Looking for a more RIGOROUS and WELL-ORGANIZED magnetism lab? These magnetism activity stations are the familiar magnet activities you’ll find everywhere… but a little more elevated. And super easy to use!
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Each of these stations gives students practice with a particular magnetism activity (magnetic field lines, paper clip chains, make an electromagnet, etc.) but then asks them to design their own simple experiment to answer a provided question. Once they have done their own simple experiment, they’ll answer the question in the Claims-Evidence-Reasoning format.
There are SEVEN stations/labs included. You’ll be familiar with the magnetism activities themselves – what’s different about this version is that it is more aligned with middle school rigor. Here are the stations:
- Magnetic vs. Non-magnetic Materials (test various materials)
- Make a Magnet (transform a nail into a working magnet)
- Paper Clip Chain (find out how many paper clips a magnet holds)
- Attraction Through Materials (examine how magnetism works through materials)
- Magnetic Attraction Distance (how far away can a magnet attract a paper clip)
- Magnetic Field Lines (visualize magnetic field lines in a non-messy way)
- Make an Electromagnet (students build a simple electromagnet)
Each station has TWO PARTS:
- Part One: Students follow step-by-step directions to experience an aspect of magnetism. They’ll answer follow-up questions on their worksheet.
- Part Two: Students are given a question that can be answered by experimenting with the materials at the station. They’re asked to design their own experiment to answer the question. (Don’t worry – it’s not that hard, and they’ve just done something similar in each Part One!) They use the information they gain from their own simple experiment to answer the question in the CER format.
Materials Required:
- Station One: magnet (any type), iron nail, steel paper clips, copper wire, popsicle stick (or any wood), glass jar, penny, soup can, rubber band, stainless steel spoon, aluminum foil, plastic milk jug, plastic water bottle, nickel guitar strings
- Station Two: Iron nail (medium-sized), bar magnet, paper clips
- Station Three: bar magnet, paper clips
- Station Four: strong magnet (neodymium), thin cardboard (cereal box), thick cardboard (shipping box), thin plastic (sandwich bag), thick plastic (food containers, bin top), aluminum foil, cloth squares, small steel washers
- Station Five: 3 types of magnets (one must be a bar magnet with poles labeled), steel paper clip, metric ruler
- Station 6: petri dish containing iron filings, 2 bar magnets, horseshoe magnet, ring magnet
- Station 7: large steel nail (10-15 cm), copper wire (about 30 cm), D-cell or C-cell battery, small paper clips, ruler
Teacher Notes:
- Answer key included.
- Please note: this magnetism lab is not editable.
- Related Standards: NGSS MS-PS2-3 and MS-PS2-5
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Related Standards:
- NGSS MS-PS2-3: Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces.
- NGSS MS-PS2-5: Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
