Oersted’s Famous Experiment
Course: HIST 510
Length of Lesson: 1 hour
Author: Brittany Krutty
Date taught: N/A
Date revised: N/A
Target Audience: High school physics students
Lesson Overview: This lesson focuses on Hans Christian Oersted’s famous experiment that
eventually led to the discovery of electromagnetism and the right-hand rule. The students should
already have a solid understanding of electric currents and the direction of magnetic fields. They
should also be familiar with how to connect circuit elements. Students will contemplate the
relationship (if any) between electricity and magnetism, repeat Oersted’s experiment, and learn
about the social and cultural atmosphere at the time that prevented his findings from being
immediately accepted.
Performance Objectives – students will be able to:
∙ Demonstrate how a current can induce a circular magnetic field.
∙ Use the right-hand rule to solve a simple physics problem.
∙ Explain how the social and cultural context in the early 19th century influenced the
interpretation of Oersted’s results.
Standards Addressed:
Science Standards Grades 8-12:
12.1.1.1. actively engages in asking and evaluating research questions.
12.1.1.2. actively engages in investigations, including developing questions, gathering and
analyzing data, and designing and conducting research.
12.1.1.3. actively engages in using technological tools and mathematics in their own scientific
investigations.
12.2.3.1. There are four fundamental forces in nature: strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force,
electromagnetic force, and gravitational force.
12.6.5.1. understands progress in science and technology can be affected by social issues and
challenges. Science and technology indicate what can happen, not what should happen
12.7.1.2. explains how science uses peer review, replication of methods, and norms of honesty.
12.7.1.3. recognizes the universality of basic science concepts and the influence of personal and
cultural beliefs that embed science in society.
12.7.2.1. understands scientific knowledge describes and explains the physical world in terms of
matter, energy, and forces. Scientific knowledge is provisional and is subject to change as new
evidence becomes available.
12.7.2.2. understands scientific knowledge begins with empirical observations, which are the
data (also called facts or evidence) upon which further scientific knowledge is built.
12.7.2.3. understands scientific knowledge consists of hypotheses, inferences, laws, and theories.
12.7.2.4. understands a testable hypothesis or inference must be subject to confirmation by
empirical evidence.
12.7.3.1. demonstrates an understanding of the history of science.
Lesson Bibliography:
Dimitar G Stoyanov 2009 Eur. J. Phys. 30 641. doi: 10.1088/0143-0807/30/3/021
"EE-6 Magnetic Fields About Currents." University of Kansas. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.physics.ku.edu/~physics/dept/demo/eandm/EE/EE-6.pdf>.
Gregory, Frederick. "An Era of Many Forces." Natural Science in Western History. Boston, MA:
Houghton Mifflin, 2008. 331-37. Print.
"Hans Christian Oersted." MAGCRAFT® Brand Neodymium Rare Earth Magnets. National Imports
LCC, 2007. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. <http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/t-hans-christianoersted.aspx>.
"Lesson Plan: Electricity and Magnetism." Google Docs. Web. 06 Mar. 2011.
<http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:vhQQQKXa3BgJ:www.uwyo.edu/scipossesupport/
Lesson%2520Plans/Fun%2520with%2520Electricity/Lesson%25202/LP%2520%2520Electricity%2520and%2520Magnetism%2520%2520Lesson2.doc+Lesson+Plan:+electricity+and+magnetism+~100+min&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl
&srcid=ADGEEShH9wkTjUijvYIPyYAOPWlayrg7y_OkXBW82_djXbU7CNOVVpZsn4JMGxq
T_eJTi1xM8IXsHnEzXY-DIc5YyMFbGaL3ok-3nskGPKzvhMMD5OAP5xqSJBFwmIZMSNzyps2_ppb&sig=AHIEtbQ90fUqnbsA1IbRuogfTQPMUNloA>.
"Free AutoCAD Tutorials : Looking at 3D in AutoCAD 2010." Tutorials, AutoCAD Photoshop - Artist
Portfolio. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. <http://www.we-r-here.com/cad/tutorials/level_3/3-3.htm>.
Materials:
For each student:
Pencil and paper
For each lab group of 2-3 students:
1 9-volt battery
1 switch
1 resistor
2 conducting wires
Safety Considerations:
Be sure that students are using the materials appropriately. Do not allow students to
continue the experiment if they are mistreating the materials. Follow proper lab behavior rules.
Five-E Plan
Engagement
Time: 15 minutes
What the teacher will do
What the teacher will say
Probing/eliciting questions
Specific possible student
responses
1. Give students the
pre-quiz and
allow 3-5 minutes
1. Think back to
previous lessons.
1.
1.
for them to
complete it.
2. Engage the class
in a discussion of
electricity and
magnetism and
remind them of
previous lessons.
2. Today we’re going
to use what we
already know about
electricity and
magnetism.
3. Briefly review the
history of
electricity and
magnetism,
leading up to
Hans Christian
Oersted’s
experiment in the
19th century.
3. (See Oersted’s
History Part 1 below)
4. Have the students
draw their
predictions of
Oersted’s results
on a piece of
paper.
4. Draw a picture of
the experiment as you
understand it.
2. What are some of
the forces we have
learned about so far?
2. Gravity, electricity,
magnetism, normal,
friction, etc.
In which direction does From the positive
positive electric
terminal of a battery
current flow?
to the negative
terminal
In which direction does From the north pole
a magnetic field move? of the magnet to the
south pole
3. What are some of
the things Oersted may 3. Earth’s magnetic
have had to take into
field, other sources of
account in his
electrical or magnetic
experiment?
fields, magnitude of
the current, etc.
If you were one of
Oersted’s students,
Various answers.
would you have been
convinced by the
results of his
experiment, whatever
those results may have
been? Why?
4. What do you think
happened? Draw your
prediction on a piece
of paper with several
different compass
needle positions.
4. Compass needles
deflected in a circle,
deflected in straight
lines radially outward
from the wire, not
deflected at all, etc.
Exploration
Time: 15 minutes
What the teacher will do
What the teacher will say
Probing/eliciting questions
Specific possible student
responses
1. Explain the
experiment and
draw the circuit
diagram on the
board (see below).
1-2. Here is what you 1-2. What direction is
will be doing: create the current flowing?
a circuit with the
battery, wires, and
switch. Use the
1-2. From the
positive terminal of a
battery to the
negative terminal
2. Supervise as
students perform
the experiment.
Have them draw or
describe their
results on paper.
compass needle to
figure out which way
north is, and hold the
wire directly above
the compass in a
north-south
direction. Flip the
switch so that the
current is flowing
through the wire. Try
this with the current
flowing the other
way, and with the
wire beneath the
magnet. Draw or
describe your results
on paper.
How can you make the
current flow the
opposite direction?
Turn the wire around,
change the circuit by
switching the wires
connected the
positive and negative
terminals, etc.
What happens to the
compass needle at each
point?
Various answers.
Students should draw
or describe their
results on paper.
Explanation
Time: 30 minutes
What the teacher will do
What the teacher will say
Probing/eliciting
questions
Specific possible student
responses
1. Ask a few
volunteers to draw
their results on the
board.
1. I need a few
volunteers to draw their
results on the board.
1. What happens to
the compass needle
at each point?
1. Various responses.
Student’s drawings
should be similar.
2. Discuss with the
class the
experiment’s
implications for
the relationship
between electricity
and magnetism.
2. Electromagnetism is
defined as the
fundamental
relationship between
electrical and magnetic
fields, or the magnetism
produced by an electric
current. A moving
electric field creates a
magnetic field that
rotates around it.
2. Are electricity and
magnetism related?
How?
2. Yes. The electric
current creates a
magnetic field
around it, which
deflects the compass
needle.
How does Earth’s
magnetic field affect
the results?
If the wire were
perpendicular to the
compass needle, the
needle wouldn’t be
deflected at all.
3. Describe the social 3. (See Oersted’s
and cultural
History Part 2 below.)
environment,
including
Oersted’s
contemporaries,
that prevented his
3. If you were
another scientist in
Oersted’s time,
would you have been
convinced by his
experiment?
3. Various answers.
findings from
being immediately
accepted.
4. Teach the class the
right-hand rule and
use it to solve a
few simple
problems.
4. Oersted’s discovery
of electromagnetism
eventually led to the
development of the
right-hand rule. When
you wrap your hand
around the wire with
your thumb in the
direction of positive
current, your fingers
point in the direction of
the magnetic field.
4. (Draw on board) If
I pass a current
through the wire in
this direction and
place a compass
needle here, in which
direction will the
needle point?
4. Students will give
the direction the
needle should point
according the righthand rule.
Elaboration
Time: 15 minutes
What the teacher will do
What the teacher will say
Probing/eliciting questions
Specific possible student
responses
1. Ask probing
questions to
expand upon
Oersted’s
findings. Have
groups of 3-4
students choose
one of the
experiments you
talk about
(including
Faraday’s
experiment,
described below)
to perform during
the next lesson.
1. Oersted’s experiment
was just one way to test
this new principle of
electromagnetism.
1. What are some
other ways you might
test the connection
between electricity
and magnetism?
1. See if you can
create an electric
field from a magnet,
use a coil of wire
instead of a straight
wire, use iron
filings, etc.
Could you create a
magnet using
electricity? How?
Yes. Put a wire
inside a coil of wire,
etc.
Could you create
electricity using a
magnet? How?
Yes. Move magnets
to change the
electric field, etc.
2. If time permits,
briefly describe
Faraday’s
experiments and
his discovery of
induction.
2. (See Oersted’s
History Part 3 below)
2. If you were a
scientific
contemporary of
Oersted and
Faraday’s, would you
be convinced by their
experiments, or would
you side with
2. Various
responses.
Ampère?
Evaluation
Time: 5 minutes
What the teacher will do
What the teacher will say
Probing/eliciting questions
Specific possible student
responses
1. Give students the
post-quiz and allow
3-5 minutes for them
to complete it.
1. Please answer all
the questions; I want
to see what you have
learned and what we
still need to go over.
1.
1.
Oersted’s History
Part 1 (Before the experiment)
Hans Christian Oersted was a Danish physicist and chemist who lived from 1777-1851. His
father was a pharmacist, so he was exposed to science at an early age. At the University of
Copenhagen, he majored in philosophy and science, two subjects that were much more closely
related in those days.
Up until about the 17th and 18th centuries, electricity was a very mysterious force. Then, an
Italian named Luigi Galvani discovered what he called “animal electricity,” which caused a dead
frog’s legs to convulse if an electrified metal probe touched the sciatic nerve. Around the same
time, Alessandro Volta invented the battery. Other scientists, such as Hauksbee, Gray, Dufay,
Nollet, Bose, von Kleist, Galvani, and Benjamin Franklin made notable contributions to the field.
Oersted became interested in the study of electricity after Volta invented the battery. He was
particularly interested in the relationship between chemical and electrical forces. Soon he
changed his focus to magnetism, and he made considerable efforts to find a connection between
electricity and magnetism. At this time, there was already a connection between the gravitational
and electric forces through the inverse square law, but many, like André Marie Ampére, said
electric and magnetic forces were unrelated. In the spring of 1820, Oersted was giving a lecture
at a university and performing classroom demonstrations when he decided to place a compass
near an electrically charged wire. What do you think happened to the compass needle, if
anything?
Part 2 (After the experiment)
Oersted found that the magnetic compass needle was deflected at a right angle to the wire in all
directions. In other words, he found that the electric current produced a magnetic field that acted
in a circle around the wire. These results were completely unexpected; up to that point, all the
known forces that acted at a distance (Newton’s gravity, Hauksbee’s static electricity, and the
force associated with a hypothetic magnetic monopole) showed field lines that seemed to point
radially outward, not in a circle.
André-Marie Ampére completely disagreed with Oersted’s interpretation of the results. Oersted
said that the current induced a circular magnetic force, but Ampére maintained that the apparent
circular magnetic force could be broken up into straight-line component forces. Like many
thinkers of his time, he believed only in straight-line forces. This meant he was criticizing
Oersted’s experimental techniques, for the straight-line component forces supposedly had to
come from other sources near the wire and magnetic compass needle.
The general public was also cautious about accepting Oersted’s interpretation. Europe was just
recovering from the Enlightenment, a cultural and intellectual movement that inspired a host of
new inventions and discoveries but left Europe in great poverty, facing a frantic pace and
uncertainty about the future. Moreover, the recent work of a Scottish philosopher named David
Hume had made the public wary of the “reason” of politicians and scientists. The public, during
this period, resisted anything new that seemed to jump to conclusions too quickly.
Part 3 (Elaborate section)
Luckily, a young English physicist named Michael Faraday came along and confirmed Oersted’s
circular force. He ran a wire through a beaker of mercury and tied a cylindrical magnet to the
bottom of the beaker (draw picture on board). When he turned the current on, the magnet spun
in circles around the wire. Faraday used this as a jumping-off point to further investigate the
relationship between electricity and magnetism.
Circuit Diagram
Battery
Switch
Place compass here 
Resistor
Name___________________
Oersted’s Experiment Pre-Quiz

1. On the coordinate axis shown to the right, an infinitely long
wire is placed on the z-axis. A current flows from  to
. A compass is placed at (x, y, z) = (2, 0, 0). Disregard
the direction of Earth’s magnetic field. In which direction
will the needle point?

a. +x-direction
b. –x-direction
c. +y-direction
d. –y-direction
2. In which direction does a positive electric current flow?
a. From the north pole to the south pole
b. From the south pole to the north pole
c. From the positive terminal to the negative terminal
d. From the negative terminal to the positive terminal
3. In which direction does a magnetic field move?
a. From the north pole to the south pole
b. From the south pole to the north pole
c. From the positive terminal to the negative terminal
d. From the negative terminal to the positive terminal
Name___________________
Oersted’s Experiment Post-Quiz

1. On the coordinate axis shown to the right, an infinitely long
wire is placed on the z-axis. A current flows from  to
. A compass is placed at (x, y, z) = (2, 0, 0). Disregard
the direction of Earth’s magnetic field. In which direction
will the needle point?

a. +x-direction
b. –x-direction
c. +y-direction
d. –y-direction
2. Who was Oersted’s main opponent and why did he disagree with Oersted’s
interpretation?
3. What is the relationship between a current-carrying wire and the magnetic field
surrounding it?