Electricity: Circuits and their Components
Electricity all around us
Join Nihal's trip to a dam and see how much we depend on electricity.
Nihal's class is off on a school trip to the Bhakra Nangal Dam, to see the hydroelectric power house. There, the force of falling water is used to make electricity. They also get a free 13 km train ride from Nangal in Punjab to Bhakra in Himachal Pradesh, along the Sutlej river.
Before the trip they list the uses of electricity: first at home, then at school, in the neighbourhood, in the city, and finally on the internet. The list keeps growing, so they put it under headings:
| Heading | Examples |
|---|---|
| lighting | homes, offices, streets, markets, factories |
| cooking | electric kettle, mixer grinder, toaster, oven, microwave |
| entertainment | television, radio |
| communication | mobile phone, internet |
| transportation | train, bus, car, scooter, lift, escalator |
| heating and cooling | fan, room heater, immersion rod, geyser, refrigerator, air conditioner |
| others | water pump, crane, computer |
You learnt in Grade 6 that electricity is made in several ways: windmills (wind), solar panels (sunlight), falling water, and burning natural gas or coal. It reaches our homes and factories through wires, and we plug things into sockets in the wall.
Caution. The danger signs on electric poles are there for a reason. Never do experiments with the power supply at home or school. Even electricity from a portable generator can be dangerous. Use only cells and batteries, like the ones in torches, wall clocks, radios and TV remotes.
So this chapter studies something small and safe that you have used many times: the torchlight.
Practise this lesson
Questions that get harder as you improve, a Tutor that helps without giving the answer away, and progress you can see. Free for every learner.
No account, no email address. Opens the real product.