Magnetic Attraction

Did you know that a magnet could pick up something as heavy as a car, but not something as light as a Kleenex? This is because magnets are able to attract only certain types of materials. With the right kind of object, you can feel a magnet pulling the object when close enough. When this happens, it is called magnetic attraction. Do the following experiment to test some materials to see if they have a magnetic attraction.

What you need:

• A Magnet
• Small metallic objects such as different coins, thumbtacks, nails, paper clips or aluminum foil
• Nonmetallic objects like paper, erasers, marbles, buttons, plastic or plants

What you do:

1. Sort the objects you have collected into two piles;
2. Make a pile of things that you think will be magnetic and make another pile of things that you think will not be magnetic;
3. Test your guesses by placing the magnet close to each object; 4. Fill out the “Magnetic Attraction Sheet” to record your findings.

Marbles

Coins

Eraser

Nails

Magnetic Attraction Recording Sheet

Name Of Object

Is Magnetic

Is Not Magnetic

Thinking About Magnetic Attraction:

What is the name when a magnet attracts an object?

What did you notice about the objects that were magnetic?

What surprised you when you did this experiment?