The Magic of Magnetism…

2. The Magic of Magnetism… What are some properties of magnets and magnetic fields? How is the Earth’s magnetic field generated? What is the Earth’s magnetic field really like and does it do anything useful?

3. Discoveries or New Ideas Questions:

4. Procedure: • Form Pairs • Gather materials • 2 bar magnets • Shaker of filings • Plastic sheet • Piece of paper • Straw • Place paper on desk • Magnets on paper • Tape plastic sheet above magnet on books • Sprinkle filings on sheet • Record observations in journal Playing With Magnetism 1 S N S N 2 N S S S S N N N 3a 3b

5. Playing With Magnetism Look Like? Feel like? S N S N N S S N

6. What causes magnets to exert a force? Volunteers please?

7. What Does Earth’s Magnetic Field Look Like? S N

8. The solar wind shown above is a stream of ionized gases that blows outward from the Sun at about 400 km/second and that varies in intensity with the amount of surface activity on the Sun.

9. Making an Electromagnet:an analogy to Earth’s magnetic field • Test a nail for magnetic properties. • Is the nail magnetic? • If not, using the materials supplied, create a prediction of how you might create a magnet out of the nail. • Record your results in your journal. • Repeat until you create your magnet. • Answer journal questions.

10. Key Terms • Magnet: a metal that can attract other metals • Magnetic Properties: an item which can attract or repel items as a magnet does • Poles: areas of magnets where the fields are strongest • Magnetic Field: the area around a magnet in which charged particles are influenced; produced by the motion of electrical charges • Magnetosphere: region around the Earth where the magnetic field is located.

11. Conclusions

12. Burning Questions of Science! • Why does the magnetic field of the sun show up when it is hit with gas?