こんにちは (Kon’nichiwa!)
Back in Summer 2019, a member of our team had their family over from Tokyo. Their uncle, Mr Twohig, a teacher of Science at St. Mary’s International School, was looking for educational materials to take back to his school in Japan. Whilst visiting, he purchased a collection of our science and education range. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, last years teaching was mostly done online. As restrictions are being lifted and life returning to some normality in Japan, in-person lesson planning can continue!
Mr Twohig and his son, a pupil at the school, have been practicing on some experiments that they have let us have a sneak peak at…
As you can see, they were testing how strong the magnets ‘force’ is. To do this, they used two of our bar magnets, a science clamp stand and something to hold one of the magnets down to the clamp base. They then put one magnet in the clamp and stuck the other to the base of the clamp. They then slowly lowered one magnet to the other and recorded the distance. In the demonstration you will have noticed they used the same polarity facing each other, meaning the magnets will repel each other and not attract. This is the best way to demonstrate when the magnets magnetic field or force starts to move the magnets away from each other.
Next was another way to test the magnetic force. For this, all you need is 2 of our bar magnets and a ruler! Simply place one magnet level with 0cm on the ruler, then with the other magnet, start from 30cm and move one magnet closer to the other. Again, as mentioned before, ensure the same polarities are facing each other, so you can see repel force happen. Once the magnets begin to repel, take note of the distance.
These are great quick experiments to test and demonstrate magnetic force, and teach about how magnets attract and repel. You can also mix up the polarities that face each other to see how the magnets react. We would like to thank Mr Twohig and his son for sharing their experiments with us and for putting together the video!
These experiments are easy to replicate and are great if you are currently home schooling! If you would like some more learning materials for your children, please visit our science and education page and explore with Professor Gauss™ as he shows you more about the wonderful world of magnets!
