Name: ____________________________
Teacher: __________________________
How to Make an Electromagnet
I. How do I make an electromagnet?
It is fairly easy to build an electromagnet. All you need to do is wrap
some insulated copper wire around an iron core. If you attach a battery to the
wire, an electric current will begin to flow and the iron core will become
magnetized. When the battery is disconnected, the iron core will lose its
magnetism. Follow these steps and you’ll soon find yourself attracting stuff!
II. What do I need?
o One iron nail fifteen centimeters (6 in) long
Three meters (10 ft) of 22 gauge insulated, stranded copper wire
o One or more D-cell batteries
o A pair of wire strippers
III. Steps:
1. Remove a few centimeters of insulation from both ends of the wire.
2. Neatly wrap the wire around the nail.
3. Attach one end of the wire to the positive terminal of the battery and the
other end of the wire to the negative terminal of the battery. If all has gone
well, your electromagnet is now working!
4. Try using your magnet to pick up small iron nails, paper clips, etc. How
good is your magnet?
5. Investigate if increasing the number of coils you make around the nail
affects how strong the magnet is. Does the number of coils affect the magnet’s
strength?
Questions:
1. How does an electromagnet work? (You may use your book to conduct a
research).
2. What happens if you wind the wire around the nail in the opposite
direction? Will the magnet still work? Try it and write your findings:
4. What is the difference between a permanent magnet (e.g. bar magnet) and
an electromagnet?