Week 1- Magnets

 1. What are some Real-Life applications of magnetism?

          Refrigerators, Computers, Compasses, Northern Lights, Medical Equipment

Magnet Lab

1. Ted began with a formative assessment to see what we knew about magnets before we started. The question was what would a magnet interact with? Many of us knew that metals were the answer, but we didn't know what metals specifically.

2. Our lab was set up with a mysterious hovering paperclip. There was a ruler with a large magnet taped to it. Then there was a paperclip that was somehow hovering just beside the magnet, but not actually touching it. The paperclip was attached to a piece of string that was also taped to the table. 

3. Our investigation was putting different objects between the paperclip and the magnet to see if they would disrupt the magnetic field. Here are our results:

Cardboard: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Copper: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Lead: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Aluminum: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Glass: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Granite: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Foam: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Fiberbboard: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Circut Board: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Stainless Steel: No, does not interact with magnetic field

Iron: YES! Made the paperclip fall!

4. We learned that Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel are all magnetic. We also learned that magnets are bioplar, meaning they have two sides, a north pole and a south pole. One is positively charged and one is negatively charged. Magnets work because the planet we live on has a magnetic field around it.