Jordan Roig

NAME:_______________________

Yr 11 Physics
Research Assignment
1. Identify data sources, gather, process and analyse secondary information about the differing
views of Volta and Galvani about animal and chemical electricity and discuss whether
their different views contributed to increased understanding of electricity.

− Describe Alessandro Volta’s contributions to science and how he increased our understanding
of electricity.
Alessandro Volta was a very influential scientist who increased our understanding of electricity today.
In 1775 he invented the electrophorus, a device which is used to create static electricity. The most
import discovery was when he was repeating Luigi Galvani experiment in 1791. Luigi thought he had
just discovered a new type of electricity called “Animal electricity”, in which a frog’s leg would move
when connected to a copper hook and a metal plate because of an electrical current. Luigi concluded
that animal tissue itself was producing an electrical current. In 1791 Luigi Galvani experiment and his
findings were written and published. He sent a copy to Volta. Volta examined it, and repeated Luigi
experiment. Volta found that the electricity was not being formed from the frog’s leg but formed when
the copper hook and metal plate were in contact. He called this "metallic” or "contact" electricity. With
this knowledge he founded that not only would 2 metals in contact produce an electric current, but
when joined by a moist substance in the middle it created better results. These observations led Volta to
his invention of the first battery, which Volta called the “Pile”. This battery was the foundation of
future batteries and helped future scientist understand electricity better.

− Describe Luigi Galvani’s discovery about electricity, and whether or not it contributed to our
understanding of electricity, and why?
In 1786, Luigi Galvani discovered that the leg of a frog would move when ever there was an electrical
machine was discharged next to the leg. With these observations Galvani preformed a number of
experiments to explain the movement of the leg. In his experiments, he found that the frog’s leg would
move if he attached a copper hook to the nerve ending and then pressed the hook against an iron plate
on which the frog’s leg was placed, even if there was no electrical machines on in the area. Galvani
concluded that the movement of the leg was happening because of the organism itself, and he called
this new type of electricity “Animal electricity”. Even thought this theory was incorrect it was a very
important spark which set off a chain of events, which ended in the invention of the first battery by
Alessandro Volta. If Galvani didn’t send his results to Volta, Volta wouldn’t be able to correct
Galvani’s mistake with were the source of the electricity was coming from. His result’s are irrelevant in
today’s scientific community but back in the 18th century, Galvani’s ideas helped Volta invent the first
battery.
 Jordan Roig
NAME:_______________________

2. Discuss how the main sources of domestic energy have changed over time.

− Describe 4 different sources of domestic energy and how these sources have changed over
time.
i. Heat is the highest energy consumption in common households. There are many
uses for heat energy, such as hot water, to use in heaters. Just recently we have been
able to have heat through heaters instead of the fires in which used to keep as warm.
ii. Electricity powers washing machines, which clean our clothes. 200 years ago people
used to clean their clothes by hand, but know a machine does it for us.
iii. Lighting is also a very necessary appliance that has affect our sleeping patterns and
allowed people to do activities a night. Before the light bulb was created, candles
were used to allow people to see during the night.
iv. In today’s society we a reliant on the ovens and microwaves (run from electricity)
that cook our food. Before these appliances people used to cook there food over a
fire (fuelled by wood).

3. Assess some of the impacts of changes in, and increased access to, sources of energy for a
community
− Explain the impacts of changes to the sources of energy for a community.
When a community goes from an energy source such as fire to another energy source such
as coal, there can be many impacts on the environment and the community. When a
community goes through a change of a limited amount of energy to an almost endless
amount, certain things change. The best example is looking at the peppered moth. Before
the burning of coal, the moths were white to blend in with the white bark trees. As more and
more coal factories were produced, the soot made the tree bark like black. As the peppered
moths camouflage was revealed, they were easier to see from predators. From the affects of
evolution the moths turned black. This is one example of how the change in energy sources
affects the community and environment.

4. Discuss some of the ways in which electricity can be provided in remote locations
− Discuss how and why solar and wind powered electricity can be useful in remote locations?

The reason why solar and wind powered electricity can be useful in remote locations is
because energy is lost during travel, if the town is remote it would take a longer period of
time for the energy to get to the destination. This would result in a bigger energy lose. To
minimise this energy lose, it would be more efficient to create electricity closer to the town.
Usually remote locations have very little people inhabiting that area, so the town wouldn’t
need alot of energy. To be more eco-friendly and power saving, it would be better if they
build solar farms and wind turbines.