TERM 3 – PHYSICAL

SCIENCE
ASSESSMENTS
Assessment Task Scheduled Date Weightin
g
%
Test 1: Electricity Wednesday 7 August
th
11

(content weeks 1-3) (Week 4)

Investigation Validation Investigation preparation (8 th-13th Aug) 8

Validation Assessment
Wednesday 14th August (Week 5)

Test 2: Waves Test Wednesday 18th September 11

(content weeks 5-9) (Week 10)

WEEK 1: ENERGY &
STATIC ELECTRICITY
YEAR 9 SCIENCE
 ENERGY

• The ability or
capacity to do work
(such as moving an
object)
• Measured in joules (J)
• 1 joule = equal to the
1 newton metre
(lifting 1N 1m)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qngs_o8-FMk
ELECTRICITY
• The flow of electric charge.
• It is produced when negative electrons and positive protons are separated and
reunite through a closed circuit.
• If the charges are unable to move, then it is called electrostatic charge.

Stati
Current
c
 SUBATOMIC PARTICLES - REVIEW

• Electrons – carry a negative charge

• Protons – carry a positive charge.
• Objects are normally uncharged – their atoms usually have equal positive
protons and negative electrons.
• But when two objects are rubbed together, they may be able to transfer
electrons from one objective to the other.
 STATIC ELECTRICITY

• The transfer of electrical energy from one

charged object to another.

• The build up of charge most commonly occurs because the surface

has been rubbed against another surface.
• The object with fewer electrons becomes positively charged and
the one with extra electrons becomes negatively charged.
 STATIC CHARGE
• Static charge usually leaks away after some time into its
surroundings, including the air around it. This returns the material
to their original state.
• However, if the build up of charge continues, the electrons may
jump across the gap from the negatively charged surface back to
the positively charge surface.
• As they jump back, the electrons release all their energy in one go,
converting the energy into heat, light, sound and motion/kinetic
energy – which is observed as a spark of lightning bolt.
• A lightning bolt happens when static charge builds up within the
atmosphere and then jumps to Earth, a building or another cloud.
 STATIC ELECTRICITY / ELECTROSTATIC
RULES

• Objects with like charges

repel
• Objects with unlike charges
attract
• Charged objects attract
neutral objects
 VIDEOS

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc2-363MIQs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St_KzxJqUGA
 WEEK 2 + 3
CURRENT ELECTRICITY
 CURRENT ELECTRICITY
• The continuous movement of
electrons through a conductor.

• Conductor: a material that

allows the flow of electrical
current.
• Insulator: a material that does
NOT allow the flow of
electrical current
 REVIEW OF STATIC ELECTRICITY

• Whereas static electricity is the build up of electric charge on a

surface.
• Electrons have been rubbed off one surface (charging it positive)
and have transferred to the other surface (charging it negative).
• If the build up of charge continues, the electrons may jump across a
gap from the negatively charged surface back to the positively
charged surface.
CURRENT, VOLTAGE & RESISTANCE
VIDEOS

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04-Oa6NumWM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xPjES-sHwg
 CURRENT
• The flow of electrons
• Measured using an ammeter, which measures the amount of charge that
flows through every second.
• The unit used to measure current is ampere (unit symbol A), which is
often shortened to amps.
• There are 1000mA (milliamps) in 1A
 VOLTAGE
• Voltage is the force of electricity through a circuit.
Can also be defined as a ‘potential difference’
• Measured using an voltmeter. The unit used to measure
voltage is volts (unit symbol V).
• It measures the amount of energy supplied to the charges
by the voltage source. It can also be a measure of the
amount of energy used by the charges as they pass
through an electrical component (e.g. light globe).
• Note: electrons lose energy as they pass through a
component such as a light globe. This results in a
voltage drop across the component (and depends on the
resistance in the component).
 RESISTANCE
• A measure of how difficult it is for an electric current to flow through a material
or a component.
• Resistance affects the current flowing through a circuit. As the resistance increases,
fewer electrons get through every second = reducing the current.
• Resistance of a material depends on: the type of material length of wire and the
thickness of the wire.
• Measured using the unit ohm. The unit symbol for ohms is the a letter from the
Greek alphabet known as omega, Ω. Resistance can be measured using a multimeter.
 RESISTANCE
• Most electrical wires are thick and are
made from good conductors, that
consequently have very low resistance.
• Resistors are devices that are place
deliberately in circuits to control or
reduce the size of the current.
• As electrons lose energy as it flows
through the resistor – the energy is often
converted to heat energy (hence resistors
can heat up) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF7ADcRt_uA
CURRENT, VOLTAGE & RESISTANCE
 OHM’S LAW

V = voltage, I = current, R = resistance

ELECTRICAL
CIRCUITS
 ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
• Electrons need a path to travel around so that they can deliver their energy. This
path is called an electric circuit.
• An electric circuit needs:
• An energy source (such as a battery or generator). This supplies the
electrons in the wire with the energy they require to get them moving
around the circuit.
• An energy user, such as a light glove, heating element of motor. These
devices convert the energy that electrons are delivering to them.
• Wires to connect everything, making the circuits complete.
• Electricity can only flow in a closed circuit. Any break in a circuit and the flow
of electrons stop. Most circuits have switches that deliberately break the circuit,
turning it on and off.
ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT COMPONENTS & THEIR
SYMBOLS
*the longer line on the battery/cell
represents the positive terminal and the
shorter line represents the negative
terminal
VIDEO: SERIES & PARALLEL CIRCUITS
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z0jhQeYDUE
• Watch first 3 minutes only.

Series Circuits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQurBlu35Fo&list=PLidqqIGKox7UVC-8
WC9djoeBzwxPeXph7&index=17
Parallel Circuits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNFXtjt5muI&list=PLidqqIGKox7UVC-8W
C9djoeBzwxPeXph7&index=18
 TYPES OF CIRCUITS
Series Circuits Parallel Circuits
• All components are connected side • Two or more branches/pathways
by side (in a single loop)
 SERIES CIRCUITS
• All components connected in a single loop.
• The same current flows through all components.
• all globes should light up with same brightness

• Advantages:
• All components are controlled by one switch.
• easier to construct

• Disadvantages:
• As only one path for current to flow, failure of one component
will affect ALL other components
• This can make it harder to locate the blown bulb (e.g. Christmas
lights)
• If more components added – it increases the resistance, reduces
 PARALLEL CIRCUITS
• Two or more pathways
• Constant voltage (potential difference) across each component,
but the current splits through pathways and then adds up again
• Commonly used in homes
• Advantages:
• Failure of one component will not affect others
• Can turn on/off lights independently if individual switches included
• Adding extras will not impact the brightness

• Disadvantages:
• More difficult to construct
• As increasing the load does not increase the resistance – but increases
chance of electrical fire.
 PLACEMENT OF AMMETERS AND
VOLTMETERS
• Ammeters are placed in line/in series
so that is measures the current flowing
through it.
• Voltmeters are placed in parallel to the
electrical component to measure the
potential difference (because electrons
lose energy as the move through the
component – so it allows it to measure
the amount of energy before and after)
 CURRENT & VOLTAGE IN CIRCUITS

In a series circuit:
• the current through each of the
components is the same

• the voltage across the circuit is

the sum of the voltages across
each component
• Voltage is shared across
components
 CURRENT & VOLTAGE IN CIRCUITS

In a parallel circuit:
• the voltage across each of the
components is the same

• the current is split between the

different pathways, so the total
current is the sum of the currents
through each component.
 UNIT CONVERSIONS

1000mA in 1 A (milliamps  amps)

1000 V in 1 kV (volts  kilovolts)