Electromagnets

Lab Brief #2

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Speed isn't the same as force. Don't mix them up.

What you'll learn

Electromagnets are temporary magnets created by running electricity through a coiled wire. They can be turned on and off and are used in motors, speakers, and MRI machines.

Key words

power
How fast energy is used or work is done.
electromagnetic
Related to electricity and magnetism working together, like light and radio waves.

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where does the energy go?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

paper clips

⚠️ Safety first

Use a low-voltage battery or supply only — never mains electricity.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Build an electromagnet by wrapping insulated wire around a nail and connecting it to a battery. Test how many paper clips it can pick up. Try adding more wire coils.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Compare the before and after states.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write your conclusion: did the results match your hypothesis? What would you change next time?

Question 1 of 2

What is an electromagnet?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

What do magnets have?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔥 A bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Kinetic Energy: Energy of Motion All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: You use this every time you flip a light switch, ride a bike, or kick a ball.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Time how long a small ball rolls down something, then change the slope and try again.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

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