Charge, Current and the Coulomb

Lab Brief #1

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

The opposite of what you expect is often what happens.

What you'll learn

Electric current is the rate of flow of charge: I = Q/t, measured in amperes. One ampere is one coulomb of charge passing a point each second. In a metal the carriers are free electrons, drifting slowly even though the signal travels almost instantly.

Key words

current
The rate of flow of electric charge, I = Q/t, in amperes.
coulomb
The SI unit of electric charge; one ampere flowing for one second.

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: what happens if you double the force?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

cell or low-voltage supply
lamp
ammeter
connecting leads
stopwatch

Get ready

⚠️ Safety first

Use batteries or a low-voltage supply only — never mains electricity.
Disconnect the cell between changes so components do not overheat.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "current" and "coulomb" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Build a simple series circuit with a cell, lamp and ammeter. Record the current, then run it for a timed two minutes and calculate the total charge that passed through the lamp.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

A current of 3 A flows for 20 s. The charge transferred is:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

One ampere is equivalent to:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🎢 You feel weightless on a roller coaster because you and the seat are falling at the same speed.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Potential Difference and the Volt All lessons

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: You use this every time you flip a light switch, ride a bike, or kick a ball.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Time how long a small ball rolls down something, then change the slope and try again.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

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Charge, Current and the Coulomb

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