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Science Launch G3 / Week 03 / Thursday
4/6
Week 03 · Magnet Mysteries

Thursday

Near and far
// Pushes and pulls without touching
⏱ about 15 min

Thursday: Near and Far

Rocket wants to lift a paper clip from far away. He holds his magnet high above the table. Nothing happens.

"Is my magnet broken?" he asks.

Raven lowers it slowly. "What do you notice as the magnet gets closer?"

Nova hovers beside the magnet. "Measure the gap each time the clip moves," she says.

The clip leaps up when the gap is tiny.

What magnets attract

Magnets attract objects made of iron, steel, nickel or cobalt.

Magnets do not attract aluminum, gold or silver, even though they are metals.

They do not attract paper or wax either.

Distance matters

A magnet pull is strongest close up.

As the gap gets bigger, the pull gets weaker.

A magnet may lift a clip from close by. It may not lift it from far away.

CLOSE OR FAR?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Where is a magnet pull the strongest?
Rocket moves his magnet farther from the clip. What happens to the pull?
ObjectAttracted by a magnet?
Steel paper clip?
Iron nail?
Aluminum can?
Paper?
WHY THIS EXERCISEIron and steel are attracted. Aluminum and paper are not.
Name a metal a magnet attracts.
WHY THIS EXERCISEIron, steel, nickel and cobalt are the metals magnets attract.
Try it
Lay a paper clip on the table.
Bring a magnet closer, one finger width at a time.
How many finger widths away does the clip jump?

Iron, steel, nickel, cobalt

Here is a trick to remember. Magnets attract iron, steel, nickel and cobalt.

Steel paper clips and iron nails stick to magnets.

Gold, silver and aluminum are metals too. But magnets do not attract them.

So "it is metal" does not always mean "a magnet will pull it."

WILL THE MAGNET PULL IT?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A steel spoon. Will a magnet attract it?
A gold ring. Will a magnet attract it?
A candle made of wax. Will a magnet attract it?
StatementTrue or false?
All metals are attracted to magnets.?
Silver is not attracted to magnets.?
A magnet pull is weaker far away.?
A magnet pull is stronger far away.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEOnly some metals are attracted, and the pull weakens with distance.
A bigger gap makes the pull ____.
A smaller gap makes the pull ____.
Safety first
Use one large magnet. Magnets never go in your mouth.
Keep magnets away from babies and toddlers.

You solved a big magnet mystery today! Tomorrow we learn that Earth itself acts like a giant magnet.

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