Instruction Manual
Manual No. 012-08899
Discover Charge Set
Model No. ES-8086
Model No. ES-8086
Warranty
For a description of the product warranty, see the
warranty description in the PASCO catalog.
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Model No. ES-8086 Discover Charge Set
Discover Charge Set
Model No. ES-8086
Equipment List
Included Equipment Replacement
Model Number
1. Material sheets, 10 cm x 15 cm:
Teflon, Styrene, Polyester, Wool, PVC
Additional Equipment Recommended/Required
1. Balloon
ES-8086
2. Transparent tape
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Discover Charge Set Model No. ES-8086
Introduction
The PASCO Discover Charge Set is designed to demonstrate the
concepts of charge and charge polarity. By rubbing the various
materials together, students can make conclusions about the charged
nature of these materials as they are brought near other charged
objects. Included are flat sheets (15 cm x 10 cm) of five different
materials including teflon, styrene, polyester, wool and PVC.
Creating Charged Indicators
1. Cut a 10 cm strip of transparent tape and fold one cm over on itself
to make a handle. Avoid touching the adhesive on the tape.
2. Label this tape T1.
3. Stick the strip of tape to the tabletop.
4. Cut a 9 cm strip of transparent tape and fold one cm over on itself
to make a handle. Avoid touching the adhesive on the tape.
5. Label this tape T2.
6. Stick the second piece of tape directly on top of the first piece as
shown below.
7. Grasp the lower tape (T1) and quickly pull up from the table.
Avoid touching the tape except by the handle.
8. Quickly pull T2 away from T1, again trying not to touch either
tape except by the handle.
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Model No. ES-8086 Discover Charge Set
9. Stick each tape to the edge of a table with the handle hanging
freely as shown below.
10. Through the above process, the lower tape (T1) is now negatively
charged and the upper tape (T2) is positively charged. If you
would like to verify this, hold a balloon rubbed on human hair
near the tapes. The balloon is negatively charged, so T1 will be
repelled and T2 will be attracted.
11. Write a negative sign (-) on T1 and a positive sign (+) on T2.
12. The charged indicators are now ready to use with the five
materials.
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Discover Charge Set Model No. ES-8086
Triboelectric Series
The Triboelectric Series orders materials by their affinity for gathering
electrons through contact from other materials. The materials toward
the top of the list are likely to give up electrons in these interactions
whereas those at the bottom are more likely to gain electrons.
Dry human skin (++++++)
Leather
Rabbit fur
Glass
Human hair
Nylon
Lead
Silk
Aluminum
Paper
Cotton ( + )
Wood ( - )
Amber
Hard rubber
Nickel, Copper
Brass, Silver
Gold, Platinum
Plastic Wrap (saran)
Polyurethane
Polyethylene (like Scotch Tape)
Polypropylene
Vinyl
Silicon (- - - - - -)
Such lists are sometimes difficult to verify since material samples are
often impure and surface finishes can affect triboelectricity.
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Model No. ES-8086 Discover Charge Set
Discovering Charge
1. Ask students to choose two of the materials.
2. Place one sheet in each hand and rub together for 20 seconds as
shown below.
3. Separate the materials and bring one near the negative indicator
tape. Observe the behavior of the tape.
4. Bring the same material near the positive indicator tape. Observe
the behavior of the tape.
5. Record the charge of the 1st material.
6. Bring the second material near the negative indicator tape.
Observe the behavior of the tape.
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Discover Charge Set Model No. ES-8086
7. Bring the same material near the positive indicator tape. Observe
the behavior of the tape.
8. Record the charge of the 2nd material.
9. Explain how the two materials became charged; include electrons
in your explanation.
10. Place these two materials in the triboelectric series based on their
behavior when rubbed together.
11. Choose one new material and rub it against one of the materials
already used.
12. Repeat steps 2-10 for these two materials.
13. Continue testing until all five materials are ranked within the
triboelectric series.
Conclusions
1. Explain how the materials become charged through their interaction
with one another.
2. Explain in detail the process for ranking the materials. This
explanation can either be in paragraph form or a series of steps.
Teacher Notes:
* The triboelectric series for the materials included in this set is:
Wool (+++++)
Styrene
Polyester
PVC
Teflon (- - - - - -)
* The materials at either end of the triboelectric series are easy to
place, while students may place a few in the middle out of order
since their affinity for electrons is not that different.
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Model No. ES-8086 Discover Charge Set
* If students are having difficult making a judgement, encourage
them to rub the materials together for a longer period of time
before bringing them near the charged indicators.
* Results will improve if students remove excess charge from the
materials prior to rubbing them together . This is best accomplished
by holding them against their hand or clothing for a few seconds.
* The activities in this manual work best when humidity is low.
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