Basic Principles of Magnetism

What’s In
Do you know what is a compass? Have you tried using it to find directions? If you have, then
you’ve done something that was first discovered by the Chinese people in the twelfth century.
Historians believe that the Chinese were the first to build compasses to help them navigate. They
made use of an important property found in certain materials that had been discovered centuries
before – magnetism.
To know more about how magnetism was discovered, read the selection below. For this activity, read
the history of magnetism and answer the questions that follow.

ACTIVITY 1.1

MAGNETS: KNOWN SINCE ANTIQUITY

Magnetism, the natural force that causes magnets to function as they do, became known to
people many centuries ago. They knew that the black metallic ore called lodestone has a property of
drawing iron particles into it.

The Greek philosopher named Thales, who lived during the sixth century B.C., is said to have
been the first to observe this property. After his time, the lodestone was often mentioned in ancient
writings. It was given the name “magnet” after Magnesia, a district in the Asia Minor where large
magnetic deposits were found. Years later, they found out that the thing they called magnet does not
only attract iron rings but also attracted other types of rings suspended from one another forming a
long chain.
The Roman Lucretius, who lived in the first century B.C., who is known to have written about
magnetism in the early times tried to explain magnetism in terms of his Atomic Theory. There are
also many legendary accounts of the properties of the magnet. The Arabian Nights is one example. It
contains the story of a ship that approached an island made out of a magnetic rock. The ship fell
completely to pieces because all the iron nails were pulled out of it through the attraction of the rock.
Another tale was based on the story of a shepherd named Magnes. One day when he was tending his
flock of sheep on the slopes of Mount Ida in Asia Minor, he noticed that the iron tip of his staff was
being pulled toward the ground. He dug up the ground and found out that the large deposit of
lodestone was attracting his staff. Thereafter the lodestone was called magnet in honor of the
shepherd who had discovered it, and later was called magnetite. Scholars have pointed out that this
story originated long after the word “magnet” was first commonly used.

Test your understanding by completing the blanks.

The black metallic ore that has the property of attracting pieces of iron is called________________.
The natural force of attracting pieces of iron is called____________________.
The word magnet was believed to have been derived from the name of a shepherd named ____.
Lodestone was later called________________for its magnetic property.
_______________was a Greek philosopher who first discovered the magnetic property of lodestone.

What’s New

Activity 1.2 ARE YOU ATTRACTED?

Instruction: Perform the experiment below to know more about how magnets work. Answer the
questions that follow.
Materials
 a bar magnet
 a pencil
 a piece of paper
 paper clips
 a plastic bag
 a needle
 a piece of glass
 nails
 pieces of wire
Procedure
Prepare the objects that you will need. Draw a table similar to the one found below.
Using the bar magnet, let all the other objects come in contact with one end of the magnet.
Determine which objects are attracted to it and which are not. Record your observations in the table.
Repeat step 2 using the other end of the magnet and write what you have observed.

The object is attracted

by one end of the by the other end of the
OBJECT magnet magnet

plastic bag
piece of paper
piece of glass
nails
pieces of wire
pencil
paper clips
needle
Answer the following questions briefly.
 Which materials were attracted by the magnet? What are they made of?
 Was using one end of the magnet different from using the other end?
 Give one practical use of a magnet at home.
Magnets and Magnetic Fields
Over the course of centuries, much of the mystery that once surrounded magnetism has been
dispelled. Today, the lodestone or the natural magnet is no longer familiar in the study of magnetism
because practically all magnets nowadays are artificial. This lesson discusses the different types of
magnets, their properties and also about magnetic fields.
Magnetic Substances
 A substance that possesses magnetic properties is a magnet. It attracts iron and faces the
same direction when moving freely. All materials have the property of being attracted or repelled.
Substances like iron and steel are strongly attracted to magnets. These substances are called
ferromagnetic. Nickel and cobalt are also ferromagnetic. These materials are also often called
magnetic materials.
Some substances, such as wood, aluminum, platinum and oxygen, are just slightly attracted
by strong magnets. These substances are called paramagnetic. Meanwhile, substances that are
slightly repelled by magnets are called diamagnetic. Table salt, mercury, zinc and gold are
diamagnetic substances.
Substances that are already magnetized are called magnetite. These are called natural or
permanent magnets. Lodestones are permanent magnets. An ALNICO magnet is a permanent
magnet containing aluminum, nickel and cobalt. Permanent magnets are used in radio speakers,
audio-video devices and other electrical appliances.
On the other hand, materials that can be made into magnets are called artificial magnets.
Artificial magnets are made by induced magnetism. This is done by stroking ferromagnetic
materials in the same direction several times with a magnet. This process is called magnetization.
Temporary magnets are those of soft iron that are easy to magnetize and they lose their magnetic
property very easily. Electromagnet is an example of a temporary magnet. It is a magnet that can be
switched on and off. It is also used to lift heavy objects in industrial sites and in forwarding
businesses.

Quiz- Thursday
_____1. What do you call the ends of a magnet?
A. Magnetic Poles
B. Magnetic Compasses
C. Magnetic Fields
D. Magnetic
_____2. Which of the following best describe for the poles magnets that attract each other?
A. both poles are of the same kind
B. both poles must be N poles
C. both poles must be S poles
D. one pole is an S and the other is an N
_____3. Which of the following process occur when magnetizing a piece of iron?
A. each atom in the iron is converted into a magnet
B. existing atomic magnets are brought into line
C. magnetic atoms are added to the iron
D. magnetic lines of force are brought into line
_____4. Which of the following explains the rotation of needle when a compass is placed in a
magnetic field?
A. because the field attracts N poles
B. because the field is produced by a magnet
C. because the field comes from the center of the Earth
D. because the field exerts forces on the atomic currents in the compass needle
_____5. A primary solenoid connected to a battery is inside a secondary solenoid. Which of the
following explain why it is not possible to induce a current into the secondary coil?
A. he primary current is off.
B. No movement of a core into the primary coil
C. The primary pulling out of the secondary coil
D. It is a direct/steady current through the primary coil
_____6. Which of the following justifies why a magnet will attract a wire?
A. The wire exerts an electric force.
B. The wire has a small mass.
C. The wire has current flowing through it.
D. The wire is long.
_____7. How will you describe the magnetic field around a straight current-carrying wire?
The electromagnet is strongest near and around the wire.
The magnetic field consists of straight lines parallel to the wire.
The magnetic field does not vary with distance from the wire.
The magnetic field gets stronger with increasing distance from the wire.
_____8. Which of the following explains why the iron atom acts as a magnet?
A. The iron has an equal number of protons and electrons
B. The electrons have a spinning motion
C. The electrons have negative charge
D. The neutrons have no charge
_____9. Which of the following act will make an iron needle into a magnet?
A. Bang it on a table
B. Soak it in mercury
C. Place it near a compass
D. Stroke it with a magnet in one direction only
_____10. Which of the following will make an electromagnet stronger?
A. increase the current in the coil
B. add an iron center in the coil
C. increase the number of loops in the wire
D. all of the above
_____11. Which of the following will happen if two unlike poles placed near each other?
The lines of force will curve away from each other
The lines of force will connect the poles
The lines of force will cancel each other
Nothing will happen.
_____12. Which of the following scientist discovered that an electric current affects the action of a
magnetic needle?
A. Ampere B. Oersted C. Faraday D. Gilbert
_____13. What basic principle enables all electric motors to operate?
A. A current-carrying conductor placed within a magnetic field will experience a magnetic force.
B. A moving conductor within a magnetic field will experience an electromotive force.
C. Iron is the only element that is magnetic.
D. Opposite electric charges attract and like charges repel.
_____14. Which of the following is refering to the energy transformation in an electric motor?
A. electrical and becomes chemical
B. mechanical and becomes electrical
C. electrical and becomes mechanical
D. mechanical and becomes chemical
_____15. What transformation takes place in an improvised generator?
A. Mechanical energy into electrical energy
B. Electrical energy into mechanical energy
C. Alternating current into direct current
D. Direct current into alternating current