FIELD TRIPS : SCIENCEWORKS LAB : Marvelous Magnets

MI GLCEs | Pre-visit Materials | Vocabulary | Post-visit Activity | Resources

Learn about magnets as we sort materials into magnetic and non-magnetic groups. Explore whether all metals are magnetic. Make magnets attract, repel and even get them to float in mid-air!

Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations, Science, 2007

Demonstrate pushes and pulls. (P.FM.00.31)
Demonstrate the ability to sort objects according to observable attributes such as color, shape, size, sinking or floating. (P.PM.01.11)
Identify materials that are attracted by magnets. (P.PM.01.31)
Observe that like poles of a magnet repel and unlike poles of a magnet attract. (P.PM.01.32)

Marvelous Magnets Pre-visit Materials

During Your Visit to the ScienceWorks Lab students will be expected to:

Sit in tables of 6 students and (at least) 1 adult
“Stop, look and listen” at the Lab teacher’s request
Work cooperatively with one another at the table
Follow the hands-on procedures just as the Lab teacher or assistant explains them
Handle materials and equipment carefully

It is important that teachers and chaperones:

Help to focus the students’ attention
Assist students with the hands-on activities and experiments when necessary
Turn off cell phones and pagers during the class

Vocabulary

Attract: To attract means to pull towards. Magnets attract, or pull towards and stick to, certain kinds of metal.

Compass: A compass is an instrument for determining directions by pointing to the Earth’s magnetic north pole.

Force: A push or pull exerted on an object.

Magnet: A magnet is a piece of metal that can attract, or pull towards, another piece of metal. Only certain kinds of metal are magnetic.

Magnetic Field: The magnetic field of a magnet is the magnet’s pull, or force. It works in the area all around the magnet.

Magnetic Metals: Magnetic metals are those metals that magnets attract, or stick to. They are iron, steel, cobalt and nickel.

Poles: The poles of a magnet are the two areas of the magnet where the magnetic force is strongest. Every magnet has a north pole and a south pole.

Repulsion: To repel means to push away. Two magnets with the same poles facing each other (such as a south and a south or a north and a north) will repel each other.

Marvelous Magnets Post-visit Activity

Post-visit activities will help reiterate new concepts and tie the ScienceWorks Lab experience to your classroom curriculum. Below you will find a classroom activity and a list of suggested resources for further information. We hope that you enjoyed your field trip. Visit us again!

Hands-on Activity: Make a Compass

Materials

Steel sewing needles
Tape
Bar magnets
Shallow plastic containers
Water
Thin slices of cork (available in sheets at hardware or building supply stores)

Procedure

Rub the bar magnet across the needle at least 30 times in one direction only. Start at the eye end and rub towards the point end.
Fill the container with water.
Lay the needle across the center of the cork. Attach with tape.
Float the cork slice in the center of the container.
Spin it very gently if necessary. When it stops, it will point north.

Discussion

A compass is a tool used to find directions. It can help people figure out which way to go when they are traveling.

By rubbing the needle with the bar magnet, you made the needle a temporary magnet. By floating it in the water, you created a compass. A compass is s free-floating magnet.

Planet Earth acts like a huge weak bar magnet. It has a magnetic field around it and it has a North and South Pole. The needle of a compass always points toward magnetic north.

Suggested Resources

Books

Fowler, Allan. What Magnets Can Do. Childrens Press, Chicago, IL. 1995.
Rowe, Julian and Molly Perham. Amazing Magnets. Childrens Press, Chicago, IL. 1994.
Science Made Simple Grades 1-6. Frank Schaffer Productions, CA. 1997.
Tolman, Marvin N. Hands-On Physical Science Activities for Grades 2-8. Parker Publishing Company, Inc., NY. 1995.
Vecchione, Glen. Magnet Science. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc, NY. 1995.
Wood, Robert W. Electricity and Magnetism FUNdamentals: Funtastic Science Activities for Kids. Learning Triangle Press,McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 1997.

Internet

Science Wire
Creative Kids at Home
ProTeacherArchive
Canada Science and Technology Museum