EMF – Investigation 4

Focus Questions

4-1  How does an electric motor work?

4-2  How can we generate electrical energy?

4-3  What are the big ideas about electromagnetic force ?

Vocabulary

brush       commutator       fossil fuel        generator        motor

nonrenewable      renewable       rotate      shaft     solar cell

Concepts

• An electric motor is designed with a commutator that acts as a switch, turning on and off an electromagnet.

• Electric generators transfer energy from kinetic energy to electrical energy.

• Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred.

• Every energy use can be described as a series of energy transfers.

• Energy sources can be categorized as renewable or nonrenewable.