
Car Seat Materials and Static Charge
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Why do you sometimes get a shock when you touch a car door? The seat material and your clothing both play a role. Static electricity (a buildup of electric charge) forms when two surfaces rub together.
You rub a balloon against different clothing fabrics on a fabric seat and a leather seat. Then you hold the balloon over tiny paper pieces and count how many it picks up. More paper pieces means more static charge.
The results show which seat and clothing pairs produce the most static buildup.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that leather car seats produce more static electricity compared to fabric seats.
Method & Materials
You will connect a copper plate to a ground connection, cut out 200 pieces of paper, discharge the balloon by rolling it over the copper plate, and rub the balloon with different materials.
You will need a balloon, a copper plate, a ground connection, a jumper wire with crocodile clips, a fabric car seat, a leather car seat, a polyester cloth, a cotton cloth, a nylon cloth, a silk cloth, a flat tray, a ruler, a large sheet of paper, and a paper knife.
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See what’s includedResults
The results showed that the car seat made of fabric or covered with cotton shirts produced the least amount of static electricity. The leather car seat produced more static compared to the fabric seats. This proves the hypothesis to be true.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it investigates the static electricity produced by different car seat materials. It also shows how static electricity can be dangerous in certain situations.
Also Consider
Experiment variations could include using a comb instead of a balloon, or testing different car seat materials such as seats made from cloth or Vinyl or PVC.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
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