#ScienceLessonAtHome of the day.
Making a Compass
You will need:
A small bowl
A scrap of paper
A magnet
A pin or needle
Take the pin or needle and stroke it with the magnet. Be sure to only stroke in one direction, lifting the magnet well away as you bring it back to the other end. Use the same pole (end) of the magnet throughout.
Top tip: If you don't have a handy magnet or fridge magnet. The sealing strip of your fridge is magnetic and you can stroke the pin against that.
You will need to stroke it for about 2-3 minutes.
Now fill the bowl with water.
Cut out a circle of paper, just big enough for the pin to rest on. Balance the pin / needle on the paper circle, and float it in the centre of the bowl of water.
The needle should slowly turn to point north. (If it doesn't, repeat the first step).
Stroking the pin with the magnet aligns the iron atoms inside in the same direction. This gives the pin a magnetic field. It will slowly lose this field over time as the atoms shift back. Permanent magnets (like the fridge magnet) have been specially heat treated to fix them.
Whilst you are looking at magnets. Get your child to find materials that will stick to magnets around the home. These materials will contain Iron, Nickle or (less commonly) cobalt.
Older children:
KS3 - Magnetic field lines. If you have some iron fillings, place a clear plastic lid over a magnet and sprinkle the fillings over it. Draw the pattern you see.
If you don't have iron filings at home, you can watch this video.
Also. Some breakfast cereals are magnetic because they have been fortified with iron.
See if you can get a floating cornflake or rice krispie to move across the surface of the milk when you bring a magnet near it.
Now have a look at the earth's magnetic field. Your compass needle is spinning around to align with it. That is why it points north.
This magnetic field is caused by iron and nickel in the earth's core.
KS4 - Find out about the magnetic fields of other planets and the sun.
Start here:
sciencefocus.com/space/do-all-p…
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