Start here

A torch bulb feels warm after a while. A compass near a wire can move. One thing causes both: electric current, the flow of electricity.

This track covers the heating and magnetic effects of current. It also covers cells. All of it is in Chapter 4, Electricity: Magnetic and Heating Effects.

What this track covers

• A wire warms up. Current warms any ordinary wire.
• Heat put to work. A heater uses that warmth on purpose.
• A wire made to fail. A right-sized fuse melts first.
• A wire becomes a magnet. A compass shows it.
• More turns, more pull. A coil can be made stronger.
• A magnet you can switch off. The electromagnet.
• A bell that rings itself. An electromagnet at work.
• Two metals and a liquid. How a simple cell makes current.
• Cells that run down. Dry cells, rechargeable cells and used cells.

Quick catch-up

• Class 7: a circuit needs a closed loop. A switch opens or closes it.
• Class 6: a magnet pulls iron and steel. A compass needle is a small magnet.

Safety

Every bench here is a simulation. Try real activities only with a teacher beside you. Never join the two ends of a cell with a wire.