Benjamin Franklin's Fascination with Electricity
adapted from the National Park Service

Benjamin Franklin was fascinated by electricity and gave a lot of his time after he retired to study its properties. Some of his research resulted in "tricks" that he used to amuse others. For example, he made a charged metal spider that moved like the real thing. He discovered new ways to generate, store, and turn on electricity. His design of lightning rods helped prevent untold numbers of structural fires throughout the world.
His famous kite experiment occurred in June 1752. Franklin asked his son William to fly a kite to which he had attached a wire on top and a key at the end of a string. Ultimately, the kite gathered an electric charge from a storm cloud. Franklin was then able to collect some of the charge and compare it to the electricity he had created in other experiments. He did not mention the experiment until October, four months after it took place, at which point Franklin did not clarify that he had conducted the experiment himself—an issue that has caused some people to doubt Franklin's story.


Select all the correct answers.  
-Which two claims from the passage have supporting evidence?
-He did not mention the experiment until October, four months after it took place, at which point Franklin did not clarify that he had conducted the experiment himself—an issue that has caused some people to doubt Franklin's story.
He discovered new ways to generate, store, and turn on electricity.
-Benjamin Franklin was fascinated by electricity and gave a lot of his time after he retired to study its properties.
-Franklin asked his son William to fly a kite to which he had attached a wire on top and a key at the end of a string.
-His design of lightning rods helped prevent untold numbers of structural fires throughout the world.