A conductor is a material that lets electricity flow through it easily. Metals such as copper, iron, steel and aluminium are good electrical conductors. That is why wires have copper inside them. Water with things dissolved in it also conducts, which is why electricity and water are a dangerous mix.
An insulator does not let electricity flow through it. Plastic, rubber, wood, glass and dry paper are insulators. Wires are covered in plastic to keep us safe. You can test a material by putting it in a gap in a circuit: if the bulb lights, the material is a conductor; if it stays off, the material is an insulator.
Worked example
A coin is put in the gap of a circuit and the bulb lights. What does this tell us?
- The bulb only lights if electricity flows.
- So electricity flowed through the coin.
Answer:The coin is a conductor.
Key words
- conductor
- lets electricity flow through it
- insulator
- does not let electricity flow through it
- copper
- a metal used inside wires
- mains electricity
- electricity from sockets; very dangerous
New questions every time.
NGSS-referenced: 4-PS3-2