electricity homework year 6

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Year 6: Electricity

This list consists of lesson plans, activities and video clips to support the teaching of electricity at Year Six. It contains tips on using the resources, suggestions for further use and background subject knowledge. Possible misconceptions are highlighted so that teachers may plan lessons to facilitate correct conceptual understanding. Designed to support the new curriculum programme of study it aims to cover many of the requirements for knowledge and understanding and working scientifically. The statutory requirements are that children are taught to:

• associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit • compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches • use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.

Visit the primary science webpage to access all lists.

Changing circuits *suitable for home teaching*

 This interactive activity could be used by small groups or pairs of children as a different way of comparing how components function within circuits. The simulation looks at how changing the thickness of a wire affects the brightness of a bulb, how changing the number of batteries affects the sound of a buzzer and how changing the number of light bulbs affects their brightness.

Children could try building the circuits from the simulation, observing the effects and giving reasons why.

Electricity

Quality Assured Category: Science Publisher: Hamilton Trust

This resource is a series of six lesson plans including concept cartoons to assess understanding and games which incorporate key vocabulary, strengthening knowledge. In Session B children are asked to identify and name the parts of electrical circuits and represent circuit diagrams using recognised symbols. Following on from this activity groups could be given circuit diagrams and asked to sort them into those that they think: will work, won't work or are unsure about, giving reasons why. Children then create the circuits from the diagrams to test them and give reasons for their findings.

In Session D children investigate whether the thickness or length of wire changes the brightness of a bulb. Children could go on to investigate the effects of changing a different component in a circuit and observing the results. For example the number of cells in a circuit.

Electrical components

Children learn about the appearance and function of different electrical components, including switches, bulbs, buzzers, motors, cells and wires. They match pictures of each component to their electrical symbols. They cut and paste descriptions of how each component functions, or write their own.

Super Sucker: Designing a Machine to Clean up Litter

Quality Assured Category: Design and technology Publisher: ENGINEER Project

This project provides a design and technology project in which children focus on electric circuits, motors and batteries to build their own mini-vacuum cleaner. Children take a detailed look at a hairdryer identifying its different parts and their functions. Applying previous learning about circuits, they then look at motors and fans, focussing on how differences in design change the effectiveness of the fan. They then make a switch for their device. Working in groups they design and build their own vacuum cleaner, thinking about materials and component parts and how they will work to solve the initial problem.

Investigating Electricity

Quality Assured Category: Design and technology Publisher: Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)

This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within science and design and technology. This resource focuses on the investigation of how different supply voltages affect the brightness of a lamp.

Lamps produce light when connected to an appropriate power supply, such as a battery. Investigating how different battery voltages affects their brightness is key to understanding how series electrical circuits work.

In this activity learners will assemble three different lamp circuits; one powered by a single AA battery, one powered by two AA batteries and one powered by three AA batteries. They will investigate the brightness of the lamp for each configuration. They will learn about current, voltage and how simple series circuits work.

Session D: Circuit Investigations

Quality Assured Category: Design and technology Publisher: Hamilton Trust

Concept cartoons are a great tool to assess children's understanding and challenge their ideas through a follow-on investigation. In this activity children investigate the question: Does the length of the wire make a difference to how brightly a bulb glows? They could also look at other questions to investigate including Does the thickness of the wire affect the brightness of the bulb?

Fruit Lights

This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within science and design and technology. This resource focusses on the use of fruit to power a light emitting diode (LED).

Did you know that fruit can be used to produce electricity? Connecting four lemons in series can provide enough voltage to light an LED! This also helps us to understand how batteries work.

In this activity learners will construct a series circuit consisting of four fruit batteries and an LED. They will learn about the main parts of a battery and how fruit can be used to provide enough voltage to light an LED. They will also investigate how the brightness of the LED changes depending on the number of fruit batteries used in the circuit.

Clever Circuits

Quality Assured Category: Science Publisher: Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)

Circuit diagrams are used to draw circuits with circuit symbols. This provides many advantages over using pictures, such as making them easier to understand and saving time when drawing them.

In this activity learners will construct a series circuit using a battery, switch, resistor and an LED. They will learn about why symbols are used instead of pictures to represent components and produce a circuit diagram for the circuit that they have constructed.

Year 6 - Starters for Science* Suitable for Home Learning*

Quality Assured Category: Science Publisher: STEM Learning

Starters for science provides the key learning, key vocabulary and 4 easy to run activities for each topic in Y6. These sheets may be sent home, so children can carry on learning science whilst self-isolating, or they can be used in class. There are further sheets for other year groups  here.

Generating Electricity

Quality Assured Category: Science Publisher: Centre for Industry Education Collaboration (CIEC)

A range of activities and teacher guides to support children in learning how to use electricity safely and create a range of circuits.

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Electricity Year 6 Unit

Subject: Primary science

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

3 February 2015

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Primary Science Resources for the National Curriculum

Year 6 electricity.

• Outstanding Science Year 6
• Electricity

Knowledge and Understanding

Statutory requirements, notes and guidance, upper ks2 - working scientifically, electrical components worksheet free, outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e007.

• Description
• National Curriculum

Learning objective

I can describe the function of electrical components and match them to their symbols.

Children learn about the appearance and function of different electrical components, including switches, bulbs, buzzers, motors, cells and wires. They match pictures of each component to their electrical symbols. They cut and paste descriptions of how each component functions, or write their own.

• 6e3 : use recognised symbols when representing a simple circuit in a diagram.

Electrical cells Investigation

Outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e001.

I can investigate the effect of changing the number and voltage of cells in an electrical circuit.

Children learn that electrical cells produce a flow of electrons (current) through the reaction of 2 chemicals inside them. They learn that one measure of the power of a cell is voltage (V) and that connecting cells in series adds their voltages together. Children investigate the effect of changing the number of cells in a circuit. They create the circuits shown in the illustrations, attempt to draw the circuit diagrams, and explain what they observed. They attempt to place the circuits in order of brightness and explain why.

• 6e1 : associate the brightness of a lamp or the volume of a buzzer with the number and voltage of cells used in the circuit

Comparing circuits Investigation

Outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e002.

I can investigate the effect of changing the number of bulbs and the voltage of cells in an electrical circuit.

Children look at 6 circuit diagrams. They predict how bright the bulbs will be in each circuit and place them in order of brightness. Using simple apparatus, they construct the circuits shown in the diagrams and test their predictions. They try to explain what they observed.

Making a wire loop game Investigation

Outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e003.

I can create a wire loop game and explain how it works.

Using the template and illustration provided, children create their own wire loop game. They attempt to get the wand from one end of the loop to the other without triggering the bulb or buzzer. Children explain how their game functions and attempt to draw a circuit diagram for their game.

• 6e2 : compare and give reasons for variations in how components function, including the brightness of bulbs, the loudness of buzzers and the on/off position of switches

Making a burglar alarm Investigation

Outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e004.

I can create an electrical burglar alarm and explain how it works.

Using the illustration provided, children construct their own burglar alarm. They construct their own switch using a clothes peg and a card insulator which is attached to the area being surveilled. Children draw a circuit diagram for their burglar alarm and explain how it works.

Making traffic lights Investigation

Outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e005.

I can create a set of electrical traffic lights and explain how they function.

Children learn about how traffic lights are central to road safety. They use simple apparatus to construct a set of traffic lights, with a single switch (which they construct themselves) turning two lights on and off in turn. Children create a suitable casing for their traffic lights. They consider how they could construct a 3-way traffic light.

Functioning circuits Worksheet

Outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e006.

I can predict whether an electrical circuit will function and suggest ways of improving it.

Children look at 5 different defective circuit illustrations. They explain why each circuit will not work. They change each circuit so that it will work, showing this in a circuit diagram. They test their improvements with simple apparatus.

Electrical symbols Worksheet

Outstanding science year 6 | electricity | os6e008.

I can use symbols to create circuit diagrams to represent electrical circuits.

Children learn that electrical components can be represented by symbols in circuit diagrams. They learn that wires are always shown as unbroken horizontal or vertical lines. Children look at 8 different circuit illustrations. They draw an accurate circuit diagram for each illustration and, if possible, create the circuit using simple apparatus.

Get instant access to all of our Year 6 resources.

Outstanding science - year 6 contains all of the following units:.

Unit 6A - Living Things And Their Habitats

Unit 6B - Animals, Including Humans

Unit 6C - Evolution And Inheritance

Unit 6D - Light

Unit 6E - Electricity

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Electricity and power generation

What are electricity and power generation?

Electricity is a type of energy that we use to power lots of things around our homes. It is used to power lights, mobile phones, TVs, radios, and even the computer that you are reading this on. To use all this electricity, we have to make it – this is called electricity generation.

Electricity is very important in the modern home, and it has completely changed the way that people live their lives – can you imagine living without any electrical things in your home, like most Victorians did? We have to be careful how we use it, though. It takes a lot of work to generate electricity, and some of the ways we do have bad side effects on the environment. So, it’s best only to use the electricity that we need to.

Top 10 facts

• Electricity can be generated using coal, gas, nuclear fuels, the wind or sunlight.
• Electricity is normally generated in big buildings called power stations.
• It’s important only to use electricity when we need to, and to save what we can. This is called energy efficiency.
• Electricity first came into widespread use in the Victorian era , when people started to use it to light streets, shops and homes.
• When electricity travels through you, it is called an electric shock. It can be very painful and can even kill people.
• A bolt of lightning is electricity travelling from the clouds to the ground, or from cloud to cloud.
• Some methods of generating electricity, like burning gas and coal, create greenhouse gases that cause climate change. People are trying to make more of our electricity in ways that are good for the environment , like using wind power or solar power .
• Wind power generates electricity by using the wind to turn the big arms on a wind turbine.
• Solar power generates electricity by absorbing the heat and light from the sun in special panels.
• With small solar panels and wind turbines, it’s even possible to generate some electricity at your home or school instead of at a power station.

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Did you know?

• Electricity has led to a lot of changes in our lives. Before electricity, if you wanted to light your house at night, you had to use candles, or lamps filled with oil or paraffin. It wasn’t very easy, and if you ran out of candles or fuel you had to sit in the dark!
• Electricity first came into people’s homes towards the end of the Victorian era . In 1878, the first electric streetlights in the world were put in London. In 1881, Godalming in Surrey became the first town in the world to have an electricity supply that everybody in the town could use.
• Electricity isn’t just used to power things in the home, in schools, and in other buildings. Lots of trains are powered by electricity. They either get it from a wire that runs over the tracks, or from a third rail. It’s much harder to make cars that are powered by electricity, but scientists are trying to design them and some companies are starting to make them now.
• One of the reasons electricity changed our lives so much is that it can make things much more convenient. Before electric street lights, it was the job of some people to go around lighting the gas-powered lamps that towns used to have on their streets; they were called lamp lighters.
• Even though you can get small wind turbines to use at home, wind turbines have to be very big in order to make a lot of electricity. Each blade on a big wind turbine could be as long as four double-decker buses!
• The best place to put a wind turbine is somewhere where there is a lot of wind to turn it. The more wind there is, the more electricity you can make. The best places often high up on a hill or on top of a tall building, but it can also be good to build wind turbines out at sea.
• Solar panels don’t just work when the sun is out. They can also generate electricity when it is cloudy, but they don’t make as much electricity as they do in bright sunlight.

Electricity and power generation gallery:

• An offshore wind farm
• Solar panels on a roof
• A power station
• Hoover dam in the United States
• A standard light bulb
• A low-energy light bulb

Because Britain is north of the equator, the sun is always to the south of us in the sky. This means that in Britain it is best to put solar panels facing south, so that the sun shines on them for as much of the day as possible.

Electricity can also be a lot cleaner and nicer than the alternative. In 1890, the London Underground started to use electric trains because it meant there was no dirty, smelly smoke from steam engines in the tunnels and stations. All underground railways around the world soon did the same thing.

Lots of electricity is generated by burning fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global climate change. People are trying to reduce this by generating more energy by environmentally-friendly methods like wind or solar power.

Nuclear power generates electricity using ‘nuclear fuels’ that get very hot. It doesn’t create greenhouse gases, but after they have been used the fuels are dangerous and have to be kept very carefully for a long, long time. Nuclear power stations often look similar to coal or gas power stations with lots of big cooling towers. The main difference is that a nuclear power station doesn’t have a tall, thin chimney to get rid of the gases from burning fuel.

In the future, electricity might be generated using a method called ‘fusion’. It’s a little like nuclear power but it doesn’t use the same fuels, and doesn’t leave waste that has to be kept safe for a long time.

As well as generating electricity in an environmentally friendly way, it’s important only to use the electricity that we need to. Turning things off when we aren’t using them can save electricity, and so can changing to modern light bulbs – old-fashioned light bulbs can use five or six times as much electricity to create the same amount of light.

Electricity can be very dangerous when it travels through you. It can seriously hurt or even kill people. It’s important not to put anything except a plug into a mains electricity socket. High voltage electricity is even more dangerous – you don’t even have to touch it to get a shock because it can jump several feet through the air!

Not all items that use electricity have to be plugged into mains sockets. Batteries can be used to store small amounts of electricity so that it can be used in small things that you can carry around like mobile phones and video game players. Some batteries can only be used once, and some can be ‘recharged’ so that they can be used again.

Words to know:

Coal – coal is turned into electricity by burning it to make steam to turn a turbine; unfortunately, this makes carbon dioxide that causes global warming Cooling towers – these are used at power stations to get as much heat as possible out of steam that has been used to make electricity; this makes the power stations more efficient. They are normally very wide towers, and sometimes look as though they have clouds coming out of them! Dams – used to block up valleys and create a lake behind them; the force of the water leaving the lake is used to turn a turbine Electric shock – what you get when electricity runs through you; electric shocks can easily kill people, so it’s a good idea to be very careful with electricity Efficiency – energy efficiency means only using the energy that you need to use; this means turning things off when you aren’t using them so that they don’t use electricity. It saves money, and helps the environment. Gas – gas is turned into electricity by burning it to make steam to turn a turbine; unfortunately, this makes carbon dioxide that causes global warming Generate – when we make electricity using any of the methods described on this page, we say that we’ve ‘generated’ it Green electricity – green electricity is electricity that has been generated in an environmentally friendly way; people usually use this to mean wind power, solar power and hydroelectricity. High voltage – very strong electricity (see voltage) It’s more efficient to move electricity long distances if it is high voltage; this saves money and is good for the environment, but it makes it more dangerous Hydroelectric – power that is generated using water to turn turbines; this is normally by using a dam to create a lake, but sometimes waves or tides in the ocean are used Nuclear power – nuclear fuels get very hot, and the heat is used to make steam to turn a turbine; this doesn’t make carbon dioxide, but the used fuel is dangerous and has to be stored carefully for a long time Nuclear waste – nuclear fuel that has been used up making electricity; it can be very dangerous, and lasts a long time Power station – a huge building that is used to make electricity; it has cooling towers and turbines, and needs a fuel to use to generate the electricity Pylon – high voltage electricity is used over long distances from the power stations to towns and cities; it is more dangerous than low voltage electricity, so the cables are put at the top of big metal towers called pylons Solar power – electricity made using special panels that absorb light from the sun and turn it into electricity Solar panels – flat panels that are specially made so that when sunlight hits them, they generate electricity; you often see them on the roofs of houses Turbine – a special kind of machine that you can turn to make electricity; most electricity is made using turbines, often with steam that is made by burning fuel to heat water Voltage – a measure of how strong the electricity is; the higher the voltage, the stronger it is, and the more dangerous it is Wind power – electricity that is generated by turbines turned by the wind Wind turbines – used to generate wind power; they have big blades that catch the wind so that the wind makes them turn, and they turn the turbine to make electricity

Related Videos

Just for fun...

• Help find out how to power different electrical items , and how to be safe with electricity (suitable for KS1)
• Try to create enough power from a solar panel and a wind turbine before the clock stops!
• Play a BBC circuits game
• Online electricity games from Switched on Kids 
• Learn how to stay safe around electricity 
• Try an online game to learn more about electricity and spot the hazards
• Experiment with batteries, voltages and light bulbs in an online electricity activity
• Complete KS2 activity sheets about different forms of energy generation and understand the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy generation
• Download some staying safe around electricity wordsearches and puzzles
• Get hands-on with kids' electronics sets and build your own circuits (safely!)

Best kids' books about electricity

Find out more about electricity and power generation:

• Find out about energy and how it powers our homes with information from the National Grid
• All about  renewable energy from wind, water and sunshine
• Watch a video for kids about electricity and circuits
• What is  electrical energy ?
• Find out about  storing and transferring energy
• Watch an animation about electricity
• Find out about lots of kinds of energy and power generation on the Our Future Energy website
• What would life be like without electricity ? Find out in a video filmed at the Science Museum

See for yourself

Visit an exciting hydroelectric power station built inside a mountain in the Scottish Highlands.

Learn more about hydropower at Rheidol power station in Wales .

Ask your teacher about arranging a field trip to a local power station. Most power stations run tours for school groups.

Learn how electricity is made.  

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Electricity year 6

Quiz   by jan simmons.

Feel free to use or edit a copy

includes Teacher and Student dashboards

Measures 3 skill s from Year 6 Science English National Curriculum

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• Q 1 / 17 Score 0 What is a circuit? 29 A continuous pathway that is not broken a round electricity path A running track

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• Q 1 What is a circuit? A continuous pathway that is not broken a round electricity path A running track 30 s
• Q 2 What three things does a basic circuit need? bulb, wire and battery bulb, battery and switch switch, bulb and battery 30 s
• Q 3 What is electricity? A type of energy a power source a thing to make my gadgets work 30 s

• Q 9 How do you make a bulb brighter add more wires Add a higher voltage battery add more bulbs 30 s 6.E.1
• Q 10 what does a switch do closes a circuit turns on a light opens a circuit opens and closes a circuit 30 s 6.E.2
• Q 11 what is the highest voltage 2 x 5v batteries 5 x 1.5v batteries 3 x 3v batteries 30 s
• Q 12 The amount of power a batter has is called what... battery volt total 30 s 6.E.1
• Q 13 What is it called when electricity can not pass through an object unlucky conductor insulator off 30 s
• Q 14 what is it called when electricity can pass through an object insulator on conductor off 30 s
• Q 15 why do we cover wires in plastic to keep it clean for fun to stop the electricity from escaping to make it look pretty 30 s

Teachers give this quiz to your class

Monday, May 13, 2024

Oman’s electricity production rises by 16.3% in early 2024, water output rises by 2.6%

Oman has witnessed a significant surge in electricity production and water output marking a increase compared to last year., tas news service, [email protected], saturday, may 11, 2024.

Muscat : According to recent data, Oman’s total electricity production soared to 5,365 gigawatts per hour by the end of February 2024, up from 4,611.3 gigawatts per hour during the corresponding period in 2023. This substantial growth underscores the country’s ongoing efforts to bolster its energy infrastructure and meet the rising demands of its populace.

Among the governorates, North Al Batinah, South Al Batinah, and Al Dhahirah collectively contributed 3,312.5 gigawatts per hour to the overall electricity production figures. Conversely, Muscat Governorate witnessed a 94.2% decrease, registering 1.1 gigawatts per hour, while Dhofar Governorate saw a 12.4% increase, reaching 655 gigawatts per hour.

The Governorates of North Al Sharqiyah and South Al Sharqiyah exhibited a notable 36.5% increase in production, totalling 1,292.5 gigawatts per hour. However, Al Wusta Governorate experienced a 77% decline, producing 11.2 gigawatts per hour. Conversely, Musandam Governorate showcased a remarkable 118.2% surge, reaching 92.8 gigawatts per hour.

• His Majesty Sultan Haitham arrives in Kuwait
• His Majesty Sultan Haitham leaves for state visit to Kuwait
• Oman’s Foreign Minister hosts Speaker of Arab Parliament
• Oman reduces public debt to RO 15.1 billion by March 2024
• Oman’s 1st Development Projects Forum focuses on equal opportunities, tender transparency

In terms of net electricity production, Oman’s figures climbed by 15.9% to reach 5,171.6 gigawatts per hour, indicating sustained growth and development in the energy sector.

On the water production front, the Sultanate of Oman achieved a 2.6% uptick, producing approximately 81 million, 283,200 cubic meters by February 2024, compared to 79 million, 261,600 cubic meters in the same period last year.

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