What

substances will
conduct
electricity the
best?

A special thanks to (my dad). He helped me understand electric circuits and how to measure the
amperage. He also helped as a second pair of hands as I needed one throughout my experiment.

Table of Contents
Abstract-----------------------------------------------4
Research----------------------------------------------5
Hypothesis-------------------------------------------6
Materials, Variables, and Procedures-------------7
Results------------------------------------------------8
Conclusion-------------------------------------------9
Definitions-------------------------------------------10
Bibliography-----------------------------------------11

Project name: What substances will conduct electricity the best?

Milwee Middle school
Longwood Florida
Which substance will conduct electricity the best, solid (ice), liquid (water), sub solid (Jell-O), or
control (wires)? I am testing this so people can be safer around electricity and conduct electricity
in a circuit with more efficiency. I will measure the amount of electricity running through the
circuit with each test substance. I believe that if I run electricity through water, ice, and Jell-O,
then water will conduct the best because its ions are the mobile.
First, I will put a wire in each test material and make a complete circuit for the control. Next, I
will attach the wire to the ammeter. Then, I will read the ammeter. Finally, I will record the
measurement.
After the experiment, I found out Jell-O conducts electricity the best. Water conducts it the
second best, and ice insulates. I think that Jell-O conducted the best because its electrons are not
restricted to one atom. The ice insulated because its electrons are restricted to one atom, and its
ions are immobile, unlike the water's ions.

Research
Electricity: a form of energy caused by the movement of negatively charged particles (electrons)
Ions: an electrically charged atom or group of atoms
Electrical Current: a flow of electric charge
Electron: a particle with a negative electric charge
(souce 1)
Pure water does not conduct electricity because it has no impurities, and H2O has tightly bound
electrons and atoms. Tap water, which is what my experiment is using has salt and substances
dissolved into it which have electrons (source 3). When electricity is applied, the atoms of these
impurities move, which conducts(source 2).
Ice will insulate because its atoms are not mobile. There are two ways for a substance to conduct
electricity; the first way is for the electrons to move from atom to atom. The second way is for
the charged atom, or ion, to move. Ice's electrons are secured, so they won't move easily and its
atoms are immobile, so its ions can't move.
Jell-O is a subsolid. Jell-O has many impurities that have electrons (souce 5). I am not sure if the
electrons move from one atom to another. If the electrons are restricted to one atom, then the ions
still can move around. However, the ions in Jell-O are not as mobile as they are in water. It
would still conduct better than ice because its ions are are more mobile than ice's ions (source 2).
I think water will conduct the best.

Hypothesis
If I run electricity through water, ice, and Jell-O, water will conduct the best because its ions are
mobile.

Materials, Variables, and

Procedures
Materials:
wires
ammeter
battery
1 cup of Jell-o for each test
1 cup of water for each test
1 cup of water (frozen) for each test
1 cup container

My independent variable is the substance in the circuit. My dependent variable is the amount of
electricity conducted. The dependent variable will depend on the amount of ions and the mobility
of ions. My variables I kept constant were:
The circuit
The amount of power
The amount of the tested substance
To do the experiment, I first put a wire in each test material and made a complete circuit for the
control. Next, I attached the wire to the ammeter. Then, I read the ammeter. Finally, I recorded
the measurement.

Results
Electrical current Running Through Substances
Wires

Water

Ice

Jell-O

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

6 amps

5 amps

0.19 amps

5.2 amps

Conclusion
Jell-O conducts electricity the best, other than the control. My hypothesis was water would
conduct the best, then Jell-O, then ice. The results show that Jell-O conducted electricity the best,
then water, and, finally, ice. Jell-O is the best conductor, and ice is the best insulator out of the
substances we tested. I knew ice would be an insulator because its ions are immobile, due to it
being a solid. In addition, ice is different than metal because its atoms are limited to one electron.
I think Jell-O conducted better because, like metal, its atoms are not restricted to one electron.
Waters molecules are restricted to one ion, but its ions are mobile, and can move around.

Bibliography
By Posting Your Answer, You Agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. "Why Isn't Ice a
Good Electrical Conductor?" Electricity. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016. (Source 5)
"Does Ice Conduct Electricity?" Reference. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016. (Source 2)
Harfield, By Dave. "How Does Water Conduct Electricity?" How It Works Magazine. N.p., n.d.
Web. 17 Sept. 2016. (Source 3)

"Nutritional Information for Jello." Calorie Counter. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016. (source 4)
"The Definition of Ion." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2016. (Source 1)

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