Magnets

In this packet, we will be learning the basic physics behind magnets work and how we
utilize them in the US Navy. We are then going to practice these principles in easy and
fun activities that can be done in the classroom or at home.

Contact the National Museum of the U.S. Navy for Field

Trip and School Visit opportunities!

*This packet is intended for elementary schools, to be used in groups of

three or fewer and/or individually.
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 What is a magnet?



A magnet is a rock or a piece of metal that can pull certain types of metal toward itself. The force of
magnets, called magnetism, is a basic force of nature, like electricity and gravity. Magnetism works over
a distance. This means that a magnet does not have to be touching an object to pull it.

Magnetism happens when tiny particles called electrons behave in a certain way. All objects in the
universe are made up of units called atoms. Atoms in turn are made up of electrons and other particles
(neutrons and protons). The electrons spin around the atom’s nucleus, which contains the other particles.
The spinning electrons form tiny magnetic forces. Sometimes many of the electrons in an object spin in
the same direction. In these cases, all the tiny magnetic forces from the electrons add up to make the
object one big magnet.

It is possible to make a magnet by taking an existing magnet and rubbing another piece of metal with it.
The new piece of metal must be rubbed continuously in the same direction. This will make the electrons
in that metal start to spin in the same direction.

Electricity can also create magnets. Electricity is a flow of electrons. As electrons move through a piece of
wire they have the same effect as electrons spinning around the nucleus of an atom. This is called an
electromagnet.

Because of the way their electrons are arranged, the metals iron, steel, nickel, and cobalt make good
magnets. Once these metals become magnets, they can stay magnets forever. Then they are called hard
magnets. But these metals and others can also act like magnets temporarily, after they have been near a
hard magnet. Then they are called soft magnets. Most other materials—for example, water, air, and
wood—have very weak magnetic properties

Magnets strongly attract objects that contain iron, steel, nickel, or cobalt. Magnets also attract or repel
(push away) other hard magnets. This happens because every magnet has two opposite poles, or ends:
a north pole and a south pole. North poles attract the south poles of other magnets, but they repel other
north poles. Likewise, south poles attract north poles, but they repel other south poles.

The magnetic forces between the two poles of a magnet create a magnetic field. This is the area affected
by the magnet. A magnetic field surrounds all magnets.
Britannica School, s.v. "Magnet and Magnetism,"

Did you know?

If you cut a bar magnet in half (seen

below), you create two smaller magnets!

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Version 2: April 24, 2018
 How do magnets work?
Magnets are strongest at there
In a bar magnet, magnetism is strongest at the ends, or ends. The north pole of one
poles. The north pole always points north. The south magnet will attract the south
pole always points south. Magnets attract other magnets. pole. Unlike poles of a magnet
Unlike poles attract each other. The north pole of one attract each other. Like poles
magnet attracts the south pole of another magnet. But repel each other.
poles that are alike repel, or push away from, each
other.



Let’s try it out!

Take two magnets and match two opposite ends and two like ends. What happens?

Hard Magnets/Soft Magnets Activity

Permanent magnets keep their magnetism long after they have been magnetized. For this reason, they
are known as “hard” magnetic materials. Many strong permanent magnets are alloys (mixtures) of iron
combined with nickel, cobalt, or a group of metals known as lanthanide elements. Among the most
common magnetic alloys are a group of compounds containing a mixture of aluminum, cobalt, copper,
iron, nickel, and possibly titanium.

Temporary magnets are made of such materials

as steel and nickel. These materials are known
as “soft” magnetic materials because they
usually do not retain their magnetism. For
example, a magnetized steel nail loses its
magnetism if it is removed from a magnetic field.

Let’s try it out!

Move to the “fishing” station and see how
various materials react to the magnet at the
end of the fishing pole! Then, on the
diagram, list which materials are hard or soft
magnets. Are any materials not magnet at
all? What do they have in common?

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Magnetism vs. Gravity
Station A



What You’ll Need

2 Bar Magnets
1 Sewing Needle

1. Place the first magnet on a non-metallic

table.
2. Hold the second magnet about 2 inches
above the magnet laying on the table.
Position the two magnets so the opposite
poles are facing each other.
3. Touch the point of the sewing needle to
the bottom of the top magnet.
4. Lower the top magnet so the hanging
needle is close to, but not touching, the
magnet laying on the table.
5. Use your finger to push the bottom of the
needle to one side, and release needle if
swinging a pendulum.
6. Observe, how long does it swing?

Further exploration:
• Would standing the needle on the lower
magnet affect its swing? Repeat the
experiment, placing the point of the
needle on the lower magnet. Observe
any changes in speed and time.
• Would a larger or smaller needle affect
the results? Repeat the original
experiment twice, first using a smaller
needle then a larger needle. Observe
any changes in speed and time.

Did you Know?

The Earth is like one big bar magnet. It has a magnetic north
and a magnetic south, which is what the needle on a compass
points to. However, this is geographically different than the
actual north and south poles. Invisible magnetic field lines run
from the north to south poles.

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Shielding Magnetic Force
Station B


What You’ll Need 1. Cut two 8 inch by 4 inch poster board pieces.
2. Put the pencils between the poster board pieces, shown in the
Scissors image below.
Ruler 3. Tape the ends of the cardboard pieces together to secure the
Poster board poster board, looking a little like a sandwich.
2 Pencils 4. Tape the magnet near the edge of the top piece of the poster
board.
Masking Tape
5. Place all 10 paperclips on a non-metal table.
Bar Magnet 6. Hold the poster board sandwich high above the paperclips.
10 Paper Clips 7. Slowly lower the poster board sandwich until it is just above, but
Non-metallic Cake Server not touching, the paperclips on the table.
or Spatula 8. Are the paperclips moving?
9. Without moving the poster board, slowly insert the cake-server
between the pieces of poster board.
10. Now, has anything changed in the movements of the paperclips?

Write your observations below:

5
 Permanent Magnets Station C


1. Touch the nail to the paper clip to make sure they are not
attracted to each other.
2. Lay the nail on a non-metal table. What You’ll Need
3. Hold the south-pole end of the magnet on top of the center of Iron Nail
the nail. Paper Clip
4. With the south-pole end of the magnet, stroke the nail toward Bar Magnet
its point over 30 times. (I know, that’s a lot!) Be sure to lift the
magnet away from the nail when returning to the starting point
for each stroke.
5. Touch the pointed end of the nail to the paper clip.
6. What happens?

Did you Know?

Iron and other metallic materials act as if they have millions of tiny magnets inside of
them, but they all point toward different directions. Permanent Magnets have all of the
tiny magnets facing the same point, making them strong and magnetic. By stroking and
touching the end of the nail, you have shifted the tiny magnets to all face the same way!

Try stroking the nail with the north pole of the magnet. Repeat the entire experiment with the
north pole of the magnet and see how that affects the result. What happens? Why?

6
 Compasses



Before we used GPS, like the one on smart phones today, Sailors in the US
Navy used compasses and the stars to navigate the waters which works at all
times of the year, in all weathers, and in most places. When a piece of
magnetized iron (think of the experiment at Station C) is placed on a splinter of
wood and floated in a bowl of water, the wood will swing until the iron is pointing north
and south. Any other direction can then be found.

A compass works because Earth is a huge magnet. A magnet has two main centers of force, called poles
—one at each end. Lines of magnetic force connect these poles. Bits of metal near a magnet always
arrange themselves along these lines. A compass needle acts like these bits of metal. It points north
because it lines up with Earth’s lines of magnetic force.

Earth’s magnetic poles are not the same as the geographic North and South poles. The geographic poles
are located at the very top and bottom of a globe. The magnetic poles are nearby but not at exactly the
same places. A compass points to the magnetic North Pole, not the geographic North Pole. Therefore, a
compass user has to make adjustments to find true north.

A special kind of compass called a gyrocompass does point to true north. The gyrocompass uses a
device called a gyroscope, which always points in the same direction. Today large ships carry both
magnetic compasses and gyrocompasses.

"Compass." Britannica School, Encyclopedia Britannica

Homework Activity

Try to make your own compass at home! Start by repeating

the experiment from Station C (page 6) to create a
magnetized iron nail. Now, tie a piece of thread to the
center of the nail. Tape the other end of the thread to a
wooden pencil and lay the pencil across a glass shown to
the right. Place a compass next to the glass to see if the
nail is accurately pointing the magnetic field of the north
pole of Earth. What happened? Write your thoughts below:

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 Vocabulary

Atom- the basic unit of a chemical element. Consists of electrons, neurons, and protons.
Attract- to draw by a physical force causing or tending to cause to approach, adhere, or
unite.
Compass- an instrument for determining directions, as by means of a freely rotating
magnetized needle that indicates magnetic north.
Electrons- a stable sub-atomic particle with a charge of negative electricity, found in all
atoms and acting as the primary carrier of electricity in solids.
Hard Magnet- an object made from a material that is magnetized and creates its own
magnetic field.
Magnetism- a physical phenomenon produced by the motion of electric charge, resulting in
attractive and repulsive forces between objects.
Repel- To drive or force back or away.
Soft Magnet- Materials that act like magnets temporarily, after they have been near a hard
magnet.

Fill in the following sentences with the vocabulary words you just learned.
Use context clues to help:

_______________ is the phenomenon where ____________

within the _________ align. Strongest at their poles, these
magnets ___________ the opposing poles and ___________
like poles. Materials that have their own magnetic field
permanently are called ______ _________ while some materials,
known as _______ _________, can become magnetized but not
permanently. The US Navy uses hard magnets to make

______________, helping them to navigate the waters by finding

Earth’s north pole. 8