Static Electricity, Discovery Education Article

What causes static electricity to build up in clouds during a storm?

• Movement of water molecules

• Presence of metal objects

• High temperature

• Low pressure

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Analyzing

When you walk across the carpet and feel a shock, what is happening at the electron level?

• Electrons are moving from your body to the carpet

• Electrons are moving from the carpet to your body

• Electrons are not moving at all

• Electrons are moving from the air to your body

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Applying

Why does a negatively charged balloon attract positively charged hair?

• Because opposite charges attract

• Because like charges attract

• Because they have the same charge

• Because of gravity

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Evaluating

Static electricity is caused by an imbalance of positive and negative ___.

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Analyzing

The sudden expansion of air during a lightning strike produces a sound called ___.

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Applying

Objects with like charges will ___ each other.

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Evaluating

A student made an observation that when he walked across the carpet in his socks and touched the metal doorknob, he got shocked.

What conclusion is best supported by this observation?

• Energy is being transferred from the student to the doorknob.

• The negatively charged particles are jumping from the student’s socks to the door.

• Static electricity can be caused by lightning.

• The kinetic energy from walking is causing potential energy to form.