Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v4 - SHS 1

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Define charge, electric field, and Coulomb's law.
• Explain the concept and properties of electric charge.
• Calculate the electric force between two charges.
• Describe the behavior of charges in an electric field.
• Illustrate and understand electric field lines.

Lesson summary

Welcome, future scientists and engineers! Today, we are exploring the fascinating world of Electrostatics. Have you ever experienced a small shock when you touched a metal door handle, especially during the harmattan season? Or have you seen a balloon stick to a wall after rubbing it on your hair? These are not magic tricks; they are real-world examples of static electricity. Electrostatics is the study of electric charges that are at rest (static). Understanding it is the first step towards understanding everything from lightning to how a photocopier works. It is a fundamental concept in physics that has practical applications all around us in Ghana, from our homes to our industries.

Lesson notes

2.1 What is Electric Charge?

All matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. At the centre of each atom is a nucleus, which contains protons (positively charged) and neutrons (no charge). Orbiting the nucleus are electrons (negatively charged). In a neutral object, the number of protons (+) is equal to the number of electrons (-). The positive and negative charges cancel each other out. An object becomes electrically charged when there is an imbalance in the number of protons and electrons. Positively Charged: An object that has lost electrons has more protons than electrons. Negatively Charged: An object that has gained electrons has more electrons than protons.

Static Electricity is the accumulation of this net electric charge on the surface of an object, which remains at rest. 2.2 Methods of Charging

There are three primary ways to give an object a net electric charge.

Evaluation guide

• Establish the relationship between the real depth, apparent depth and the refractive
• index.
• Collaborative learning: Put learners into groups of mixed abilities and let them watch a
• simulation of how refraction causes apparent displacement of objects at the bottom of a pool of