Active learning ideas
This topic connects electricity and magnetism, showing how one can create the other. Students build their own electromagnets by wrapping wire around an iron core and connecting it to a battery. This aligns with the NCCA 'Investigating and experimenting' strand, as students vary the number of coils or the voltage to see how it affects the strength of the magnet.
Activity 01
Groups compete to see whose electromagnet can pick up the most paperclips. They must choose one variable to change (number of coils, battery power, or nail size) and record the results.
How can electricity create a magnet?
Activity 02
Students act as electrons, a magnetic field, and a spinning rotor. They move in a circle to demonstrate how the 'push' of magnetism caused by electricity creates motion.
What factors affect the strength of an electromagnet?
Activity 03
Students research and display images of devices that use electromagnets (doorbells, speakers, MRI machines). Peers walk around and try to guess where the 'coil' is hidden in each device.
Where are electromagnets used in everyday machines?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
More coils always make a magnet stronger forever.
While more coils increase strength, there is a limit based on the battery's power and the resistance of the wire. Students discover this through experimentation when adding 100 coils doesn't double the strength of 50 coils.
Electromagnets are the same as permanent magnets.
The key difference is control. Students can prove this by disconnecting the battery and watching the paperclips fall, demonstrating that the magnetic field is dependent on the flow of electricity.
Methods used in this brief
Electrical Circuits and Conductors
Students construct simple circuits and test various materials for electrical conductivity. They learn about the importance of electrical safety.
8 methodologies
Magnetic Forces and Fields
An investigation into the properties of magnets, magnetic fields, and the Earth's magnetism. Students explore attraction and repulsion.
8 methodologies