Certain chemicals react together, to "create" electricity. Chemically made electricity is used to power many machines from flashlights to clocks to sometimes even a car! Did you know there are some cars today that run on electricity? Electricity is stored on batteries and can be used to produce chemical changes.

Water is a simple chemical made from two gases-hydrogen and oxygen. Every molecule of water has two atoms of hydrogen for every atom of oxygen. H2O is the chemical formula for a molecule of water.

Water can be split into its two parts-oxygen and hydrogen, if an electrical current is passed through water between electrodes (the positive and minus poles of a battery). This process is called electrolysis and is used in industry in many ways, such as making metals like aluminum. If one of the electrodes is a metal, it will become covered or plated with any metal in the solution. This is how objects are silverplated.

Split water into its two gases using electricity. Watch it before your eyes!

1. Sharpen each pencil at both ends.

2. Cut the cardboard to fit over glass.

3. Push the two pencils into the cardboard, about an inch apart.

4. Dissolve about a teaspoon of salt into the warm water and let sit for a while.

5. Using one piece of the electrical wire, connect one end on the positive side of the battery and the other to the black graphite (the "lead" of the pencil) at the top of the sharpened pencil. Do the same for the negative side connecting it to the second pencil top.

6. Place the other two ends of the pencil into the salted water.

Water energy can be converted into electricity by generators, which give hydroelectric power. You can make your own generator by following these steps:

1. Strip 3-cm of covering from the ends of 60-cm of wire.

2. Make ten loops of wire 5-cm in diameter. Secure the loops with electrical tape.

3. Connect the two wires to the wires of a galvanometer.

4. Push a magnet in and out of the coils.

5. Observe the galvanometer. It should record electrical activity.