Curated OER
How to Be "Naturally Attractive" (Without Even Trying)
Students examine the various properties of magnets, explain how a compass works and make an electromagnet. They also experiment with magnetic lines-of-force using paper and iron filings.
Curated OER
Making an Electromagnet
Students explore electromagnetic forces. In this electromagnetic lesson plan, students construct a working electromagnet and conduct a series of experiments to see what increases the strength of an electromagnet.
Curated OER
Fun with Electromagnets
Junior scientists work in groups to construct electromagnets. They experiment by varying number of wraps around the nail, the diameter of the nail, and the type of metal the nail is made of to see if any of these factors has an...
Curated OER
Magnetism: Magnet, Magnet, Where are you?
Students study the characteristics of magnets including polarity, and the concepts of attraction and repulsion. They examine how magnets are used industry.
CK-12 Foundation
Electric Motor
How does a direct current run a motor? Pupils control five variables in an electric motor and observe how the force diagram changes. The force, magnetic field, and current vary based on the changes in the design of the magnet and...
University of Texas
Free-Body Diagram
Preparing for an AP test is about more than bubble sheets and memorization. The two activities in this resource require a direct application of skills learned throughout an AP Physics course.
Curated OER
A Simple Motor
Instructions for building a simple electromagnetic motor are provided for the teacher. Aside from some sketchy background information and a list of content standards to be met, that is about all you will find in this resource. The motor...
PHET
Soda Bottle Magnetometer
Introduce learners to set of complete instructions that describe how to build a magnetometer that works just like the ones professional photographers use to predict auroras. The diagrams are wonderfully descriptive, and the written...
Curated OER
Induction: Inquiry in Action
Students investigate the factors that affect the induced current in a loop of wire. They discuss Faraday's Law and Lenz's Law. Students identify the different variables that affect the magnetic flux and calculate the magnetic flux...
Curated OER
Lenz's Law
Students conduct a series of experiments on electromagnetic induction. In this physics lesson, students apply the right hand rule to determine the current direction and electromotive force. They test Lenz's and Faraday's law by observing...
Curated OER
The Pressure of a Solar Storm
In this solar storm worksheet, students are given three equations and they calculate the magnetic pressure and the particle pressure of a solar storm. They also determine the distance to the magnetopause of the solar storm and...
Curated OER
Electromagnets: Winding Things Up!
Students explore solenoids and electromagnets. After building an electromagnet, students use a TI Graphing calculator, a CBL 2 interface and a magnetic field sensor to measure the strength of a magnetic field. They create a graph of...
Curated OER
Coulomb's Law
Students solve problems involving electric charges and force. In this physics lesson, student solve word problems using addition and subtraction of vectors. They identify the direction represented by a vector as it relates to an electric...
Curated OER
Using Magnetotactic Bacteria to Study Natural Selection
Students demonstrate that living organisms may possess incredible adaptations which enable them to survive. They observe bacteria that are able to orient themselves using the Earth's magnetic field and formulate a hypothesis as to how...
Curated OER
Jupiter's "Monstrous" Magnetosphere
Students explore Jupiter's magnetosphere. In this Jupiter lesson, students examine a diagram of the magnetic field that surrounds Jupiter.
Curated OER
Aurora Borealis
Middle schoolers discuss what causes the northern lights and the folklore attached to them. They discuss magnetic fields, and use various common materials to discover if ions conduct electricity.
Curated OER
Water and Ice
Students examine the relationship between water and ice. In this physics lesson, students read the book Amazing Water and participate in an experiment where they freeze water into ice cubes. Students observe the changes in the water when...
LABScI
Circuits Lab: Lightbulbs
Electrons flow from negative to positive, but the general consensus is that current flows from positive to negative. Scholars explore current through construction of circuits in both series and parallel. The focus is on voltage,...
PHET
Science and Engineering Conference
Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth activity in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the...
Curated OER
Plasmasphere
In this plasmasphere activity, students determine how long the plasmasphere takes to rotate around the Earth using two satellite images taken three hours apart.
Curated OER
Power Blackout Assessment
Students discuss the importance of power grids in power generation. In this physics activity, students explain the impact of power failure. They investigate the power blackout in 2003 and discuss their findings.
Curated OER
History of Physics
In this history worksheet, young scholars use the questions to discover meaningful science and history connections. The worksheet is meant to be viewed online to access individual answers.
Curated OER
Flick the Switch
After reading a short paragraph on how electrical switches work, learners look at four examples of electrical circuits, and circle the ones which will allow a lightbulb to be lit. This would be a good precursor to having your charges...