If you want to look at the questions now, you can click here.
Imagine you
are running late for school. You wake up and rush to get yourself dressed. You
don’t want to miss the bus! You run across the carpet to the door. But, when
you touch your doorknob, a wave of shock enters through your body.
What just
happened?
This shock
is one example of electricity. It’s a common type of electricity—static
electricity. You may be surprised how many everyday activities involve
electricity! Each morning, you might open your eyes to a battery-powered alarm sound.
You may
microwave a warm breakfast. Or, use a nearby outlet to charge your phone. If
you look outside, you may see electrical wires all around.
Electricity is Everywhere: Lots of things use electricity!
This book will answer all your electricity-related questions! We will
learn about important inventions that changed human history forever. For
example, lightning rods and modern-day electric cars. We will also explore how
all your favorite electronic gadgets function, like smartphones, laptops, and
T.V.!
This book
will describe the important people who discovered and advanced the fields of
electricity. These people include:
Benjamin Franklin
Nikola Tesla
Thomas Edison
Joseph Swan, and more!
You will
learn more about electricity. Pay attention to the new words. These words are important
science words. Here is a list of the words that you will learn as you read.
If you want to look at the questions now, you can click here.
Laptops and computers have quickly become part of our everyday lives.
I’m sure you
have asked the question, what’s the difference between a laptop and computer?
They both do the same job. You can type papers, search the internet, and
watch videos of all your friends. And, that is true! The differences are mainly
physical. A laptop is generally lighter, easier to move, and uses less power.
Both laptops and computers can have LED or LCD screens (sounds familiar!).
Laptops are typically more convenient and practical for people to carry around
for work or school. But computers are much heavier, and it would be silly to
carry one around (imagine the sight of that!). In fact, it’s called a “laptop” because
people can easily open it and put it on their laps. Computers and laptops are
made for different purposes but have many of the same parts.
Laptop and
computers, mostly, share similar parts. The following are the main, basic parts
of a simple computer or laptop:
Input devices
allow people to put data into the laptop or computer. You use many of these
devices, such as the mouse, keyboard, microphone.
Output devices
shows the result of data processing such as the display, speakers, and printer.
A
motherboard connects all the important parts of a computer together. It
is the most central and important part of the computer.
CPU
stands for Central Processing Unit. It is where the computer’s wires and
circuits do all the work. Some people call the CPU the “brain” of the computer.
It does the work for a computer to processes information.
The Mother of All: The motherboard connects all the components of the computer together.
RAM, or Random-Access Memory,
stores data so it can be read extremely quickly. RAM allows programs to run in
any order so you can chat, search, and watch a video at the same time.
What’s the
relationship between RAM and CPU? When your computer has a lot of information to
go through, then that information gets sent to RAM. The CPU can quickly access
the information in the RAM. RAM stores data quickly, while a CPU processes it.
Although laptops and computers look very different, they
actually have the same pieces. These pieces are designed a little differently
so they can serve their purpose better. But, they have the same parts!
If you want to look at the questions now, you can click here.
Have you
ever wondered how electricity flows into your house and powers all your
devices? Let’s discuss how electricity gets to your room!
Powering the World: Electricity is first generated in a place called a power plant. This picture shows a nuclear power plant.
Electricity is first generated by power stations. Power
stations are massive electrical plants that, well, produce electricity! Power
plants use different sources of energy, like coal, gas, wind, water, and
nuclear power.
Once
electricity is produced, it can be sent along transmission wires. Transmission
wires transmit, or carry, electricity over large distances. These wires lose
some of the electric power. So, a “step up” transformer increases the electric
power going into transmission lines. This transformer makes sure enough
electricity is sent to the end of the transmission wire. These wires crisscross
the country. So, transmission wires create transmission networks. Networks of
wires help make sure people do not lose power as easily.
The Flow of Electricity: A diagram showing the step-by-step process that send electricity from a power station all the way to your home. Adapted from smartgrid.gov. Note: “Step up” transformers are often within the power plant.
At the end of the transmission wire, a “step down” transformer decrease
the strength of the electric current. This second transformer makes the
electricity safer. Before electricity can enter any buildings, it must pass
through a “step down” transformer. These substation transformers connect to
distribution power lines. The distribution power lines let electricity flow to
your neighborhood and your house. The electricity comes into a fuse box that
makes sure the amount of power each area of your house uses is a safe amount.
The wires from your fuse box go to all the outlets in your house.
Power
plants are huge. Bigger than your school building. Your outlet in your bedroom
is tiny. It takes hours to charge a little cell phone! The system between the
power plant and your outlet moves the electricity to everyone AND makes sure
that a safe amount of electricity is delivered to the right place. These
systems have lots of pieces to make sure it is safe and works well.
In summary,
your TV and microwave work because they use electricity. This electricity is
created by a power plant and then increased so it can be sent along
transmission lines. When it gets close to your house, a substation, makes the
amount of electricity safe. Then, it travels through distribution wires to your
house. Your house has a fuse box which makes sure all the wires in your house
are acting safely. Including the small outlet connected to your TV’s plug. The
TV uses electricity to receive information sent by the television network. It
uses more electricity to transform this information into the sounds and
pictures of your favorite programs!
If you want to look at the questions now, you can click here.
Who doesn’t
love to watch cartoons after school? Or movies with your family? Televisions
allow us to get away from reality and imagine a new world or learn about a new
person. Whether you like fast-paced, adventure movies or an animated movie
filled with fun, silly characters, we can thank television for providing a
large variety of entertainment. So, how does a television work? Let’s find out!
When you are watching your favorite
cartoon, let’s say SpongeBob SquarePants™, you are really seeing thousands of
pictures that are created one after another. When these pictures are shown
quickly and in order, it looks like the picture is moving!
What Makes a Picture: The image that you see when you turn on the TV is made of small grid dots, called pixels. Read on to learn more about how pixels create TV images.
Nature videos, news reports, and your favorite actors are all
recorded using a similar idea. Many pictures are taken quickly in a row in a
video camera. Today, video cameras save this information digitally, meaning it
is saved on computer chips. The video camera captures the light on a sensor
which changes the information from the light into electronic signals that can
be saved on storage device.
Electricity can do many things! Power & information!
Television networks use this stored information to send shows and movies
to your TV. The network sends an electronic signal with the picture and audio
information all the time. When you turn your TV on, your TV translates the
electronic signal so it can be shown on your TV’s display and the audio is made
by your TV’s speakers.
You will remember that today’s displays are made of small (grid) dots called
pixels. Light is sent to each pixel, either through a backlight (LCDs!) or
light emitting diodes (LEDs!). These tiny colors are designed to make the
images and movements that our brains understand.
If you want to look at the questions now, you can click here.
Little Powerful Devices: Did you know that the most popular app in the world is Facebook? It has over 4 BILLION downloads!
Smartphones not only allow people to connect over long
distances, but you can also play fun games, access the internet, and even buy
things with your phone! What makes these small, hand size devices work?
Smartphones are small devices that send and receive radio signals, modern-day
two-way radios!
Let’s
discuss the most critical parts of a smartphone. There are hundreds of small
pieces that make a working smartphone. For our purposes, we will talk about
five important parts: the screen, memory, battery, antenna, and camera!
What is the
first part of a smartphone that you see? It’s that big rectangular, black
screen! Once you hit the small home button, the black screen is replaced with a
colorful, bright screen. These screens are called displays. Displays come in
two types, “LCD” and “LED”. LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. When an
electric current is passed, the crystals align so that can light can pass through.
The electric currents can either block light or allow it through. By blocking
light or letting it through, the electric currents create all the colors and
details on an LCD screen.
LED stands for Light-Emitting-Diodes. LED converts electrical current
into light, and the best part is that LED is energy efficient because it only
lights up the parts of the screen with colors. These displays are harder to
make but use less energy from the battery.
Pros and Cons: Although, LEDs are more energy
efficient and their life span can last thousands of hours. However, LCDs have
their own pros. LCDs produce very high brightness, and the images are extremely
sharp, and are thinner and more compact, which is more convenient because they
take up less space.
Here are
descriptions of 4 other parts of a cell phone:
Memory: No smartphone can function without
the memory. This stores all the data in your device so it can work fast and
accurately. We will discuss about a specific type of memory called RAM, which
is used in phones and computers, later on in the computer section. Basically,
RAM speeds up the functions of cell phone devices, so you can download your
video game or access the internet very quickly!
Battery: Provides energy used to transmit
radio signals, create visual displays, and run other components. It can store
energy in its special chemicals. Then, when your phone needs electrical
current, the battery provides the electricity. You can recharge the battery by
plugging it into the electric grid.
Antenna: Smartphones send and receive
information. They can send your voice and your high score to a cell tower. And,
they can send your phone your friend’s voice and new YouTube™ videos. The
antenna receives radio waves from the cell tower. Then, your phone translates
that information and displays it. Your voice and pictures can be translated
into memory packets and then sent to the cell phone tower by the antenna.
Camera: A camera cannot function without a lens and a sensor. The lens focuses the light on the sensor. The sensor converts the light into an electrical signal. This signal is then saved in the phone’s memory. When you record a video, the sensor captures many pictures each second. When the pictures are played back quickly, it looks like things are moving. The earliest movies used this same idea! (But they aren’t clearly as cool as your favorite slime video.)
Shocking Fact: About three-quarters of U.S. adults
(77%) say they own a smartphone. However, smartphones are more commonly owned
by young adults with 92% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they own a smartphone.
Shocking Fact: About three-quarters of U.S. adults (77%) say they own a smartphone. However, smartphones are more commonly owned by young adults with 92% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they own a smartphone.
Critical Thinking! Write a paragraph explaining how the display, memory, battery, antenna, and camera work together so you can text a picture to your family.
Be sure your paragraph has these words:
“display”
“memory”
“battery”
“antenna”
“camera”
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