material
suggestions for science projects to complete
instructions on a complete unit study curriculum

Currently this curriculum is under-going revision. We are providing free access to the unit study, with the desire that you will provide feedback as you are field testing the materials.

Science Notebook

If you are just using this single project, and are not in need of a full unit study, you might want your student to complete a science notebook entry for this project.

Return from the Conductors and Insulators MatchCard to the MatchCard Science Main Page.