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Magnetic Field Activities
for the High School Classroom


Day 1: Gaining Familiarity Background Information Lesson Plan Student Pages
Day 2: Make Magnetometer Background Information Lesson Plan Student Pages
Day 3: Map Field of 1 Dipole Background Information Lesson Plan Student Pages
Day 4: Subtracting Background Fields to Reveal Desired Field Background Information Lesson Plan Student Pages
Day 5: Interpreting Magnetic Field Maps Background Information Lesson Plan Student Pages
Day 6: Map Field of Current Lesson Plan Student Pages
Day 7: Map Field of Room Background Information Lesson Plan
Day 8: Strength of Field, Right Hand Rule Background Information
Day 9: Magnetic Field of Earth
Day 10: Magnetic Field of Sun
Day 11: Introduction to Plasma Background Information
Day 12: Plasma/Magnetic Field Interactions Background Information
Day 13: Sun-Earth Plasma Interactions



Teacher Overview

The following unit is designed to acquaint the student with the magnetic field. The assumed average student has some familiarity with the uniform gravitational field of classical Newtonian dynamics and kinematics lessons. This is not required however. The unit is meant to introduce the idea of a field through investigations of magnetic fields as produced by various common magnetic materials and direct currents. The difference between a magnetic field and a gravitational field is that a gravitational field, in the experience of a student, always points downward and is always of the same strength (9.8 m/s2). Magnetic fields are not limited to one direction or strength, in the student's experience. That is, all students are assumed to have noticed that some magnets are stronger than others. Further, all students will know, by the mid-point of this unit, that magnetic fields are inherently loop shaped. One important similarity does exist between the magnetic field of the earth and the gravitational field of the earth: both are mysteriously produced by the same object. Thus, these two fields are easily confused in the mind of the student, and are subject to 'common sense' interpretations that may be at odds with scientific explanation. The 'common sense' interpretations can be hard to modify. Indeed, students are likely to speak as if all magnetic interactions are attractive (e.g., 'the magnetic personality') even though they also know from experience that it is hard to force opposite poles of different magnets together.

In general terms, the student will gain an appreciation for the vector nature of fields, the ubiquity of field sources in the environment, and the ability to visualize such fields as 3-dimensional entities.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

Project Ideas:





Lesson Development/Writing: Ed Eckel and Matthew Friel
Web Design: Theresa Valentine
Last Updated: 8/25/2000

Above is background material for archival reference only.

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