Exploring Conductors and Insulators in Electricity

Why can birds sit on power lines without getting shocked?

• Because the power lines are not live

• Because they have special feathers

• Because they are not grounded

• Because they are insulated

What happens when you touch a water tap after removing a sweater on a cold day?

• You get a shock as the charge flows out of your body

• Nothing happens

• The charge flows into your body

• You get a shock because the tap is an insulator

What are materials called that do not allow charge to flow easily?

• Superconductors

• Conductors

• Insulators

• Semiconductors

What particles make up the nucleus of an atom?

• Only protons

• Electrons and protons

• Neutrons and electrons

• Protons and neutrons

What keeps electrons in the vicinity of the nucleus?

• The mass of the nucleus

• The attraction between negatively charged electrons and the positively charged nucleus

• The repulsion between electrons

• The size of the atom

How many electrons are needed to equal the mass of one proton?

• 2000

• 1000

• 1500

• 1837

What happens to a copper atom when it loses an outer electron?

• It becomes a positive ion

• It remains unchanged

• It becomes a negative ion

• It becomes a neutral atom

Why can't the nuclei in a solid move in response to electrostatic attraction and repulsion?

• Because they are too heavy

• Because they are joined together in a network

• Because they are neutral

• Because they are too small

Why do insulators not allow the same transfer of charge as conductors?

• Because they are made of complex substances with many different types of atoms

• Because they are too dense

• Because they are too light

• Because they have no electrons

What allows excess electrons to flow from your body when you touch a conductor?

• The conductor's mass

• The conductor's density

• The conductor's ability to allow charge to flow easily

• The conductor's temperature