Magnets 4 Worksheet

Magnetism is a property of iron, and materials made mostly from iron. Non-metals are not magnetic.

We use this special property in many everyday objects, alarms, fasteners and even credit cards.

Remote car keys contain tiny magnets...

Remote control with key

and so do bank cards...

Credit card

We can investigate the strength of magnets by testing them. So, let's get stuck into this worksheet and see what we can find out....

Which THREE statements describe ATTRACTION between magnets?

They like the look of each other

It is a pulling force.

It is a pushing force.

It can be measured using a forcemeter.

It is measured in Newtons

Which THREE statements describe magnetic REPULSION (when magnets repel)?

it is a pulling force.

They don't want to be friends.

It is a pushing force.

It is measured in Newtons.

It is a force we can feel.

Kasia and Tom are learning about magnets.

Kasia says: "The Earth is a big magnet."

Is she correct?

Planet Earth

yes

no

Tom says: "Just like a bar magnet, the Earth has poles at either end - the North pole and the South pole."

Is Tom correct?

yes

no

A small magnet which points to the North pole of the Earth is called a....

forcemeter

sat nav

compass

Kasia and Tom have learnt that we use magnets everyday. Can you help them match up the different jobs which magnets do with where they are found?

Column A	Column B
sorting	fridge door
lifting	re-cycling plant
fastening	credit card
coding information	scrap yard

The students want to learn more about how magnets are used to sort-out recycled materials.

Kasia says: "The magnet will sort the metal cans from the glass bottles and jars."

Tom says: "The magnet will attract the steel cans, but not cans made from other metals."

What do you think?

They are both correct.

They are both wrong.

Kasia is right.

Tom is right.

Tom asks a science question which can be investigated.

"How does the size of the magnet affect how strong it is?"

Selection of magnets

Kasia writes down what she thinks the results will show.

In science this is called a...

prediction

preview

premolar

Tom and Kasia collect four magnets:

a large bar magnet
a horseshoe magnet
a small bar magnet
a fridge magnet

and a pile of paperclips.

Which TWO variables (factors) must they keep the same to make their test fair?

The size of the magnets.

The strength of the magnets.

The size of the paperclips.

The material the paperclips are made of.

Kasia presents their results in a two column table. She starts with the LARGEST magnet.

TYPE OF MAGNET	NUMBER OF PAPERCLIPS
LARGE BAR	6
HORSESHOE	11
SMALL BAR	9
FRIDGE MAGNET	15

Which one of these conclusions can Tom and Kasia take from their results?

The bigger the magnet, the stronger it is.

The bigger the magnet, the weaker it is.

The size of the magnet does not affect how strong it is.

Kasia says: "The results do not match my prediction."

What should Kasia do?

Give up.

Change her results to match her prediction.

Repeat the investigation using another set of magnets.

ANSWERS

Question 1

Which THREE statements describe ATTRACTION between magnets?

CORRECT ANSWER

It is a pulling force.
It can be measured using a forcemeter.
It is measured in Newtons

EDDIE SAYS

Magnetic ATTRACTION is a pulling force which can be measured in Newtons using a forcemeter.

ANSWERS

Question 2

Which THREE statements describe magnetic REPULSION (when magnets repel)?

CORRECT ANSWER

It is a pushing force.
It is measured in Newtons.
It is a force we can feel.

EDDIE SAYS

When magnets repel, we can feel a PUSHING FORCE between them which can be measured in Newtons.

ANSWERS

Question 3

Kasia and Tom are learning about magnets.

Kasia says: "The Earth is a big magnet."

Is she correct?

Planet Earth

CORRECT ANSWER

yes

EDDIE SAYS

The Earth IS a big magnet! We use the Earth's magnetism to navigate and it tells us about the materials which make-up the rocks under the Earth's surface.

ANSWERS

Question 4

Tom says: "Just like a bar magnet, the Earth has poles at either end - the North pole and the South pole."

Is Tom correct?

CORRECT ANSWER

yes

EDDIE SAYS

In science we use North and South to describe the ends of a magnet, including the Earth.

ANSWERS

Question 5

A small magnet which points to the North pole of the Earth is called a....

CORRECT ANSWER

compass

EDDIE SAYS

A compass helps us to navigate because it always points towards the North pole.

ANSWERS

Question 6

Kasia and Tom have learnt that we use magnets everyday. Can you help them match up the different jobs which magnets do with where they are found?

CORRECT ANSWER

Column A	Column B
sorting	re-cycling plant
lifting	scrap yard
fastening	fridge door
coding information	credit card

EDDIE SAYS

Magnets come in all shapes and sizes. Powerful electro-magnets lift cars and large pieces of metal in scrap yards. Tiny magnets carry information on credit cards - amazing!

ANSWERS

Question 7

The students want to learn more about how magnets are used to sort-out recycled materials.

Kasia says: "The magnet will sort the metal cans from the glass bottles and jars."

Tom says: "The magnet will attract the steel cans, but not cans made from other metals."

What do you think?

CORRECT ANSWER

Tom is right.

EDDIE SAYS

Magnets attract metals which contain a large proportion of IRON. Some cans are made from ALUMINIUM, which is not magnetic. STEEL cans are attracted to the magnet because steel contains iron.

ANSWERS

Question 8

Tom asks a science question which can be investigated.

"How does the size of the magnet affect how strong it is?"

Selection of magnets

Kasia writes down what she thinks the results will show.

In science this is called a...

CORRECT ANSWER

prediction

EDDIE SAYS

An experiment or investigation is all about answering a question. When you ask a question you'll often have an idea about what you think will happen - that means you are PREDICTING what you think will be the outcome.

ANSWERS

Question 9

Tom and Kasia collect four magnets:

a large bar magnet
a horseshoe magnet
a small bar magnet
a fridge magnet

and a pile of paperclips.

Which TWO variables (factors) must they keep the same to make their test fair?

CORRECT ANSWER

The size of the paperclips.
The material the paperclips are made of.

EDDIE SAYS

To make the test fair, the students must keep the size and material the paperclips are made of the same for each magnet. The variable they must CHANGE is the size of the magnet. They are INVESTIGATING the strength!

ANSWERS

Question 10

Kasia presents their results in a two column table. She starts with the LARGEST magnet.

TYPE OF MAGNET	NUMBER OF PAPERCLIPS
LARGE BAR	6
HORSESHOE	11
SMALL BAR	9
FRIDGE MAGNET	15

Which one of these conclusions can Tom and Kasia take from their results?

CORRECT ANSWER

The size of the magnet does not affect how strong it is.

EDDIE SAYS

Tom and Kasia's results show that small magnets can be strong because the smallest magnet (which was the fridge magnet) attracted the most paperclips. On the other hand, the largest magnet (which was the large bar magnet) attracted the fewest paperclips. Bet they predicted differently! That's when the ONLY way of finding an answer is to DO the experiment. Science is FUN!

ANSWERS

Question 11

Kasia says: "The results do not match my prediction."

What should Kasia do?

CORRECT ANSWER

Repeat the investigation using another set of magnets.

EDDIE SAYS

Scientists must be able to repeat their investigation to reach the same conclusion. There's nothing for it -Tom will have to go and find more magnets! Mind you, they'll have lots of fun running more investigations and then they'll have better results. Then they can be more confident that they have reached the right conclusion.