Rocket dumps a box of odds and ends on the bench. Out tumble paper clips, foil, copper wire and a plastic lid.
"I need only the magnetic parts for my sorting machine," he says. "I bet all metal sticks to magnets."
Raven holds up the crinkly foil. "This is metal too," she says. "What do you notice when you test it?"
Nova lowers a small magnet on a string from her body. "Let's debug that bet together," she says.
The paper clips leap up. The foil just hangs there. Rocket's eyebrows go up.
Magnets pull on some metals, like iron and steel.
Other metals, like copper and gold, are not attracted to magnets.
Aluminum cans are not magnetic either. So a magnet is a quick way to tell aluminum from steel.
Wood and plastic are not pulled by a magnet either.
| Material | Pulled by a magnet? |
|---|---|
| Steel paper clip | ? |
| Aluminum foil | ? |
| Copper wire | ? |
| Iron nail | ? |
| Plastic lid | ? |
A magnet sorts materials into two groups: pulled and not pulled.
Iron and steel go in the pulled group.
Aluminum, copper, gold, wood and plastic go in the not pulled group.
Rocket's bet was a good guess, and the test made it better. Tomorrow you will run a dissolving test on mystery powders.