Data Sheet
About Electricity (Science)
1. What is Science?
Q: What do we mean when we say “Science”?
A: Science is dened as the intellectual and practical
activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure
and behavior of the physical and natural world through
observation and experiment.
Early scientists were curious people
that wondered what made lightning.
They decided to experiment to see if
they could understand lightning and
even make their own somehow.
2. Who Discovered Electricity?
Q: Who was the rst scientist to study electricity?
A: In ancient Greece, it was found that rubbing fur on amber
produced an attraction between the two. This discovery is
credited to the philosopher Thales of Miletus. One day, when
he was polishing his amber at home, he found that a piece
of fur was attracted by the amber after he put it on the desk.
Then he split them, but it happened again. So he
made a record about the phenomenon. It took
many centuries before anyone was able to
connect this phenomenon with electricity and
a century before electrical current was put to
practical use.
3. What Other Ways Does Science Help Us?
Q: What do we mean when we say “Science”?
A: A few other major Sciences are Biology, Chemistry,
Astronomy, and Physics.
Biology is the study of living things like plants & animals.
Chemistry is the study of substances & how they
react when you combine them. Things like the
plastic in your remote and the batteries that make
it work.
Astronomy is the study of the universe.
Physics is the study of matter, energy, and
forces that are on structures like a tall tower.
The science of Electronics is considered a
branch of Physics.
4. Can Science Help Predict the Weather?
Q: What Sciences were used to help weather prediction?
A: Putting a satellite into orbit that could monitor the
weather required the use of almost all the Sciences.
Astronomy and Physics were needed to understand the
forces of gravity and how objects stay in orbit.
Chemistry was needed to make materials that
could withstand the heat and cold and to make
fuels to get the satellite into orbit. Electronics
was used to study the weather and transmit
it back to earth. Biology was needed to study
how repair people could work in orbit.
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