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How a Copier Paints With Static Electricity

8th grade nonfiction passage about static electricity in copiers: 254 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

8th grade nonfiction static electricity in copiers 254 words

How a Copier Paints With Static Electricity

A photocopier seems to work by magic: you place a page on the glass, press a button, and a warm copy slides out a moment later. Inside the machine, however, no ink is poured onto the page, because the copy is built from a fine powder called toner, and the tool that places the powder precisely is static electricity.

The heart of the machine is a metal drum with a special coating. In the dark, this coating can hold an electric charge, like a balloon that has been rubbed on hair. When light shines on the coating, it loses its charge in that spot. First, the drum is given an even charge all over. Then a bright lamp lights up the page, and a lens focuses the reflected light onto the drum.

The white parts of the page reflect plenty of light, so those spots on the drum lose their charge, while the black letters reflect very little, so the drum stays charged in the shape of the letters. In effect, the drum now holds a hidden picture of the page, made entirely of electricity.

Next, toner powder that carries the opposite charge is brought close. Opposite charges attract, so the powder clings only to the charged letter shapes. A sheet of paper is given a stronger charge and pulled against the drum, and the toner jumps onto the paper. Finally, the paper passes between hot rollers that melt the toner so that it sticks. This is why a fresh copy often feels warm.

Questions

  1. What is the fine powder used to build the copy called? in the text

  2. What happens to the drum's coating where light shines on it? in the text

  3. Why do the black letters stay charged on the drum? think about it

  4. Why does the toner cling only to the letter shapes? think about it

  5. What do the hot rollers do to the toner? in the text

  6. Why might a fresh copy feel warm? think about it

Words to know

static
electric charge that stays in one place instead of flowing
toner
the fine powder that a copier turns into print
charge
a property of matter that makes it attract or push away other matter
coating
a thin layer spread over a surface
rollers
cylinders that turn to press or move something
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.2

A photocopier seems like magic. You put a page on the glass and press a button. A warm copy slides out. But no ink is poured onto the page. The copy is built from a fine powder called toner. Static electricity puts the powder in place.

At the heart of the machine is a metal drum with a special coating. In the dark, the coating can hold an electric charge, like a balloon rubbed on hair. When light hits the coating, it loses its charge in that spot. First, the drum is given an even charge. Then a bright lamp lights up the page. A lens points the reflected light at the drum.

The white parts of the page reflect lots of light. Those spots on the drum lose their charge. The black letters reflect very little light. The drum stays charged in the shape of the letters. The drum now holds a hidden picture of the page, made of electricity.

Next, toner with the opposite charge is brought close. Opposite charges attract. So the powder sticks only to the letter shapes. A sheet of paper gets a stronger charge and is pulled against the drum. The toner jumps onto the paper. Last, hot rollers melt the toner so it sticks. That is why a fresh copy often feels warm.

▲ This passage · 254 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

A photocopier seems to work by magic: you place a page on the glass, press a button, and a warm copy slides out a moment later. Inside the machine, however, no ink is poured onto the page, because the copy is built from a fine powder called toner, and the tool that places the powder precisely is static electricity.

The heart of the machine is a metal drum with a special coating. In the dark, this coating can hold an electric charge, like a balloon that has been rubbed on hair. When light shines on the coating, it loses its charge in that spot. First, the drum is given an even charge all over. Then a bright lamp lights up the page, and a lens focuses the reflected light onto the drum.

The white parts of the page reflect plenty of light, so those spots on the drum lose their charge, while the black letters reflect very little, so the drum stays charged in the shape of the letters. In effect, the drum now holds a hidden picture of the page, made entirely of electricity.

Next, toner powder that carries the opposite charge is brought close. Opposite charges attract, so the powder clings only to the charged letter shapes. A sheet of paper is given a stronger charge and pulled against the drum, and the toner jumps onto the paper. Finally, the paper passes between hot rollers that melt the toner so that it sticks. This is why a fresh copy often feels warm.

■ Harder · 258 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.8

A photocopier can seem almost magical: you lay a page on the glass, press a button, and a few moments later a warm duplicate slides out. Inside the machine, however, no ink is poured onto the paper. The duplicate is assembled from a fine powder called toner, and the force that positions that powder is static electricity.

The heart of the machine is a metal drum covered with a special coating. In darkness, this coating is able to hold an electric charge, much like a balloon that has been rubbed against hair. When light strikes the coating, however, it loses its charge at that spot. First, the drum receives an even charge across its whole surface. Then a bright lamp illuminates the page, and a lens focuses the reflected light onto the drum.

The white areas of the page reflect plenty of light, so the matching spots on the drum lose their charge. The black letters reflect very little, so the drum remains charged in the exact shape of the letters. In effect, the drum now carries a hidden picture of the page, drawn entirely in electricity.

Next, toner powder carrying the opposite charge is brought nearby. Because opposite charges attract, the powder clings only to the charged letter shapes. A sheet of paper is given a stronger charge and drawn against the drum, and the toner leaps across onto the paper. Finally, the paper passes between hot rollers that melt the toner so that it bonds firmly. This explains why a fresh copy so often feels warm.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put static, toner, charge, coating and rollers on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 3 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 3 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "How a Copier Paints With Static Electricity"?

It was written for 8th grade. It has 254 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.6. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 3 ask for something the text says directly and 3 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 3 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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