Safety

Test your safety smarts

A series of true or false statements test our safety smarts.

Grade

8-12

Duration

20 mins

Type

Game

Overview

Challenge students to test their understanding of electricity and electrical hazards by completing a true or false quiz and comparing their answers with a partner. Remind your class that preventing accidents is about recognizing hazards and taking action to avoid dangerous situations.

Instructions

What you'll need

"Test your safety smarts" worksheet
"Test your safety smarts" answer key

Introduce electrical safety. Start by having a discussion with your class about their experiences with electrical hazards:
- Has anyone been hurt by electricity?
- What happened? How did it happen?
- What did they do after?
Challenge students to decide if the statements on the "Test your safety smarts" worksheet are true or false. Some of the statements are worded to challenge their logic.
Have students complete the questions on their own, then discuss with a partner to reach a consensus on any statements they answered differently.
Students get a point for every correct answer (see answer key) and a bonus point if they were right and convinced someone else to change their answer when they compared with a partner.
Discuss as a class.

Curriculum Fit

Grade 9 Science

Content

Voltage, current, and resistance

Curricular Competencies

Applying and innovating

Transfer and apply learning to new situations

Teaching Notes

Electricity awareness

Electricity will take all paths to reach the ground (not just the quickest path).
Anything can be a path for high voltage electricity that is carried in power lines above or underground, or within pad mount transformers.
Electrical contact can cause electric shock, which prevents a person from moving to disconnect from the electricity, and can cause serious internal injuries, burns or electrocution.
Electrocution is the term used for a death caused by electrical contact.
Touching anything connected to live electricity can provide a path to ground (e.g. touching a tree or ladder that becomes energized by electricity creates a path to ground through the person). This is called touch potential.
Electricity moves from high to low concentrations and spreads away from a point of contact on the ground in concentric circles. If a person is standing with one foot on an energized piece of ground and the other foot on a less energized piece of ground, electricity will move through the person. This is called step potential.
Shuffle or hop away from electrically charged ground (10 metres from point of contact)
Shuffle with feet close together. The heel of the front foot should not pass the toes of the back foot.
Water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Water and electricity do not mix.
High voltage electricity can move through all types of materials including metals, wood, rubber and soil.

Rules to stay safe

Always assume that downed or damaged power lines are live, even if they’re not sparking or making any sound.
If you come across a downed or damaged line, stay back at least 10 metres (the length of a bus) and dial 911 to report.
Remember these three words: Down. Danger. Dial. If you see a downed power line, it is dangerous. Stay back and dial 911.

BC Hydro outages and safety is a great source for additional safety information.

Assessment

Review and assess the students’ "Test your safety smarts" worksheet for completeness and accuracy.
Review and assess the students’ participation in the partner and group discussion, including their willingness to contribute ideas and opinions.

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