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Created 3/25/18. Updates available online.

Balloons and Static Electricity

Balloons and Static Electricity Screenshot
  • Static Electricity
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About

Topics

  • Static Electricity

Description

Why does a balloon stick to your sweater? Rub a balloon on a sweater, then let go of the balloon and it flies over and sticks to the sweater. View the charges in the sweater, balloons, and the wall.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Describe and draw models for common static electricity concepts (transfer of charge, induction, attraction, repulsion, and grounding)
Version 1.16

For Teachers

Teacher Tips

Download teacher tips PDF Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ).

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Title Gold Star Contribution Contribution by PhET Authors Level Type
Concept questions for Physics using PhET (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS
UG-Intro		 MC
Static Magnetic and Electric unit (Inquiry Based) A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Lab
Demo
HW
Balloons and Static Electricity for Middle School A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. PhET Middle School Team MS Demo
Lab
Inquiry Based Modeling Static Electricity A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS CQs
Demo
Electrical Charge Lab A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Dr. Wendy Adams MS
HS
UG-Intro		 Lab
Introduction to Electrostatics A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Karen King HS
MS		 Lab
Balloons and Static Electricity A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. UTeach Middle School PhET Team MS Lab
Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS This contribution was designed by PhET. Trish Loeblein HS Other
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other
PhET Sims Aligned to the Chemistry Curriculum This contribution was designed by PhET. Julia Chamberlain UG-Intro
HS		 Other
Charges Activity with Various Simulations This contribution was designed by PhET. Kathy Perkins, Carl Wieman HS
UG-Intro		 CQs
PhET Simulations Aligned for AP Physics C Roberta Tanner HS Other
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer MS
HS		 Other
NGSS MS-PS2-5 Aligned Rosemary Boardman MS Guided
Static Electricity: A Force to be Reckoned With Lauren Dykstra K-5 Lab
HW
Introduction to Current, Voltage, and Resistance Karen King HS Lab
Balloons and Electrostatics Student Guide Keith Duda HS HW
Lab
풍선과 정전기 SIM 사용지침서 이화국(Wha Kuk Lee) MS
K-5		 Lab
Demo
Electric Charge Basics Sarah Stanhope HS Lab
Exploring electric charges dorina kosztin HS
UG-Intro
MS		 Lab
High School Exploratory Lab for Balloons and Static Electricity paul devoe HS Lab
Electrostatics Simulations: Introductory David Moutoux HS HW
Exploring Static Electricity Katherine Frett HS HW
Simulações no Ensino de Fisica Carla Tavares HS Lab
MC
Guided
HW
Discuss
Demo
Other
Carga Patricia Abdel Rahim UG-Intro Lab

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Translations

Language Download or Run Tips
Afrikaans All Afrikaans Run now Ballonne en Statiese Elektrisiteit
Albanian All shqip Run now Balonat dhe elektriciteti statik
Arabic All العربية Run now Balloons and Static Electricity
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) All العربية (السعودية) Run now Balloons and Static Electricity
Armenian All Armenian Run now Փուչիկը և էլեկտրաստատիկ լիցքերը
Basque All Basque Run now Globoak eta Elektrizitate estatikoa
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Шарыкі і статычная электрычнасць
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now Baloni i statički elektricitet
Bulgarian All български Run now Балони и статично електричество
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 气球和静电
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now 氣球和靜電引力
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Statički elektricitet
Czech All čeština Run now Balonek a statická elektřina
Danish All Dansk Run now Balloner og statisk elektricitet
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Ballonnen en statische elektriciteit
Estonian All Eesti Run now Õhupallid ja staatiline elekter
Finnish All suomi Run now Ilmapallot ja hankaussähköä
French All français Run now Ballons et Electricité statique
Galician All Gallegan Run now Globos e Electicidade Estática
Georgian All Georgian Run now ბუშტები და სტატიკური ელექტრობა
German All Deutsch Run now Ballons und statische Elektrizität
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Μπαλόνια και στατικός ηλεκτρισμός
Hebrew All עברית Run now בלונים וחשמל סטטי
Hungarian All magyar Run now Léggömbök és a statikus elektromosság
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now Balon dan listrik statis
Irish All Gaeilge Run now Balloons and Static Electricity
Italian All italiano Run now Elettricità statica
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 風船と静電気
Kannada All Kannada Run now ಬಲೂನ್ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಥಾಯಿ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now Әуе шар және статикалық электр
Khmer All Khmer Run now បាឡុង និង​​អគ្គិសនី​ស្តាទិច
Korean All 한국어 Run now 풍선과 정전기
Kurdish (Turkey) All Kurdish (Turkey) Run now Pifdanik û Kehreba Ragirtî
Lao All Lao Run now ໝາກປຸມເປົ້າ ແລະ ໄຟຟ້າສະຖິດ
Latvian All Latviešu Run now Baloni un statiskā elektrība
Macedonian All македонски Run now Балони и статички електрицитет
Mongolian All Mongolian Run now Шаар ба цахилгаан статик
Norwegian Bokmal All Norsk bokmål Run now Ballonger og statisk elektrisitet
Persian All فارسی Run now بادکنک و الکتریسته ی ساکن
Polish All polski Run now Balony i statyczne pole elektryczne
Portuguese All português Run now Balões e eletricidade estática
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Balões e eletricidade estática
Romanian All română Run now Baloanele si Electricitatea Statica
Russian All русский Run now Шарики и статическое электричество
Serbian All Српски Run now Балони и статички електрицитет
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Balón a statická elektrina
Slovenian All Slovenščina Run now Statična elektrika pri balonu.
Spanish All español Run now Globos y Electricidad Estática
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Globos y Electricidad Estática
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Globos y Electricidad Estática
Swedish All svenska Run now Ballonger och statisk elektricitet
Thai All ไทย Run now ลูกโป่ง กับ ไฟฟ้าสถิต
Turkish All Türkçe Run now Balon ve Durgun Elektrik
Turkmen All Turkmen Run now Şarlar we statiki elektriklik
Ukrainian All українська Run now Електризація та взаємодія зарядів
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Bong bóng và tĩnh điện

Software Requirements

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7/8.1/10
Latest version of Java
OS X 10.9.5 or later
Latest version of Java
Latest version of Java

Credits

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Sam Reid (developer/lead)
  • Interviewer: Wendy Adams
English
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