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St. Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School

Non Excidet

4.1.17 - Insulators and Conductors

 

Do you know that an electrical insulator, for example plastic, does not let electricity pass through it however an electrical conductor, for example metal, does?

 

We created an experiment to test whether a range of materials were insulators or conductors. Using a bulb, wire and a battery we created a simple circuit with a gap in it. This gap was then filled with the material we were testing.

 

An electrical insulator, which does not allow electricity pass through it, creates a break in the circuit so the bulb will not light. When you include a material that is a conductor, which allows electricity to pass through it, the circuit is complete and the bulb will light.

 

Results

 

Material

Prediction

What happened?

Conductor or Insulator

Tissue

I

The bulb did not light.

I

Plastic bag

I

The bulb did not light.

I

Copper coin

C

The bulb lit.

C

Rubber

I

The bulb did not light.

I

Card

I

The bulb did not light.

I

Aluminium Foil

C

The bulb lit.

C

Fabric

I

The bulb did not light.

I

Metal Spoon

C

The bulb lit.

C

Water (Video)

I

The bulb lit.

C

Wooden Pencil

I

The bulb did not light.

I

Lead Pencil

I

The bulb lit.

C

 

We concluded that metal is a very good conductor of electricity!

 

By Ruby