Lab 05 - Magnets, Magnetic Fields, and Electric
Fields
Materials/Supplies
Access to computer and high-speed internet, Java installed on the computer, TWO of any sort
of magnet you would find at home (i.e. fridge magnets), one metal paperclip, one aluminum
beverage can, one compass
Time Spent
Approximately 2-3 hours, does not need to be done at one sitting
Learning Objectives
● Define a magnetic material and the properties of magnetic materials
● Define and depict magnetic fields
In this week’s lab, we will begin exploring the properties of magnets, magnetic fields, and how
these affect electric charges. Let’s warm up with some activities you can do around the house.
At-home Activities
First begin by grabbing two magnets that you might find lying around home. If they are fridge
magnets, or similar, then place the two faces towards each other about 10 cm apart, and slowly
bring them close together.
1. Do you feel any force, push or pull, interacting between the magnets? Describe what
you notice. Be sure to comment on the distance between magnets.
Answer:
When I brought the two magnets close together, I noticed a force between them. Depending
on which poles were facing each other, they either pulled together or pushed apart. The force
was weak when the magnets were far apart and became stronger as the distance decreased.
2. Now, flip ONE magnet to the other face, and repeat the experiment, starting about 10cm
away from each other and then slowly bringing them together. Do you notice a push or
pull? Explain and again be sure to comment on distance.
Answer:
After flipping one magnet, the interaction changed compared to the original setup. If the first
setup caused repulsion, this one caused attraction, and vice versa. This occurs because like
, poles repel and unlike poles attract. The force between the magnets also became stronger as
the distance between them decreased.
As you may have heard, all magnets are dipoles, meaning they have two opposite ends which
create opposite physical characteristics. We refer to them as North and South ends of a
magnet. One could call them positive and negative, like electrical charges and they would have
the same effect in nature, so north and south are really just arbitrarily chosen designations. A
standard picture one might have of a magnet is depicted below.
Figure #1
Notice the two ends of this horseshoe are labeled N and S for north and south. One could say
they are the same magnitude, but opposite directions, if you want to think of them in terms of
vectors. Similar to electric charges, in magnetism, opposites attract, and likes repel. So
when you brought two poles of the magnet together that were the same, they repelled each
other, and when you brought two poles of the magnet together that were different, they attracted
one another.
3. Now take one of the magnets and bring it close to a metal paperclip. What do you
notice? Repeat this procedure, only be sure to hold the paperclip in your hand.
Comment on the effect of distance.
Answer:
When I brought the magnet close to the paperclip, the paperclip “jumped” towards the
magnet. When holding the paperclip in my hand, I could feel the pull from the magnet. The
strength of the attraction increased as the distance between the magnet and the paperclip
decreased, and decreased when they were farther apart.
4. Assume you just used the “north” end of the magnet in #3 (though we don’t know this for
certain). Repeat #3 with the “south”, or opposite, end of the magnet and write down your
results below.
Answer:
Fields
Materials/Supplies
Access to computer and high-speed internet, Java installed on the computer, TWO of any sort
of magnet you would find at home (i.e. fridge magnets), one metal paperclip, one aluminum
beverage can, one compass
Time Spent
Approximately 2-3 hours, does not need to be done at one sitting
Learning Objectives
● Define a magnetic material and the properties of magnetic materials
● Define and depict magnetic fields
In this week’s lab, we will begin exploring the properties of magnets, magnetic fields, and how
these affect electric charges. Let’s warm up with some activities you can do around the house.
At-home Activities
First begin by grabbing two magnets that you might find lying around home. If they are fridge
magnets, or similar, then place the two faces towards each other about 10 cm apart, and slowly
bring them close together.
1. Do you feel any force, push or pull, interacting between the magnets? Describe what
you notice. Be sure to comment on the distance between magnets.
Answer:
When I brought the two magnets close together, I noticed a force between them. Depending
on which poles were facing each other, they either pulled together or pushed apart. The force
was weak when the magnets were far apart and became stronger as the distance decreased.
2. Now, flip ONE magnet to the other face, and repeat the experiment, starting about 10cm
away from each other and then slowly bringing them together. Do you notice a push or
pull? Explain and again be sure to comment on distance.
Answer:
After flipping one magnet, the interaction changed compared to the original setup. If the first
setup caused repulsion, this one caused attraction, and vice versa. This occurs because like
, poles repel and unlike poles attract. The force between the magnets also became stronger as
the distance between them decreased.
As you may have heard, all magnets are dipoles, meaning they have two opposite ends which
create opposite physical characteristics. We refer to them as North and South ends of a
magnet. One could call them positive and negative, like electrical charges and they would have
the same effect in nature, so north and south are really just arbitrarily chosen designations. A
standard picture one might have of a magnet is depicted below.
Figure #1
Notice the two ends of this horseshoe are labeled N and S for north and south. One could say
they are the same magnitude, but opposite directions, if you want to think of them in terms of
vectors. Similar to electric charges, in magnetism, opposites attract, and likes repel. So
when you brought two poles of the magnet together that were the same, they repelled each
other, and when you brought two poles of the magnet together that were different, they attracted
one another.
3. Now take one of the magnets and bring it close to a metal paperclip. What do you
notice? Repeat this procedure, only be sure to hold the paperclip in your hand.
Comment on the effect of distance.
Answer:
When I brought the magnet close to the paperclip, the paperclip “jumped” towards the
magnet. When holding the paperclip in my hand, I could feel the pull from the magnet. The
strength of the attraction increased as the distance between the magnet and the paperclip
decreased, and decreased when they were farther apart.
4. Assume you just used the “north” end of the magnet in #3 (though we don’t know this for
certain). Repeat #3 with the “south”, or opposite, end of the magnet and write down your
results below.
Answer:
