Sunday, March 22, 2015

Week of March 23
Magnetism!



Big Idea: Forces between objects act when the objects are in direct contact or when not touching.

I can...

  • Build and electromagnet to investigate magnetic properties and fields
  • Explain how generators and motors produce their own magnetic field when an electric current flows through it
Vocabulary:  magnet, magnetic force, magnetic pole, magnetic field, electromagnetism, solenoid, electromagnet, electric motor, electric, generator, electromagnetic induction

Magnetic Force - feel the push and pull!


What makes some materials magnetic and some not magnetic?


  •  Iron, nickel, and cobalt are the top 3 materials that have magnetic properties
  • Materials are magnetic due to spinning electric charges 
  • Magnetic force can act at a distance - just like gravity and electrostatic force
  • Magnet have poles - a north pole and a south pole
  • Unlike poles attract - like poles repel
Magnetic Field - the area surrounding a magnet
Image result for magnetic field

Magnetic charge flows from north to south; the magnetic force is strongest at the poles

The Earth is a Magnet!

The Earth's Magnetic Field




What does our magnetic field have to do with auroras?
aurora, aurora borealis, colorful, lights - inspiring picture on Favim.com on We Heart It - http://weheartit.com/entry/48721998/via/elle21roses

What is going on inside magnetic materials?

  • Whether a material is magnetic or not depends on the type of atom the material is made of
  • As an electron moves around an atom, it makes an magnetic field - in substances like iron - a north and south pole are created
  • In a substance like copper, the magnetic fields cancel each other out and therefore it is not magnetic
  • In substances like iron, nickel, and cobalt, the north and south poles form areas called domains
  • If the domains can line up, then the material can be become magnetic or be temporarily magnetized
Types of Magnets

 1.  Ferromagnets - these are materials that can be turned into magnets


2.  Temporary Magnets

  • Some materials can be magnetized for a short period of time - the domains line and it becomes a magnet
3.  Electromagnets


  • Electromagnets use an electric current to create a strong magnetic field that can be turned off and on
  • Electromagnets are used to pick up heavy materials like scrap in a junkyard


  • Electromagnetism results when an electric current and magnetic field interact
  • When a magnetic field creates an electric current in a wire it is called electromagnetic induction
  • Electromagnets are used in motors
  • Electric generators use induction to change mechanical energy to electrical energy
How an electric generator works

Links:

Magnet Game










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