Science topic: Magnetism 1
Big Ideas:

To understand the magnetic force: attracting & repelling, invisible, can pass
through certain media/material.
Success Criteria:
Students will be able to develop hypothesis (inquiry question) with their existing
knowledge, predict experiment result with their existing knowledge, and follow
instructions to carry experiments, record outcome, interpret the results and
develop further investigation focus.
Diagnosis assessment:

Ask students to predict what will happen if put two bar magnets close and
general knowledge about magnetism.
Formative assessment: checking students’ existing understanding regards to the
basic facts of magnetism


Ask students to predict what will happen if different objects been placed in
between magnetic force.
Ask students to predict activities results 4 from Making Better Sense of
the Physical World.
Formative assessment: checking students’ skills to form a hypothesis
Assessment:


Ask students to design a recording method and follow the instruction
carrying activities 4 from Making Better Sense of the Physical World.
Ask students to explain the experiment result and develop new questions.
Formative assessment: checking students’ data recording and explaining skills
Science topic: Magnetism 2
Big Ideas:

To understand that magnet does not attract all metal material. (the force
field that surrounds a magnet can attract certain materials without touching
them. This principle can be used to sort and group objects made of different
materials) Making Better Sense of the Physical World.
Success Criteria:
Students will be able to develop hypothesis with their existing knowledge, predict
experiment result with their existing knowledge, and follow instructions to carry
experiments, record outcome, interpret the results and develop further
investigation focus.
Diagnosis assessment:


Using the experiment result from the previous activity, ask students to
form a hypothesis in regarding to the relationship between magnetic force
and metal materials.
Ask students to predict activities results 6 from Making Better Sense of
the Physical World.
Formative assessment: checking students’ skills to form a hypothesis using previous
knowledge
Assessment:


Ask students to design a recording method and follow the instruction
carrying activities 6 from Making Better Sense of the Physical World.
Ask students to explain the experiment result and develop new questions.
Formative assessment: checking students’ data recording and explaining skills
Activities:
Task One --- design a flow chart to help other students checking if the
material/object is metal and whether it can be attracted to the magnet.
Task two --- design a party game using the magnet, e.g. sorting out paper clips from
sand.
(If have time)
Electromagnet
Big Ideas:

A magnetic field can be produced in various ways, including the use of
an electric current (Making Better Sense of the Physical World).
Introduce the electromagnet
Success Criteria:
Students will be able to understand the concept of electromagnet and its
application in everyday life.
Diagnosis interview:

Ask students to predict and carry on activities 14 from Making Better
Sense of the Physical World

Ask students to explain the experiment result and predict how we can use
electromagnet.

Ask students to brainstorm some of the applications to use
electromagnet in everyday life.
Formative assessment: checking students’ skills to interpret the experiment and
linking the existing knowledge to everyday life application
Class Task: Design a class game using electromagnet.
Ideas to link Magnetism with our vegetale topic
Big Idea:

Application of the magnetism that benefits our lives in terms of
increasing plant growth rate.
Success Criteria:


Students will be able to witness how does a scientific hypothesis been
developed and experience been carried out.
Students will be able to interpret the results and develop further
investigation focus using the existing knowledge.
Activity Question - Does magnetism affect plant growth
--------------------------------------WALT: to understand an instructional experiment and interpret the result
from the diagram/chart
Example link:
http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/SOAR/SciProj2001/JakeH.html
(Note: Teacher needs to simplify the experiment description from the above
link AND less the “conclusion” section from the above link)
Tasks:
Task One --- As a group, draw a conclusion from the experiment result and
present in class.
Task two --- Write your own hypothesis to test magnetism/s effect on plant
growth OR write other methods you may use to test the hypothesis (inquiry
question) from the above example, e.g. choose different plants
Other website resources:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=588938
http://www.actahort.org/books/399/399_15.htm
http://www.universalenergycenter.com/Section5.html
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004AdSpR..34.1566B
What is a Magnet?
A magnet is an object or a device that gives off an external magnetic field. Basically, it
applies a force over a distance on other magnets, electrical currents, beams of charge,
circuits, or magnetic materials. Magnetism can even be caused by electrical currents.
Scientists use the symbols "M" for the magnetization force and "I" for the current value.
While you might think of metal magnets such as the ones you use in class, there are
many different types of magnetic materials. Iron (Fe) is an easy material to use. Other
elements such as neodymium (Nd) and samarium (Sm) are also used in magnets.
Neodymium magnets are some of the strongest on Earth.
Different Types of
Magnets
There are many different types of magnets.
Permanent magnets depend on continuous
magnetic flow through the material. There are
materials in the world that are called
ferromagnetic. Those materials are able to create
and hold a specific alignment of their atoms. Since
each atom has a magnetic moment (tiny magnetic
field), all of the moments add up to create a magnet.
Scientists use the word hysteresis to describe the way the atoms stay aligned.
Excited magnets are different because they can be
turned on and off. Excited magnets depend on
currents of electricity to give them energy. A great
example of an excited magnet is an electromagnet.
Electric currents are pushed through a plain magnet
and the current allows the magnet to do less work
for the same results. You might see an
electromagnet at work in a junkyard lifting old cars
off the ground.
There are also air-core magnets. Air-core magnets
don't have any magnetic material (iron). They are created by current flowing through a
wire. That current creates the magnetic field. Do you remember that electric currents
produce magnetic fields of their own? You could create an air-core magnet by wrapping
miles of wire around a doughnut shape (toroid). When you send current through the wire,
a magnetic field is created inside of the doughnut. Scientists use air-core magnets to
study fusion reactions.
Magnetic Field Basics
Magnetic fields are different from electric fields.
Although both types of fields are interconnected,
they do different things. The idea of magnetic field
lines and magnetic fields was first examined by
Michael Faraday and later by James Clerk Maxwell.
Both of these English scientists made great
discoveries in the field of electromagnetism.
Magnetic fields are areas where an object exhibits a magnetic influence. The fields affect
neighboring objects along things called magnetic field lines. A magnetic object can
attract or push away another magnetic object. You also need to remember that magnetic
forces are not related to gravity. The amount of gravity is based on an object's mass while
magnetic strength is based on the material that the object is made of.
If you place an object in a magnetic field it will be
affected and the effect will happen along field lines.
Many classroom experiments watch small pieces of
iron line up around magnets along the field lines.
Magnetic poles are the points where the magnetic
field lines begin and end. Field lines converge or
come together at the poles. You have probably
heard of the poles of the Earth. Those poles are
places where our planets field lines come together.
Positive poles attract the negative end of particles
and negative poles attract the positive end of
particles. Any magnetic object can have field lines and poles. It can be as small as a dime
or as large as a star.
Attracted and Repulsed
You know about charged particles. There are positive and negative charges. You also
know that positive charges are attracted to negative charges. A French scientist named
Andre-Marie Ampere studied the relationship between electricity and magnetism. He
discovered that magnetic forces are basically the forces between electric currents. Two
circuits placed next to each other may attract or
repel each other as in a magnet. It all has to do
with the charges.
Earth's Magnetic Field
Magnets are simple examples of natural magnetic fields. But guess what? The Earth has
a huge magnetic field. Because the core of our planet is filled with molten iron (Fe),
there is a large field that protects the Earth from space radiation and particles such as the
solar wind. When you look at tiny magnets, they are working in a similar way. The
magnet has a field around it.
You can increase the strength of the magnetic field by sending an electric current through
the magnet. Once the current is moving you have created an electromagnet.
Vocabulary for Magnetism
Attract -opposite poles attract. That means they come together.
Repel - To drive away. Like poles repel.
Poles- All magnets have two kinds of poles. The poles are located at the
ends, on opposite faces, or along the edges of a magnet. The poles are
called north or south. They may shift location as the magnet loses strength.
Magnetic - Materials that are attracted to magnets are called magnetic.
These magnetic materials include iron, cobalt, nickel, and some rare metals.
Non-magnetic materials include silver, gold, copper, aluminum, and lead.
Pertaining to the magnet; possessing the properties of the
magnet, or corresponding properties; as, a magnetic bar of
iron; a magnetic needle.
Magnetic FieldThe magnetic field (shown
in red) from a wire carrying positive electric charges towards the left. A
magnetic field is simply a force between two electric currents. Parallel
currents in the same direction attract. Parallel currents in opposite
directions repel.
Magnetic Field of a bar magnet- Go to this page for so interactive funhttp://www.walter-fendt.de/ph14e/mfbar.htm
Magnetism- force of attraction or repulsion between various substances,
especially those made of iron and certain other metals; ultimately it is due
to the motion of electric charges.
Magnetic Compass - The Chinese discovered that a steel needle when
stroked against a lodestone could attract iron too. Around 1000 AD, the
Chinese found out that by suspending a magnetized needle in the air, the
needle pointed north and south. Thus, the magnetic compass was invented.
Compass needle - A compass needle is a magnet. The needle usually has
the north end marked, which will should tell the person holding the
compass north, south, east, west. The compass needle acts as it does
because the Earth is actually a weak, giant magnet.
Loadstone - naturally magnetic rocks.
Simple Magnets- For simple magnets, the force of magnetism works in the
following way: When two magnets are brought together, the force will
attract the two magnets together if the poles are opposite, that is if the pole
of the first magnet is positive and the pole of the second magnet is
negative. If that condition is true, the two magnets will be "forced" to stick
together.
Fun Facts and Links
The first magnets used were natural stones called lodestones. The word "lode"
means lead and so the stone was used to magnetize compass needles and lead
sailors home.
The Earth has a magnetic field and north and south poles - operating as if it has a
magnet in its center.
Magnetic pull is strongest at two points - the north and south poles.
Many scientists believe that birds are able to find their way home by using
the Earth's magnetic field to guide them on long distance flights.
Some veterinarians use magnets to pick up pieces of wire or other metal
from inside the stomachs of large farm animals.
Today, new trains use magnets to lift them off the ground so that they
float. Floating reduces friction and allows the train to run more efficiently.
Magnets can be found in your telephone, stereo, vacuum cleaner, refrigerator,
washing machine, car, TV, VCR, and your doorbell to name a few.
Ten Facts about Magnets
(from the book Driving Force)
1. North poles point north, south poles point south.
2. Like poles repel, unlike poles attract.
3. Magnetic forces attract only magnetic materials.
4. Magnetic forces act at a distance.
5. While magnetized, temporary magnets act like permanent magnets.
6. A coil of wire with an electric current flowing through it becomes a magnet.
7. Putting iron inside a current-carrying coil increases the strength of the
electromagnet.
8. A changing magnetic field induces an electric current in a conductor.
9. A charged particle experiences no magnetic force when moving parallel to a
magnetic field, but when it is moving perpendicular to the field it experiences a
force perpendicular to both the field and the direction of motion.
10. A current-carrying wire in a perpendicular magnetic field experiences a force in
a direction perpendicular to both the wire and the field.
Name___________________________ Date______
_________
Magnet Worksheet
Try this experiment. Put an X next to the items that are attracted by your magnet.
Items
tin can
rubber ball
a penny
spool of thread
steel wool
a jack (from the game
jacks)
a dime
a sewing needle
a Lego block
Yes
No
some beach sand
a fork
a bottle cap
You can see from some of the answers that a magnet pulls some things but not others.
Why?
____________________________________________________________________________
____
____________________________________________________________________________
__________
____________________________________________________________________________
__________
____________________________________________________________________________
___________
Put a small piece of paper on top of the clip. Bring the magnet down to the paper, right over
the clip. What happened?
____________________________________________________________________________
__________
____________________________________________________________________________
__________.
Try now a piece of aluminum foil. What happened?
____________________________________________________________________________
__________
____________________________________________________________________________
__________.
Lastly, try a piece of cloth. What happened?
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
____________________________________________________________________________
__________.
Make a Magnet
You can make your own magnet with a needle. Needles are made of steel, which is
mostly iron. Hold the eye of the needle. (It has the hole.) Make sure you hold it
carefully so you don't stick yourself!
Stroke the needle along one end of a magnet. Move along the magnet in only one
direction: from the eye of the needle to the point, not back and forth. Do this twenty
or thirty times.
Touch the end if the needle to a tack, a paper clip, or another needle. Your needle
will lift them up. You have made a magnet.
The bigger and strong a magnet is, the more objects it will pick up at once.
If for some reason your needle magnet doesn't work, stroke it again across the
magnet a few more times.
Have fun! Your needle magnet is a little one, but there are very large magnets. In
fact, the whole Earth is a magnet. You can prove it!
First, use your needle magnet to make a compass. Get two small pieces of foam
plastic or cork. Stick a piece on each end of your needle, being careful not to stick
yourself.
The float the needle in a bowl of water. The needle will swing around so one end
points north. Keep the needle in the center of the bowl, so it can swing freely. Turn
the needle around. When you let go, the same end will again point north.
Make a large dot with magic marker on that end. You have made a compass.
The ends of the magnet are different. One is called the north seeking pole, or
simply the north pole. In your compass, it's the one with magic marker on it. The
other end is the south pole.
Magnets are strongest at the poles, as stated earlier.
Your compass points north because the Earth is a magnet. The north pole of the
compass points toward the north pole of the Earth magnet. No matter how you turn
your compass, it will always point north when you let it go.
The Earth is a magnet because it contains a lot of iron. The moon doesn't have as
much iron, so it is not a magnet. Your compass would not work on the moon!
Information from What Makes a Magnet? By: Franklyn M. Branley
Magnet Poems
Tune: Did you ever see a Lassie?
Chorus:
Did you ever see a magnet, a magnet, a magnet?
Did you ever see a magnet pull this way and that?
On iron and steel, its pull is unreal!
Did you ever see a magnet pull this way and that?
Chorus
A magnet has action, it's called an attraction!
Did you ever see a magnet pull this way and that?
Chorus
Magnets
(Author Unknown)
I am a mighty magnet,
I can be very strong.
But if you use me exactly right
Nothing can go wrong.
I can pick up many objects
But not everything you see,
I only pick up objects
That are attracted to me.
So take me now and try me out
And you will quickly see,
What different kinds of things
Are pushed and pulled by me.
Magnets attract
That's a fact.
Things like nails
And metallic pails
Magnets attract
That's a fact.
Things like cars
And lids on jars.
Magnets attract
That's a fact
Things like pins
And cookie tins
Magnets attract
That's a fact.
Compass Guide Poem
How do we know
Which way to go?
Look at the magnet
and it will show.
North, south, east or west,
For finding directions it is the best.
How does it work?
It' s as simple as can be.
The planet's biggest magnet is itself, you see.
The biggest, and strongest magnet of all.
Compared to it, all others are quite small.
Because of its size, it's pull is so strong
that all other magnets are pulled along.
Try as they might, for all that they're worth,
Magnets can't help but point toward north.
So the next time you're lost
without a clue,
Let a magnet find your way
to rescue you.
arbara J. Baker - Doolittle West School
About Magnets
Barbara J. Baker
Doolittle West School
521 East 35th Street
CHICAGO IL 60615
(773) 535-1050
Objective(s):
This lesson is designed for second grade level students.
Conduct simple experiments and observations and explain
what
was discovered.
Designing a magnet from a sewing
needle.
Making a compass.
Understanding the vocabulary terms.
Materials Needed:
Magnets, sewing needles, cheerios cereal, nails or
screws
paperclips, hair pins, sand, water, paper cups, large
container, cork, contrasting paper towel to place the
sand on
for example, if you use white sand, use a brown paper
towel
Strategy:
Students will be placed in cooperative groups to work
the
procedures and to study the following vocabulary words:
magnetic fields
magnetic strength
north & south poles
procedure
repel
attract
magnetic force
magnetized particles
compass
compare
contrast
iron
Each group will have a recorder and presenter who will
work
together to illustrate the phrases by drawings or
explanations
which will be shared with the whole class.
By dragging the magnet across the sand, students will
observe
that sand often contains particles of iron.
After the cereal has been crushed, magnets will be
dragged
across it to see if any iron from the cereal adheres to
the
magnet.
Magnets will be placed in water and later attract pins
to test
if water interferes with the magnetic field, the same
magnet
will be dragged over the sand to compare and contrast
the
findings.
Moving the magnet across the needle will magnetized the
needle,
the needle will be inserted into a cork and placed in
the large
container of water to observe how this handmade compass
is
working
Performance Assessment:
Students should demonstrate comprehension through
visual
observation of how the students completed the
procedures.
The
comprehension of the terms and the use of these terms
with 95%
or higher accuracy.
If a magnet or a compass is
brought in
for show and tell, the student is showing retention and
continued interest in magnets.
Conclusions:
The earth and many things in the earth are magnetic.
References:
Off the Wall Science, A Poster Series Revisited
365 Science Projects
Encyclopedia of Science Projects
http://science.pppst.com/magnets.html