The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
Intro to Magnets
Intro to Magnets
A 7th Grade STEM Lesson
Dustin Blake
March 2024
Notes for Teachers
Purpose: students engage in practical experimentation.
The primary objective of this lesson is to acquaint students with the concept that magnetic force can either draw objects closer or push them away from one another without any physical contact.
List of Materials
Standards
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices
Practice 1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems
Practice 2: Developing and Using Models
Practice 3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Practice 8: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Arizona Science Standards
7.P2U1.1 Collect and analyze data demonstrating how electromagnetic forces can be attractive or repulsive and can vary in strength
7.P2U1.2 Develop and use a model to predict how forces act on objects at a distance
Technology Standard 5 Computational Thinker
6-8.5.b. Students find and organize data and use technology to analyze and represent it to solve problems and make decisions.
NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas
PS2.B: Types of Interactions:
Electric and magnetic (electromagnetic) forces can be attractive or repulsive, and their sizes depend on the magnitudes of the charges, currents, or magnetic strengths involved and on the distances between the interacting objects. (MS-PS2-3)
7th Grade Arizona ELA Speaking and Listening
7.SL.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussion with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
7.SL.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
Objective(s):
The primary objective of this lesson is to acquaint students with the concept that magnetic force can either draw objects closer or push them away from one another without any physical contact.
Agenda
5. Contemplating Magnetism (10 min.) Students communicate their newfound knowledge about magnets, subsequently co-creating a set of guidelines concerning the behavior of magnets as a class.
6: Assignment: Students ponder the insights they've gained concerning magnets through the lesson's activities and group discourse. Additionally, they engage in researching scientists who have conducted research in magnetism and various facets of physics.
In the data table, students can record the insights they have gained from the activities, the scientist they researched, and any key findings or information they discovered about magnetism and related topics. This table helps organize and document individual contributions and research outcomes for further discussion and reflection.
1. Students participate in the opening activity related to the unit's core question, leveraging their existing understanding of magnets. Question: “Can you launch a space shuttle into outer space using a magnet launching system?”
2: (5 min.) Students discover their roles as student physicists tasked with investigating variations in spacecraft launch velocities.
3.(Teacher Presentation): Diagnosing a Magnetic Launcher. The teacher presents a scenario to students, unveiling the problem they will be delving into throughout this unit. Using magnets as a reusable launching system instead of fossil fuels.
4: Investigating Magnetic Properties (25 min.) Students collect data to understand how magnets influence the motion of other objects.
In this data table, students can record their observations during each trial of the investigation. They measure the distance each object moves before and after the introduction of a magnet. The table allows for a systematic organization of data, making it easier to analyze and draw conclusions about how magnets influence the motion of different objects.
Data collection
Student | Insights Gained from Activities | Scientist Researched | Key Findings |
1 | | | |
2 | | | |
3 | | | |
4 | | | |
5 | | | |
Trial | Object Investigated | Distance Moved (cm) - Before Magnet | Distance Moved (cm) - With Magnet |
1 | Paperclip trial 1 |
|
|
2 | Paperclip trial 2 |
|
|
3 | Paperclip trial 3 |
|
|
4 | Nail trial 1 |
|
|
5 | Nail trial 2 |
|
|
6 | Nail trial 3 |
|
|
7 | Dime |
|
|
8 | Popsicle stick |
|
|
Technology incorporation
Students will proceed to enter data into Excel and create a graph:
Intro/Driving Question/Opening
"Why do magnets move some things, but not others?"
Hands-on Activity Instructions
You will employ tangible materials to acquire data, aiding you in responding to the Investigation Question and documenting principles governing the operation of magnets. Initially, you will interact with magnets and various items to acquire evidence that will contribute to resolving the Investigation Question.
Your aim is to compile multiple instances of evidence. Consider the various types of observations you might document, like identifying which objects a magnet can influence or observing how a magnet interacts with another magnet.
Assessment
Observe: While students engage in discussions with their partners, circulate to monitor their predictions. Assess if students can predict that magnets will repel each other when there are no connecting field lines. Conversely, if magnets possess field lines connecting opposite poles, students should anticipate that the magnets will attract each other. This is an opportunity to gauge whether students can decipher magnetic field line patterns in the context of like and opposite poles.
Next Steps: If students demonstrate a lack of comprehension regarding magnetic force or fail to grasp that the orientation of poles dictates whether magnets will attract or repel, it might be beneficial to allocate time for review. Start by having students predict what will occur when two magnets with like poles face each other and when two magnets with opposite poles face each other. They can then validate their predictions using physical bar magnets.
Differentiation
Carefully select partners for students requiring assistance. Forming constructive and supportive student pairs is a pivotal initial phase in cultivating a classroom environment that instills confidence and ease in expressing one's thoughts. This lesson offers numerous occasions for students to engage in paired discussions to foster learning. Establishing effective working partnerships will be a vital element for the success of lessons of this nature. In this lesson, extend support to students who may feel less at ease when speaking in class by furnishing the following prompts as support structures and encouraging them to employ these prompts as necessary:
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Expanding the Search for Supporting Data: Students seeking greater challenges can be prompted to incorporate extra observations. They can further conduct supplementary experiments during the hands-on activity. Additionally, you might recommend that those seeking a more challenging experience arrange strategic tests aimed at discovering evidence that could potentially refute one of their assertions.