Lesson Plan: Electric Potential Difference Science
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to describe what electric potential difference is and how an electric potential difference across a component in a circuit creates a current in that component.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- recognize that a potential difference, when across a wire or a component, is what causes a current,
- recall that potential difference is measured in volts,
- recall that the potential difference is the work that would have to be done per coulomb in order to separate the positive and negative charges.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the idea that objects and materials are made of atoms,
- the idea that atoms consist of a positively charged nucleus and negatively charged electrons,
- what an electric current is,
- the circuit symbols for a cell, battery, wire, and bulb,
- how to draw simple single-loop electric circuits.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- how electrochemical cells work,
- using the formula to find the potential difference of separated charges,
- using ,
- resistance,
- calculating the current using ,
- internal resistance of cells,
- electromotive force,
- Ohm’s law,
- voltmeters,
- ammeters,
- the structure of metals.
