Electrons Go
copyright 2010 by Tim Griffin

Subatomic particles are not very large
You know the neutrons are neutral ‘cause they got no charge
Protons are charged in a positive way
They stick together in the atom’s nucleus all day

There’s one other particle you ought to know
It’s in the cloud around the nucleus, round and round it goes
Electrons are charged very negatively
But they’re the particles that give us electricity

Now when you make a circuit you’re just trying to send
Electrons from the negative to the positive end
Complete the circuit and the current will flow
Because that’s just the way the electrons go

When you want to make a circuit circumnavigate
Some materials conduct and others insulate
Conductors carry current where you want it to go
But insulation is important to contain the flow

Set it up in series or in parallel
For work like lighting up a light bulb or ringing a bell
Making the connections can be lots of fun
Install a switch and you turn components off and on

And when you make a circuit you’re just trying to send
Electrons from the negative to the positive end
Complete the circuit and the current will flow
Because that’s just the way the electrons go

Now batteries will work for all the things that I said
But the current in the wall can really kill you dead
No, don’t go messing with the outlet, I say
So you can live to do experiments another day

The library’s got books for you to look at
About amps and ohms and coulombs and stuff like that
You can learn to use the lightning without lighting a fire
But for now let’s use a battery and a bulb and a wire.

Because when you make a circuit you’re just trying to send
Electrons from the negative to the positive end
Complete the circuit and the current will flow
Because that’s just the way the electrons go

Hey, that’s just the way the electrons go

Notes

There are plenty of places I can go to learn more about science. When I need help *teaching* science, there is only one place to go. Anne, thank you for helping me get this song right.