Magnet Finder
Recommended for grades 6–12.
Introduction
A shell game is a contest in which a person hides a small object underneath one of three nutshells, cups, or thimbles, and then rapidly shuffles them about on a flat surface. The spectators must pay close attention during the shuffling process in order to try and guess the final location of the hidden object. It is typically a sleight-of-hand swindling game. In this project, your challenge is to build a robot to play the shell game with you. The robot will act as the spectator, while you will hide a magnet under one of three walnut shells. Then the robot will use a Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor to determine the location of the hidden magnet.
Objectives
In this project, you will design and build a mobile robot for pinpointing the location of a hidden magnet. The magnet should be hidden under one of three identical objects, such as walnut shells. The walnut shells should be laid out in a line so that the robot can drive by the shells while measuring the magnetic field of the area using a Vernier Magnetic Field Sensor. The location of the hidden magnet will be determined by feedback from the sensor of the strongest reading. Your robot should return to the location of the hidden magnet and give an audio indicator.
Sensors and Equipment
This project/activity requires each of the following Vernier sensors and equipment (unless otherwise noted):
Additional Requirements
You will also need NXT Sensor Adapter and a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robotics system.
Download Experiment Preview
The student-version preview includes:
- Step-by-step instructions for computer-based data collection
- List of materials and equipment
The preview does not include essential teacher information, safety tips, or sample data. We strongly recommend that you purchase the book for classroom use.
Standards Correlations
See all standards correlations for STEM 2 with Vernier and LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT »
Included in the Lab Book
Vernier lab books include a CD with word-processing files of the student instructions, essential teacher information, suggested answers, sample data and graphs, and more.