Static Electricity - Science World Resources

Static Electricity 

ELECTRICITY 

ALL CHARGED UP 

OBJECTIVES: 

Students will be able to: 

• describe the movement of electrons 

from one material to another. 

• determine the resulting charge of two 

materials rubbing together. 

• explain how static charge causes 

materials to attract or repel each other. 

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS 

BY GRADE: 

K. Physical Science 

(properties of objects and materials) 

2. Physical Science (properties of matter) 

3. Physical Science (material and 

structures) 

5. Earth and Space Science (renewable 

and non-renewable resources) 

6. Physical Science (electricity) 

LIST OF ACTIVITIES: 

• Static Electricity Relay 

• Imaginary Shelf 

• Balloon Electroscope 

• Snap, Crackle, POP! 

• Attractive Balloons 

• Sticky Tape Teaser 

• Van de Graaff Wonders 

INTRODUCTION 

Have you ever rubbed a balloon on your head Why does rubbing a balloon on your head make 

your hair stand up on end 

When you rub the balloon, electrons move from the atoms and molecules in your hair onto 

the balloon. Electrons have a negative charge, so the balloon becomes negatively charged 

and your hair is left with a positive charge. This “separation of charge” is the reason for the 

collection of effects we call static electricity. 

Students will explore static electricity through a series of demonstrations and experiments. 

BACKGROUND 

Everything we see is made up of tiny little parts called atoms. The atoms are made of even 

smaller parts. These are called protons, electrons, and neutrons. An atom usually has the same 

number of protons and electrons. Sometimes electrons can be moved away from their atoms. 

If you comb your hair, electrons leave the atoms and the molecules in your hair and stay on 

the plastic comb. Electrons have a negative charge. The comb, covered in electrons, becomes 

negatively charged as well, and your hair is left with the positive charge. This “separation of 

charge” is the reason for the collection of effects we call static electricity. 

If two objects have different charges, they attract (or pull towards) each other. If two objects 

have the same charge, they repel (or push away) from each other. After you’ve combed your 

hair, each of the hairs has the same positive charge. Things with the same charge repel each 

other. So the hairs try to move away from each other by standing up and away from all the 

other hairs. 

If you walk across a carpet, electrons move from the rug to you. Now you have extra electrons. 

If you’ve got extra electrons piled on you, they will spill off when you touch an object like a 

doorknob, and give you a shock. Shocks come from gaining or losing electric charge in a hurry. 

When a charged object is brought close to a neutral material, the electrons on the neutral 

material will either move toward the charged object (if it has a positive charge) or away 

from the charged object (if it has a negative charge). In other words, the charges on the 

neutral object are separated by the nearby charged object. This phenomenon is called an 

induced charge. 

The result is that a normally neutral material will have a slight charge when the charged object 

approaches. It is enough for the two to attract. 

Electrostatic charges are not caused by friction, although many assume this to be the case. 

Background cont. 

RESOURCES.SCIENCEWORLD.CA


ELECTRICITY 

Rubbing a balloon on your head or dragging your feet on the carpet will build up a charge, 

but so will ordinary walking or repeatedly touching your head with a balloon! It’s the 

contact between two different materials that causes charge to move from one object to 

another. Rubbing materials together can help move charge more quickly because more 

surface area is being contacted. Friction has nothing to do with the charge. 

An important thing to consider when doing any of these activities is the weather: humidity 

in the air can make it difficult to build up charges, causing experiments to behave in 

unexpected ways! The best “static” weather is clear, sunny, and cool. 

NOTES 



ELECTRICITY 

VOCABULARY 

Electron - A subatomic particle that has a negative electrical charge. 

Electroscope - A device that detects electrical charge. 

Induced charge - Separation of charges within an object caused by the proximity of a 

charged object. 

Proton - A subatomic particle that has a positive electrical charge. 

Static electricity - Refers to the build up of electric charges on objects. It is the charge imbalance 

between a negatively charged object and a positively charged object that cause the static electricity 

effects we see. 

Triboelectric series - A list that ranks various materials according to their tendency to gain or 

lose electrons. 

REFERENCES 

» Wikipedia | Static electricity 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_electricity 

» ERIC | Invitations to Science Inquiry | Imaginary shelf 

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED301471.pdf 

» ERIC | Invitations to Science Inquiry | Balloon electroscope 

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED301471.pdf 

» Wikipedia | Electroscope 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroscope 

» University of Virginia | Physics Education | Physical Science Activities | Balloon Electroscope 

http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/Education/outreach/8thgradesol/BalloonElectroscopeFrm.htm 

» Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge | Balloon Electroscope 

http://www.youngscientistchallenge.com/checkitout/whelmers/balloon-electroscope.html 

» Ron Kurtus’ School for Champions | Materials that Cause Static Electricity 

http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/static_materials.htm 

» Siliconfareast.com | Semiconductors | Triboelectric Series 

http://www.siliconfareast.com/tribo_series.htm 

» WonderHowTo | How to Bend Water with Static Electricity 

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-bend-water-with-static-electricity-087149/ 

» Science Kids | Experiments | Static Electricity Experiment 

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments/staticelectricity.html 

» SchoolTube | Static Moves the Can 

http://www.schooltube.com/video/98e78da3e2522fcd3bf3/Static-Moves-the-Can 

» Digital Bits Science Lab | How to separate Salt and Pepper 

http://www.andybrain.com/sciencelab/2007/11/25/how-to-separate-salt-and-pepper/ 

» SFU | Science Alive! 

http://www.sciencealive.ca 

» How Stuff Works | Van de Graaff Generators 

http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/vdg1.htm 

RESOURCES 

» Arbor Scientific | Van de Graaff Generator (to purchase) 

http://www.arborsci.com 

» Think Geek | Fly stick (to purchase) 

http://www.thinkgeek.com 

» Amazon | Fly stick (to purchase) 

http://www.amazon.ca 



ELECTRICITY 

DEMO ACTIVITY 1: IMAGINARY SHELF - 10mins. 

MATERIALS: 

• 10 balloons 

• a clean blackboard, whiteboard, or 

dry wall space 

Can you stick a balloon to the wall without glue or tape This demonstration introduces 

students to the concept of static electricity and explores the science behind a common 

party “trick”. 

When you rub a balloon against your sleeve, your sleeve loses some electrons. The balloon 

ends up with extra electrons, making it negatively charged. When the negatively charged 

balloon approaches a wall, the negative charges in the wall are repelled (or pushed away). 

This leaves a positive charge on the board at the spot where the balloon touches. It is the 

attraction between the positively charged area of the board and the negatively charged balloon 

that results in the balloon “sticking” to the board. Over time, electrons will transfer from the 

balloon to the board, causing the balloon to become uncharged and fall to the floor. 

Some materials lose electrons more easily than others. The more easily the material loses 

electrons, the better it will “charge up” the balloon. Wool, cotton, and hair are the most 

common materials to charge the balloons. 

WHAT TO DO 

1. Blow up 3 or 4 balloons. Tell students that you have constructed an invisible shelf on the 

blackboard. 

2. Rub the balloons against your sleeve or shirt as if cleaning them, then stick them to the 

blackboard in a horizontal row. The point is that you do not want to implicitly show them 

that you are actually rubbing the balloon to charge it. 

3. When students catch on about the rubbing of the balloons, have them try to make a second 

lower “shelf” with the other balloons rubbed against their hair or shirt. 

KEY QUESTIONS 

» How are the balloons sticking to the board 

» What did rubbing against a sleeve do to the balloon 

» Do the balloons stick to the wall forever Why or why not 

EXTENSIONS 

» Try rubbing a balloon against different materials such as wool, silk, cotton, plastic, hair. 

Do you find any difference in the static charge built up How about the length of time it sticks 

to the board 

» In teams of 6–7 students, choreograph an “electron dance”. Show the movement of electrons, 

the charge of the balloons and the charge of the wall. 

NOTES 



ELECTRICITY 

GAME ACTIVITY 2: STATIC ELECTRICITY RELAY - 20mins 

MATERIALS: 

• 2 balloons (plus extras in case 

some pop!) 

• a balloon pump 

• obstacle course supplies: hula hoops, 

cones, desks, chairs, etc. (enough to 

make two identical courses) 

In this activity, students use static charge to stick a balloon to themselves as they race around 

an obstacle course. 

When a balloon is rubbed against some materials, it readily captures electrons from the 

material. The negatively charged balloon will “stick” to a neutral object (see the explanation in 

“Imaginary Shelf”). Eventually, the electrons will disperse and the balloon will fall off. 

WHAT TO DO 

Set up 

1. Prepare two identical obstacle courses. 

Game 

1. Divide the class into 2 teams. 

2. The first person in each team must use static charge to stick a balloon to his or herself. 

3. They must then run the course with the balloon stuck to them. If the balloon falls off, they 

must return to the place where it fell off and re-stick it. 

4. Once they have completed the course, the student passes the balloon to the next team 

member who sticks it to herself and runs the course. 

5. The first team to have all their members complete the course with the balloon wins. 

Activity 2 cont. 



ELECTRICITY 

KEY QUESTIONS 

» Where did you stick the balloon Why 

» Where did the winning team stick their balloon 

» Why did the balloons fall off (faster or slower) 

EXTENSIONS 

» Do some kinds of clothing “stick” to balloons better than others 

» Do some shapes of balloons work better for this game than others 

NOTES 



ELECTRICITY 

DEMO ACTIVITY 3: BALLOON ELECTROSCOPE - 10mins. 

MATERIALS: 

• 2 identically shaped balloons 

• 2 lengths of thread 

(approx. 40 cm each) 

• wool cloth 

• a spray bottle filled with water 

The electroscope is an instrument used to detect electric charge. In this demonstration, a 

simple electroscope is made and used to visualise the effect of static charge. 

When you rub a balloon with a wool cloth, the balloon captures electrons from the wool, 

leaving the balloon with a negative charge and the wool with a positive charge. If both 

balloons are rubbed with wool, they will both have same charge (negative) and therefore 

will repel each other. When you spray water near the balloons, the water droplets carry the 

charges away from the balloons, leaving them uncharged. As the balloons become neutral, 

they will fall back together. Another way to neutralise the charges on the balloons is to touch 

them with a damp or moist hand. 

Doing static electricity experiments in damp or humid weather can sometimes have confusing 

or unexpected results! Moisture in the air acts just like the spray of water in this demonstration 

and carries charges away from objects. This makes it harder to build up charges in your 

experiments. 

WHAT TO DO 

1. Blow up 2 balloons to about the same size and tie a thread to each of them. 

2. Hold the two threads together. The balloons will hang against each other. 

3. Now let a student hold the threads while you rub the balloons with the wool cloth. 

4. Let the balloons hang back again. The balloons will not touch. 

5. Spray a mist of water at the balloons (they will fall back against each other). 

KEY QUESTIONS 

» Why do the balloons repel each other after rubbing 

» Why do the balloons fall back against each other after spraying 

» How else could we get the balloons to fall back against each other 

» During what type of weather would it be best to do experiments on static electricity 

» What does damp weather do to the electric charges 

EXTENSIONS 

» Students can make their own balloon electroscope to experiment with. 

» Rub the balloons with different types of cloth (e.g. nylon, silk, plastic, paper) and see how this 

affects the experiment. 

» What happens if you bring your wool cloth near the charged electroscope What happens if you 

bring a third charged balloon near the charged electroscope 



ELECTRICITY 

EXPLORATION 

ACTIVITY 4: SNAP, CRACKLE, POP! - 30mins. 

MATERIALS: 

Various items displayed on a table, 

such as (4–5 samples of each): 

• balloons 

• plastic rulers 

• plastic spoons 

• paper plates 

• wool scarf 

• silk scarf 

• rubber-soled shoes 

• carpet 

• socks 

• sweater 

• thread 

• record 

• comb 

• cereal 

• salt 

• hula hoop 

• sugar 

• pepper 

• ripped-up paper 

• gelatin 

• styrofoam packing peanuts 

Per student: 

• science notebook 

• pencil/pen 

• table of the triboelectric series 

Students experiment with different materials to find the best combination for creating 

static charge. 

Some atoms hold on to their electrons more tightly than others do. The triboelectric series is 

a list that ranks materials based on their tendency to hold on to or give away their electrons. 

If a material is more apt to give up electrons when in contact with another material, it is more 

positive in the triboelectric series. If a material is more apt to “capture” electrons when in 

contact with another material, it is more negative in the triboelectric series. 

To get a really good static charge, you should combine a very positive material in the 

triboelectric series with a very negative material in the triboelectric series. The following page 

shows you the triboelectric series for many common household materials. Positive items in the 

series are at the top, and negative items are at the bottom. 

Cool application: Unrolling a piece of plastic wrap creates negative charges on the sheet. 

It will tend to “stick” to neutral items. 

WHAT TO DO 

Preparation 

1. Lay out a variety of materials on a table. 

2. On the board, create a table with the materials you have chosen along the top of the table 

and repeat them down the side of the table. This will be used to record the students’ results. 

Alternatively, you can ask the students to reproduce the table in their notebooks to record 

the results. 

Exploration 

1. In teams of two, one of the team members comes to the table and chooses two materials 

to bring back to their desk. 

2. Rub the two materials together. Do they exhibit static cling 

3. In your table, record “Yes” for creating a charge and “No” for not creating a charge. 

4. Bring back the samples to the table and choose another pair. 

5. Continue rubbing different combinations of materials together to see which ones 

create charge. 

6. Record the results as a class on the board. 

KEY QUESTIONS 

» Which combinations of materials create charge 

» Can you explain your results by looking at the ranking of your materials in the 

triboelectric series 

» Do any of the material combinations result in crackling 

» What is similar about the combinations that create charge The combinations that do not 

create charge 




ELECTRICITY 




ELECTRICITY 

EXTENSIONS 

» Go on a static electricity hunt! Leave the classroom and expand your search area for material 

combinations that create static charge around your school, outside, at home etc. 

» Take your best combination, charge it up, turn the lights off and see if you can get a spark! 

» At home, try taking off an acrylic or polar fleece sweater in the dark. Can you see any sparks 

NOTES 



ELECTRICITY 

ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 5: ATTRACTIVE BALLOONS - 30mins. 

MATERIALS: 

• a sink with a tap 

Per student: 

• a balloon (and a few extra) 

• a handful of confetti from a hole 

puncher, or small torn up scraps 

of paper 

• a triboelectric series table 

(see activity 4) 

Per group of 3–4 students: 

• a pop can 

• a measuring tape (optional) 

Positive and negative charges are opposite and attract. But how does a neutral material react 

around something charged In this activity, students will observe the effects of charged objects 

on neutral materials. 

The negatively charged balloon (from rubbing against hair) will repel the electrons of paper/ 

water/aluminum cans away from the spot closest to the balloon, resulting in a positive charge 

on the paper/water/aluminum can. The negatively charged balloon then attracts the induced 

positive charge on the neutral material. The result is that the balloon can pick up the paper, 

deviate the stream of water, or attract the can. 

WHAT TO DO 

Part 1: Picking things up 

1. Explore the most effective way of charging your balloon (e.g. rubbing it against your head, 

clothing, or other material). 

2. Slowly bring your charged balloon close to the confetti. 

3. Record your results. 

4. What other items around the classroom can you attract (pick up) 

Part 2: Moving a stream of water 

1. Turn on the tap so that you have a slow, solid, steady stream of water. Take turns slowly 

moving a charged balloon towards the water and observe. 

Part 3: Challenge: how far can you move a pop can with a charged balloon 

1. With your team, work together to try and move the pop can using only charged balloons 

(no touching the can with the balloons!). 

2. Roll out a measuring tape on the floor. How far can you get your can to move before the 

balloon loses its charge 




ELECTRICITY 

KEY QUESTIONS 

» What happens to the confetti when you hold a charged balloon near it Why 

» What happens to the stream of water when you move the charged balloon near it Why 

» What happens if you let the balloon touch the water 

» Can you get the can to move How about tip over Hint: try moving the can when it is on 

its side 

EXTENSIONS 

» Do you push or pull the can with the balloon Why Use the triboelectric series table to deduce 

the movement of electrons between your hair and the balloon, then between the balloon and 

the can. Draw a picture showing the relative location of the electrons on each. 

» Hand out a mixed pile of salt and pepper and challenge students to separate the two. Salt is 

heavier than pepper, so holding a charged balloon over the pile will result in the pepper flying 

up and sticking to the balloon. If you move closer to the pile, the salt will eventually fly up too, 

so move slowly to get the best separation! 

» Extend the water activity by investigating more variables. Does the temperature of the water 

affect how much it bends Does a bigger balloon make the water bend more How does the 

strength of the stream flow affect how much it bends 

» Create a mini race between two groups by challenging them to move their pop can from a 

starting line to a finish line first. The distance to travel should be about 30 cm i.e. enough 

distance that the can will require several “pushes” from the balloons in order to roll the 

whole way. 

» Run the “Balloons and Static Electricity” simulation from the University of Colorado at Boulder’s 

Physics Education Technology website. Students rub a balloon against a sweater and visualize 

the movement of electrons as they bring the charged balloon to a neutral wall 

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/balloons 

NOTES 



ELECTRICITY 

ACTIVITY ACTIVITY 6: STICKY TAPE TEASER - 15mins. 

MATERIALS: 

Per student: 

• 3 pieces of frosted sticky tape 

(10 cm each) 

• pen 

• smooth, flat surface (like a clean table) 

In this brainteaser, students discover that sticky tape can pick up electrons as well as dirt, 

dust, and hair! 

Electrons tend to move around, so there are usually free electrons moving around the surface 

of most objects, including tables. When you peel sticky tape off a surface like a table, it takes 

some electrons with it making it negatively charged. 

In the first part of the activity, both tape A (with C) and B are peeled off the table, collecting 

electrons from the table. When brought together, they repel each other since they’re both 

negatively charged. 

In the second part of the activity, tape C is peeled off tape A, collecting electrons from tape A. 

This leaves tape A positively charged, which attracts the negatively charged tapes B and C. 

Remember: opposite charges attract and like charges repel. 

WHAT TO DO 

1. Tear three pieces of tape from the roll, each about 10 cm long. 

2. For each of the three pieces of tape, fold over a little bit of the end to create a little tab. 

This will enable you to grab the piece of tape without it sticking to your fingers or the table. 

Part 1 

1. Stick two of the pieces of tape flat down on the table (sticky side down), and make sure 

they’re smooth and flat against the table. Label the first piece of tape “A”, and the second 

piece of tape “B”. 

2. Stick the last piece of tape right over top of piece A, and label it “C”. 

3. Peel tape B and tape A (tape C should come off along with tape A since it’s stuck to the 

front of it) off the table slowly. 

4. Slowly move the two pieces of tape together. Record the results. 




ELECTRICITY 

Part 2 

1. Slowly peel tape C off tape A. 

2. Move tape A, tape B, and tape C together and observe what happens. Record the results. 

KEY QUESTIONS 

» What happens when you move the pieces of tape toward each other 

» Free electrons are usually moving around the surface of most objects. What did the tape 

“pick up” from the table 

» What happens when like charges move near each other Opposite charges 

» How did tape A switch charges In the first part, what were the charges of each piece of tape 

Why In the second part, what were the charges of each piece of tape Why 

EXTENSIONS 

» With your partner, draw the charges on each piece of tape in parts 1 and 2. 

NOTES 



ELECTRICITY 

DEMO ACTIVITY 7: VAN DE GRAAFF GENERATOR WONDERS - 

20–40mins. 

MATERIALS: 

• A Van de Graaff Generator 

(available at Arbor Scientific 

www.arborsci.com ) 

• a plastic stool 

• Styrofoam peanuts (or confetti) 

• metal pie pan 

• a mirror 

Most people have seen a Van de Graaff generator before at a science centre or on TV. You know 

that it makes peoples’ hair stand on end, but do you actually know how it works 

A Van de Graaff generator pulls electrons from the Earth, moves them along a belt and stores 

them on the large sphere. These electrons repel each other and try to get as far away from each 

other as possible, spreading out on the surface of the sphere. The Earth has lots of room for 

electrons to spread out upon, so electrons will take any available path back to the ground. 

Extension activities: 

• a fly stick (optional—available at 

www.amazon.ca o r 

www.thinkgeek.com ) 

• streamers 

• a bubble maker 

• fake (faux) fur 

The grounding rod is a smaller sphere, attached by a wire to the Earth. It provides a convenient 

path for electrons to move to the ground. If we bring the grounding rod close enough to the 

large sphere, the electrons rip through the air molecules in order to jump onto the grounding 

rod, creating a spark and crackling noise. 

When a fluorescent light tube approaches the negatively charged generator, the electrons 

on the generator flow through the tube and the person holding it. Flowing electrons result 

in an electrical current, lighting up the light tube. It doesn’t take very much current to light a 

fluorescent bulb! 

Putting Styrofoam peanuts or confetti on top of the Van de Graaff generator can create a cool 

trick. The electrons that collect on the sphere spread out into the Styrofoam peanuts and 

confetti, making the little, light objects negatively charged. When the negative charges on the 

peanuts repel the negative charges on the generator, the peanuts push off the sphere. 

When a student puts a hand on the sphere, the electrons will spread out onto that person as 

they repel from the other electrons. They are most obvious in a person’s hair because the like 

charges of the electrons repel each other and cause the hairs to stand up and spread away 

from each other. As long as the person is standing on an insulated platform, the electrons will 

not be able to travel down to the ground and their hair will remain standing up. 

Van de Graaff experiments are all based on the fact that like charges repel. 

WHAT TO DO 

Safety note: make sure you ground the large sphere after each use by touching it with the 

ground wire or small sphere. Although the Van de Graaff generator produces a very low 

current, it may cause problems with people who have heart problems or a pacemaker. Warn 

students they may get small shocks which will scare them more than hurt them. 

Part 1: Making Sparks 

1. Touch the small sphere (connected to the ground wire) to the dome. 

2. Turn the knob counter clockwise. 

3. Turn the generator on. 




ELECTRICITY 

4. Slowly turn the knob clockwise so the motor turns the belt. 

5. Take the small sphere away and let a charge accumulate on the dome. Ask a student to 

turn off the lights to make it easier to see the sparks. 

6. Move the small sphere around the sphere in different positions so that everyone can see 

the sparks. 

Part 2: Sautéing Styrofoam 

1. Ground the dome by touching the grounding rod to it. 

2. Without removing the grounding rod, place Styrofoam peanuts (or confetti) on top of the 

large sphere. 

3. Take the ground away, and the Styrofoam peanuts will fly off the generator. 

4. This can be repeated by placing a metal pie panplate (or three!) on top of the generator and 

repeating the steps above. 

Part 3: Hair-Raising Experience 

1. Ask a student to step up onto the insulated stool. 

2. Ground the dome by touching the grounding rod to it. 

3. Without removing the grounding rod, ask the volunteer to put one hand on the dome, the 

other hand by their side and make sure they understand not to move their hands until 

you tell them to. 

4. Take the ground away, and their hair will start to stand up. Shaking their head will help too! 

5. Hold the mirror so that the volunteer can see their new hair-do! 

6. Ask the volunteer to move their hand from the ball to their side, and to keep it there. 

Immediately ground the Van de Graaffand then turn it off. 

7. The volunteer can simply step off the stool or touch elbows with a classmate to get rid of their 

extra electrons (note: touching elbows will result in a shock!). 

KEY QUESTIONS 

» Where are the electrons 

» What is making your hair stand on end 

» Why doesn’t the hair come down after the machine has been turned off 

» What caused a shock when the volunteer touched a fellow student 

» Why did your teacher ground the generator before allowing the volunteer to step off the stool 

» What is the role of the plastic stool 

EXTENSIONS 

» Place a piece of fake fur on the large sphere, the individual fur strands will stand. 

» Tape streamers to your volunteer, like an extra-long moustache! 

» Have someone hold onto the large sphere while blowing soap bubbles with a wand, the 

bubbles will become positively charged and will be attracted to anything that is grounded 

e.g. a person walking by. 

» A fly stick is a miniature, battery powered Van de Graaff generator. It charges mylar objects, 

which are then repelled by the stick (and by each other). You can make small objects hop up 

and down between the stick and your hand or levitate the more visible ones. For fun ideas, 

check out the Educational Innovations’ teacher blog 

http://blog.teachersource.com/tag/fun-fly-stick/

Static Electricity - Science World Resources

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