Electromagnets: Winding Things Up
Recommended for Middle School through High School.
Introduction
A magnetic field forms around a wire that has an electric current in it. Winding a wire around a piece of iron increases the strength of the magnetic field. A temporary magnet made in this way is called an electromagnet. In this experiment, you will use a computer-interfaced Magnetic Field Sensor to study the relationship between number of wire winds and magnetic field strength of an electromagnet.
Objectives
In this experiment, you will
- Build an electromagnet.
- Measure magnetic field strength.
- Graph the results.
- Make conclusions about the relationship between number of wire winds and magnetic field strength.
Sensors and Equipment
This experiment features the following Vernier sensors and equipment.
Option 1
Option 2
Additional Requirements
You may also need an interface and software for data collection. What do I need for data collection?
Standards Correlations
See all standards correlations for Physical Science with Vernier »
Physical Science with Vernier
See other experiments from the lab book.
Experiment 26 from Physical Science with Vernier Lab Book
Included in the Lab Book
Vernier lab books include word-processing files of the student instructions, essential teacher information, suggested answers, sample data and graphs, and more.