Title: Making Magnets with Electricity

Think and Wonder

What is an electromagnet? How does it work? In, this lesson, you will discover what this ingenious device is by experimenting with electricity and finding out how to use it to make things magnetic.

Procedures:

  1. Begin by connecting a circuit the way you did in Lesson 7.
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  1. Test the wire with the compass to see if it is magnetic.
What do you remember about what happens to the compass when you turn the switch on and electricity flows through the wire?
  1. Make the long wire into a round coil by wrapping it around your fingers. Slip the coil off your fingers. Then twist the ends of the wire around the coil so that it does not unwind. Make sure you have enough wire at each end so that you can connect the coil into your circuit.
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  1. Notice what happens to the compass when you hold it close to the coil and turn the switch on.
How can you tell whether the coil becomes magnetic?
  1. All magnets have two poles- places where the magnetic force is strongest. Use the compass to determine where the poles of the coil are when the switch is on and the coil is magnetic.
  • Remember that the north pole of the compass magnet is attracted to the south pole of another magnet or electromagnet.
  • Draw a picture and label it to describe where you think the north and south poles of the coil are and explain how you know where the poles of the coil are.

  1. What do you think will happen to the electric current flowing through the circuit if you take the battery out, flip it over, and replace it in its holder?
  1. What do you think will happen to the magnetic poles of the coil?
Note: Remember to turn off the switch when you are not using the device so that the battery will last. /
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  1. You just built one kind of electromagnet. Now try building another kind. Wrap your coil around the steel bolt. Leave some wire at each end so that you can connect the wires to the rest of the circuit.
Turning the switch on and off - what happens when the electromagnet is near the washers?

Reflection:

  1. How can we make a magnet with electricity?
  1. How does an electromagnet compare to a permanent magnet?
  1. Draw a picture in your notebook that explains how you think electricity makes things magnetic. Label your picture and write a few sentences describing what it shows.

Conclusion: It phenomenal