Now Emmett rubs one balloon on the scarf, and hangs the scarf on a hook beside the balloon.

The balloon swings toward the scarf. The scarf was rubbed too, so the scarf is charged as well.

These two charged things attract: they pull together, without touching.

A rubbed thing and the cloth it was rubbed on attract each other.

The rubbed balloon beside the scarf it was rubbed on: the balloon swings toward the scarf. Attract, repel, or neither? Attract.

Why do some charged pairs attract, and other charged pairs repel? That is a story for later grades.

Before any rubbing, the uncharged balloon hangs straight beside the uncharged scarf. Neither one pulls or pushes the other.

The three pairs: what each pair does, and whether both things were charged.