Electroscope, Coulomb and magnets
Answers are for parents and teachers.
1
With an adult and a small fridge magnet, test five objects at home. Make a table of what happened.
Answers differ. Iron and many steel objects are pulled; wood, plastic, glass, copper and aluminium are not.
2
Describe how to use a charged electroscope to find out whether a second object has the same type of charge.
Bring the object near the knob without touching it. If the leaves spread more, it has the same type; if they come closer, it has the opposite type.
3
Hang a bar magnet from a thread, or put a compass on a table. Say which direction the N end points.
It points towards the north.
4
A steel rod is pushed away by the north pole of a magnet. Is the rod a magnet? Explain.
Yes. Only repulsion proves it, because iron and steel are also attracted when they are not magnets.
5
Make a poster: where must magnets be kept away from, and why?
Away from phones, bank cards and people with a pacemaker, because magnets can harm them.