Lesson Plan

• Describe how friction can generate electrostatic charge on different materials.
• Explain the principle of charge detection using an electroscope and a pith ball.
• Predict the behaviour of charged and neutral objects in static‑electricity demonstrations.
• Perform simple experiments to produce and detect static charge safely.

• Woollen cloth
• Plastic rod (PVC) and glass rod
• Silk cloth
• Small pieces of paper
• Insulating stand
• Glass jar, thin metal rod, two aluminium leaves (simple electroscope)
• Pith ball and silk thread
• Safety goggles

Begin with a quick demonstration of a plastic rod attracting paper to spark curiosity about “invisible forces.” Students recall that opposite charges attract and like charges repel. They will know they are expected to describe how friction creates charge and how simple devices can detect it.

1. Do‑now (5'): Students answer two review questions on static electricity in their notebooks.
2. Recap key concepts (5'): Teacher revisits charge, attraction, repulsion, and the unit coulomb.
3. Demonstration 1 – producing charge by friction (10'): Rub plastic rod with woollen cloth, show paper attraction, discuss electron transfer.
4. Guided experiment 1 (15'): Pairs repeat the friction experiment, record observations and compare with glass‑silk results.
5. Demonstration 2 – simple electroscope (10'): Construct electroscope, bring charged rod near, observe leaf divergence.
6. Student activity – build & test electroscope (15'): Groups assemble the jar electroscope, test with both positively and negatively charged rods, note leaf behaviour.
7. Pith‑ball demonstration & discussion (10'): Show induced attraction then repulsion after contact; link to charge induction.
8. Exit ticket (5'): One‑sentence summary of how charge is produced by friction and how it can be detected.

We reviewed that rubbing different materials transfers electrons, creating static charge, and that devices like an electroscope or a pith ball reveal the presence and sign of that charge. Students hand in their exit tickets, demonstrating immediate recall. For homework, they will write a short explanation of how to use an electroscope to identify the charge on an unknown object.