Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its Effects
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its Effects
effects
SUMMARY SHEET
Learner Previous Electric Cell, Electric circuit, Working of electric circuit in a torch
Knowledge
Hands on experience in building a circuit
Learning Goals
More Complex Learning Goal- Students will be able to identify and explain logical errors in given
electrical circuits, electromagnets and fuse and also describe effects of current.
Target Learning Goal- Students will be able to describe the effects of current, and explain
functioning of fuse, electric bell, and applications of electromagnets and also depict a circuit of given
components using symbols.
Simpler Learning Goal- Students will be able to identify the symbols of electric circuit, define fuse
and list the effects of current.
Lesson Plan 1
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Recall how to connect a simple electrical circuit and parts of it.
Introduce the topic 'electricity' by asking a few students what they know
Time: 5 min
about electrical circuit and current. Pose questions such as:
Purpose: o What is a cell?
o What kind of terminals does a cell have? how it is useful and write all
Activate the
the responses on the board.
prior knowledge
o What helps in generating electricity with a cell?
o What is a circuit?
o What is closed and open circuit?
Collate all answers and ensure that all students are on the same page.
Activity
Lesson Middle
Distribute worksheet 1 to all the students on the screen.
Time: 25 min.
Ask the students to read the activity as an exercise in recalling how a
Purpose: circuit is arranged for current to flow.
Ask them to attempt at drawing circuits independently given in part 2 of
Develop
the worksheet. They can then tally their answers in groups.
conceptual
Let there be a whole class discussion and all the answers can be discussed
understanding
together.
Ensure that the whole class is on the same page.
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Lesson End
Wrap up the class by clearing any doubts that the students may have.
Time: 5 min
Purpose:
Recap students'
learning
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Part 1
Material: two drawing pins, a safety pin, two wires, small sheet of thermocol, torch cell, bulb
Instructions:
1. Fix one drawing pin through the closed end of safety pin, on to the thermocol. The safety pin must rotate
freely.
2. Fix the other pin at a distance, such that the free end of the safety pin touches it.
3. This safety pin is your switch.
4. Now make a circuit as done in previous activities with the help of the bulb, wire and cell. Make the
attachment as shown in the figure.
Part-2
Information
While studying electricity in Physics, scientists have to draw circuits very often. To make their work easier,
each component of a circuit is assigned with symbols and these symbols are then used to represent a circuit.
These symbols are common worldwide. Observe the given symbols.
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Picture of circuit
component
Wire
Switch in
OFF position
Bulb
Cell
Battery
pencil piece of foil glass bangle cloth copper wire eraser rubber gloves paper bag
plastic ruler drawing pin steel ruler board pin key plastic cup textbook cardboard metallic ruler
Conductors Insulators
V. Which of the following is/are open circuit? Give reason for your answer.
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
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VI. Is switch a necessity for a circuit to work? Can a bulb glow even if there is no switch in a circuit?
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Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Lesson Plan 2
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Deduce heating effect of current.
Note: Divide class into three groups. Distribute the activities among them, so that they are able to have
better understanding in less time.
Material: piece of nichrome wire coated in wax, two nails, one cell, board/thermocol
Instructions
Observation Questions
1. What did you observe with respect to the wax coated nichrome wire?
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Based on this observation, you can say that when the circuit is complete and the current flows, the nichrome
wire becomes ____________.
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Period 3
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Demonstrate how fuse works and then explain it in their words.
Lesson Beginning Ask the students to share their homework in their group. Instruct the
students to exchange information and frame their definition of a fuse.
Time: 5 min
Give each group a fuse used in buildings and a fuse used in electrical
Purpose: Activate appliances. Let the students observe it carefully. They must exchange
prior knowledge their knowledge about circuit breakers too, in case they have found out.
Inform the students that they will now find out why fuse and circuit
breakers are required.
Activity
Lesson Middle
Distribute worksheet 3 to all groups.
Time: 25 min.
Let them do the activity and observe how fuse works.
Purpose: They can attempt questions based on it.
Develop Ask the students now to share their observations and answers to all the
conceptual questions.
understanding
Ensure that the whole class arrives at a consensus.
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Activity
Material: piece of thin steel wool wire, two nails, two or more cells, board
Instructions
1. Arrange the circuit as shown in the picture. It is identical to what you did in the activity in the
previous class. But use steel wool instead of nichrome and use 2 or more cells
Question
1. What happened when you made the connection?
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2. This arrangement tells you how a fuse works. State here how it this arrangement is helpful to you.
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
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Information
Fuse is a component which helps in protecting electrical circuits and appliances.
The fuse breaks the circuit if a fault in an appliance causes too much current flow. This protects the
wiring and the appliance if something goes wrong. The fuse contains a piece of wire that melts
easily. If the current going through the fuse is too great, the wire heats up until it melts and breaks
the circuit.
Fuses are used in buildings, electrical appliances etc. Cars also have fuses. An electrical fault in a car
could start a fire, so all the circuits have to be protected by fuses.
Circuit breakers or Miniature Circuit Breakers [MCB] are switches which automatically turn off
when the electric current in circuit exceeds safety limit.
The circuit breaker does the same job as the fuse, but it works in a different way. A spring-loaded
push switch is held in the closed position by a spring-loaded soft iron bolt. An electromagnet is
arranged so that it can pull the bolt away from the switch. If the current increases beyond a set limit,
the electromagnet pulls the bolt towards itself, which releases the push switch into the open position.
* You will learn about electro magnet later in this topic. When you study it, you may visit this topic
again for better understanding.
Period 4
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Deduce magnetic effect of current by hypothesizing on the basis of a given experiment.
Lesson Beginning
Begin the class by asking questions such as:
Time: 5 min
o What is heating effect of current?
Purpose: Activate o What effect of current have you studied so far? Is there any other effect
prior knowledge also?
Collect response from the students. Inform the students that they will now
find out if there is any other effect of current. Tell the students that a
scientist in the 18-19th century did experiment to test the effects of current.
Instruct the students that they will be given the historical background of
this experiment but it is they who have to do the deductions and
hypothesis.
Develop Instruct the students to write their observation and attempt the questions.
conceptual After the students have attempted the activity, let there be a discussion on
understanding
the answers within the groups. Let the groups discuss arrive at a common
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
consensus.
Hans Christian Oersted was a Danish physicist and chemist. He did the following experiment for which he is
known worldwide even today! Let us see what he found.
Procedure Followed:
Oersted made a circuit connecting the wires and the cell. He put the compass below the wire at the
centre of the loop of circuit. The connections of the wire were right over the needle. [Observe the
figure]
What do you think must have happened when the switch is in ON and the current flows? Will it have any
effect on the magnetic compass?
Hypothesis
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Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Experiment
Material: cardboard square/ empty matchbox, electric wire, compass needle, electrical cell, switch
Instructions
1. Take a cardboard square, put the compass needle on it and wrap an electrical wire several times
over it.
2. Connect the circuit as you usually do with a switch with the above arrangement in between. It
should look like this:
Magnetic Compass
Questions
1. What happened to the compass when the switch was ON and the current was flowing in the circuit?
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2. What happened to the compass when the switch was OFF and the current was not flowing in the
circuit?
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What does this experiment indicate? What do you conclude from this experiment?
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Information
Hans Christian Oersted discovered that the electric currents can produce magnetic fields. On 21 April 1820,
during a lecture, Oersted noticed a compass needle deflected from magnetic north when an electric current
from a battery was switched on and off. He confirmed that there was some relationship between electricity
and magnetism. He then made intensive investigations and soon published his findings that an electric
current produces magnetic effect as it flows through a wire.
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Lesson Plan 5
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Demonstrate the working of electromagnet and explain its principle.
Activity
Lesson Middle
Showcase worksheet 5 to each group on the projector.
Time: 25 min.
Ask the groups to first make an electromagnet.
Purpose: They must now follow instructions and do the given activity.
Activity
Material: insulated electric wire, long iron nail, cell, switch, pins
Instructions:
1. Wrap the wire over the nail carefully so that the coils do not overlap.
2. Connect the ends of the wire through a cell and a switch to form a circuit as shown in figure.
3. Scatter a few pins near the end of the nail.
4. Observe what happens.
Questions:
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
* The coils around the nails which act as magnet are called electromagnets.
Think!!!
If you wish to make your electromagnet stronger (with stronger magnetic effect) what do you think you
should do?
Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Lesson Plan 6
Lesson Objectives
At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
Describe uses of electromagnet and deduce the working of electric bell in detail.
Observe the circuit diagram of an electric bell and answer the questions.
Questions:
1. One end of electromagnet is connected to the battery. What is the other end that the electromagnet is
connected to?
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2. Draw a line to show the connection between the electromagnet and the metal arm.
3. Draw a line to show path of the current when the circuit is complete.
4. Based on your knowledge of electromagnets, state what can happen when you switch ON and the circuit
is complete.
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5. Do you think the bell will ring if the place of the gong is changed? Why?
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Class:7 Subject: Science Topic: Electric Current and Its
effects
Reference sheet 1
1) When the switch is pushed closed the circuit is completed and current flows through the
electromagnetic coil.
2) The metal arm (iron) is attracted to the electromagnet and strikes the bell.
3) As the metal arm moves towards the bell, the contact is broken. Electricity stops flowing through the
coil which loses its magnetism.
4) The spring returns the metal arm to its original position which makes a new contact and so electricity
flows again.
5) Back to number 1 and the cycle repeats itself. The bell will continue to ring as long as the switch is
held closed.