Name: Date: 1. Marta has a radio in her room. It requires electricity in order to play. Which of the following is necessary in order for electricity to move from the source to the radio? A. a circuit B. a magnet C. a light bulb D. an insulator This online assessment item contains material that has been released to the public by the Massachusetts Department of Education. 2. When electricity moves through a metal wire, the wire is A. a conductor. B. an insulator. C. a generator. D. a multiplier. 3. Which material conducts electricity? A. piece of glass B. cotton T-shirt C. rubber ball D. copper coin 4. To have an electric current when using batteries, there MUST be a A. complete circuit. B. switch. C. lightbulb. D. motor. 5. Which term refers to the flow of electrical charges? A. conductance B. resistance C. current D. energy 6. You should NEVER turn on a radio if you are A. in the dark. B. outside. C. in the bathtub. D. alone. 1
7. Use the list below to answer this question. plastic rubber glass paper Which name applies to these materials because of their electrical properties? A. connectors B. regulators C. conductors D. insulators 8. Which would be a good conductor of electricity? A. a rubber band B. a piece of paper C. a penny D. a mirror 9. When several lightbulbs are connected in a series circuit, what will happen if one bulb burns out? A. All of the lightbulbs will go out. B. The other bulbs will continue to burn. C. The other bulbs will burn brighter. D. There will be a short circuit. 10. Wanda's dad wired new lights for her playroom. When he thought everything was connected correctly, he turned on the switch and nothing happened. What could be the problem? A. He put too many lights and switches in the circuit. B. He needed to connect more batteries to the circuit C. He made a mistake that caused an open circuit. D. He should have wired the circuit in parallel. 11. Which of these is a conductor? A. a short length of string B. a plastic drinking straw C. a piece of aluminum foil D. a piece of chalkboard chalk 2
12. Static electricity can be built up by A. clothes spinning around in a dryer. B. a battery and a light bulb. C. plugging in an iron. D. a glass of water. 13. Marie feels a shock from touching the TV screen just after it is turned off. This is due to the build up of A. static electricity. B. sound energy. C. light energy. D. heat. 14. If you took a woolen cloth and rubbed it briskly over your hair, your hair would stand on ends. What has been created? A. insulator B. lightning C. chemical change D. static electricity 15. Why does plugging in and turning on a hair dryer make it operate? A. electrons have a complete circuit to travel. B. light energy can be converted into heat and wind. C. heat energy can be transferred from a power station. D. the flow of electricity is now stopped and can be contained. 16. Which components could complete an electric circuit? A. wire, bulb, switch B. battery, bulb, switch C. battery, wire, switch D. battery, wire, bulb 17. Two students design a circuit that includes a switch, a battery and light bulb all directly connected by wires. Before flipping the switch, what could the students do to BEST ensure that it will work? A. clean the wires B. check the brightness of the bulb C. reverse the direction of the wires D. make sure there is a complete path 3
18. Gary walks in the house and turns on the light. What could he do that would make this circuit open? A. remove the light bulb B. leave the light operational C. replace the bulb with a dimmer bulb D. extend the wire from the switch to the light 19. A closed circuit is a(n) A. switch. B. battery. C. blocked path. D. free flowing path. 20. Larry connects a wire from a battery to each of the listed items. Which item would allow a current from the battery to pass through if connected to another wire on an opposite end? A. brass door knob B. wooden door C. rubber ball D. cotton shirt 21. What material would be safest to use as an insulator to cover electrical wires? A. Aluminum B. Tin C. Rubber D. Water 4
22. Objects with like charges repel and unlike charges attract. The girl's hair and the comb have A. unlike charges B. like charges C. neutral charges D. no charges 23. Many electrical wires are wrapped with a plastic coating because plastic is A. less expensive than steel. B. more dense than copper. C. able to keep its shape. D. a good insulator. 5
24. A comb is rubbed with a piece of wool fabric and placed next to some scraps of paper. The paper moves toward the comb. The movement of the paper is caused by A. chemical energy B. magnetic attraction C. mechanical energy D. static electricity 6