Electromagnet Lab
Name ______________________________
Background
Most magnets, like the ones on many refrigerators, cannot be turned off and are called permanent magnets.
Other magnets, like the one you will build in this lab, can be turned on and off and are a type of temporary
magnet called electromagnets. Electromagnets run on electricity and are only magnetic when the electricity is
flowing.
Materials
Iron nails
Copper wire
D battery
Paper clips
Procedures
Part 1: Varying Coils
1. Wrap the yellow coated copper wire around a nail 20 times, leaving about 5 inches of wire loose at the
end. Do NOT overlap the coils of wire.
2. Tape one exposed copper end to the bottom of the battery and the other end to the top of the battery. BE
CAREFUL! The wire will get very hot.
3. Place the point of the nail near the paper clips and pick them up using only the nail. Record how many
paper clips you can pick up using 20 coils of wire in the table below.
NOTE: Making an electromagnet uses up the battery quickly, so disconnect the wires from the battery as
soon as you can. This will also keep the wires from getting too hot.
4. Repeat steps 1 – 3 using 30 coils of wire and 40 coils of wire. Record how many paper clips you can
pick up using the varying coils of wire.
5. Make a line graph of the number of coils versus the number of paper clips picked up on the graph below
and answer the questions about it.
Number of
Coils
Number of
paper clips
picked up
Questions:
20
30
40
1. What is the relationship between the number of coils wrapped around the nail and the strength
of the electromagnet?
2. Based on your graph, predict how many paper clips would be picked up with 10 coils of wire.
3. Based on your graph, predict how many paper clips would be picked up with 50 coils of wire.
Part 2: Varying Nail Size
1. Wrap the yellow coated copper wire around the shortest nail 20 times, leaving about 5 inches of wire
loose at the end. Do NOT overlap the coils of wire.
2. Tape one exposed copper end to the bottom of the battery and the other end to the top of the battery. BE
CAREFUL! The wire will get very hot.
3. Place the point of the nail near the paper clips and pick them up using only the nail. Record how many
paper clips you can pick up using the shortest nail in the table below.
4. Repeat steps 1 – 3 using the other nails. Record how many paper clips you can pick up using the varying
length of nails.
5. Make a line graph of the nail length versus the number of paper clips picked up on the graph below and
answer the question about it.
Nail Length
Number of
paper clips
picked up
Question:
1. What is the relationship between the size of the nail and the strength of the electromagnet?
2. Based on your graph, predict how many paper clips would be picked up with a
cm nail.
3. Based on your graph, predict how many paper clips would be picked up with a
cm nail.