- Paint
- Styrofoam Pad
- Needle
- Bar Magnet
- Modeling Clay
- Pitcher of water
- Tape
- Plastic Container
1. Paint the styrofoam pad.
2. Place the modeling clay in the bottom of the plastic container. 3. Stick the toothpick into the clay.
4. Stroke one end of the magnet along the needle, about 30 times, in the same direction.
7. Pour the water into the container until the styrofoam is floating.
4. Stroke one end of the magnet along the needle, about 30 times, in the same direction.5. Tape the needle on the styrofoam.
6. Place the styrofoam on top of the toothpick (do not push the toothpick into styrofoam).
7. Pour the water into the container until the styrofoam is floating. 8. Once the styrofoam is floating, it will begin to spin. The needle will be pointing North to South.
Explanation:
The needle is just a needle until it is stroked with the magnet. Once the needle is stroked with the magnet in the same direction, it turns into a magnet. When the needle is magnetized, one end gains a north pole. The north pole of the Earth’s magnetic field attracts the north pole of the needle. Once the water lifts the piece of Styrofoam off the toothpick, the needles magnetic attraction spins the Styrofoam to the north position.
Tennessee State Standards:
GLE 0407.12.1 Explore the interactions between magnets.
GLE 0407.12.2 Observe that electrically charged objects exert a pull on other materials.
Good Job...so, what causes the needle to act like a magnetic when it is connected to the needle?
ReplyDeletewonder how the rubbing of the magnet makes the needle turn in the right direction? would this work with any type of material on the top besides styrofoam? Great job. This would be good to use in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteGood question Kayla. IT's hard to imagine a needle acting as a magnet. Can any metal object be turned into a magnet???
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. Good job.
ReplyDeleteGood job. Does it matter if you use hot or cold water.
ReplyDeleteThat was really neat. Can other types of metal be used in place of the needle as long as it is small like the needle?
ReplyDeleteWow, that is interesting! Can you use anything other than a needle? Possibly a nail?
ReplyDeleteGreat job though! And you did great with your video, too.
Great experiment! You did well at answering Carla's question.
ReplyDeleteGood job! Could you use something else besides styrofoam? Also, does the size of the magnet change the results of the experiment?
ReplyDeleteOnce the neddle becomes a magnet will it stay that way or is it temporary? I like the video because we get to see your work in action. Good job.
ReplyDeleteGood job. Great job answering the questions and this experiment looks like it would be a good project for a class to do when learning about magnets or electrons.
ReplyDeleteGreat experiment. On a larger scale, how could we use larger magnets to move larger things? Example could magnets be used to move things across a lake like on a barge?
ReplyDeleteJust wondering if there could be other uses for this experiment. Also, if the barge idea is too impractical, what other things could be done? Great job.