This week, magnets really attracted our attention. We’re conducting a straw poll: can you pull in a 5/5?
#1. People in ancient history found naturally occurring magnets. What were they called?
You might have heard of lodestones from Minecraft, and they’re a real thing! They’re made of a mineral called magnetite. Lodestones were very useful to ancient sailors who used them to make compasses. “Lode” comes from Middle English meaning “way”.
#2. If two magnets are put close together, what will happen?
Magnets are surrounded by an invisible magnetic field that shoots out from the magnet’s north pole and then curves back towards the south pole. You can imagine that they sprout arrows that point from north to south. When the same poles are pushed together, the line arrows point opposite ways and the two magnets get repelled. When opposite poles are pushed together, the line arrows point the same way and the two poles are attracted. Opposites attract!
#3. Which of the following metals are strongly attracted to magnets?
Most pure metals aren’t strongly attracted to magnets! But iron, nickel and cobalt are ferromagnets. This means when they’re exposed to a magnet, they become a magnet too!
#4. True or false? The Earth is a giant magnet, and its magnetic north pole matches up with the geographical North Pole.
False. The Earth is a giant magnet, but its geographic North Pole is a magnetic south pole! So why does a compass point (geographically) north? Because the compass’s north pole is attracted to the Earth’s magnetic south pole!
#5. You can find magnets in which of the following technologies?
Large hard drives are made of trillions of tiny magnets, and information is stored by pointing them in different directions. Electric motors use electromagnets to push and pull to make things spin. Medical imaging such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) uses super powerful magnets and radio waves to construct a detailed picture of your body.
Results
Congratulations! You are a real science whiz!
Oh dear! Better brush up before the next quiz!
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