Energizing Science Projects with Electricity and Magnetism

Children's Literature - Michael Chabin

It is hard to remember that the electric motor is less than 200 years old. It is even harder to imagine life without it. Even so, most Americans have a very poor idea of what electricity is and the curious relationship between electricity and magnetism that makes it so useful to us. That will change for anyone willing to build the 10 demonstrations that are given in this book with care and a lot of thought. The book is written by a retired high school physics teacher, which may be why the demonstrations lend themselves so well to the classroom. In fact, teachers will find in this volume a nice sequence of demonstrations that can be assigned to small groups as collaborative learning projects. Be warned that no framework is provided. So far as I could tell, the word "electron" does not appear anywhere in the book in spite of the fact that the charges discussed are simply surpluses or shortages of electrons and that electricity is simply the movement of electrons across a conductor or empty space. Also there is an unfortunate error in the first sentence of the first project that claims that "electricity is the result of two kinds of charged particles." From the rest of the book, I assume that's a misprint and should have read "two kinds of charges." Part of the Enslow "Fantastic Physical Science Experiments" series.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-These introductory texts read like programmed instruction manuals. Two pages introduce a concept through a simple activity/experiment and questions. The following spread answers the questions and explains the principles behind the experiment. The writing is clear but dry. Uninspiring suggestions for science-fair projects are given at the conclusion of each topic. Some of them make huge leaps in skill and knowledge levels. Topics in the first title include frequency or pitch, how sound travels through air and solids, and making tunes with glasses of water. The second title discusses electric charges at rest, building circuits, the relationship between electricity and magnetism, etc. Most of the cartoonish color drawings are clear, but they have inaccuracies, such as a flute being held like a tin whistle in Jazzy.-Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.