Thames & Kosmos Magnetic Science User manual

Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizerstr. 5-7, 70184 Stuttgart, Germany | [phone] | www.kosmos.de
Thames & Kosmos, 89 Ship St., Providence, RI, 02903, USA | 1-800-587-2872 | www.thamesandkosmos.com
Thames & Kosmos UK LP, 20 Stone Street, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 3HE, UK | 01580 713000 | www.thamesandkosmos.co.uk
EXPERIMENT MANUAL
Magnetic
Science

Dear
This experiment kit uses lots of interesting
experiments to give your child a playful
introduction to magnets and magnetism.
Please stand by your child’s side during the
experiments and offer your support and
guidance. Before starting the experiments,
read through the manual together and be
sure to follow it when performing the
experiments. Please be careful not to let any
of the kit parts get into the hands of young
children. Have fun with the experiments!
Warning! Do not bring the magnets close
to television sets, computers, computer
diskettes, music cassettes, videotapes, or
ATM or credit cards. The data stored in them
could be damaged or lost!
→For the experiments, you will need one
1.5-volt AA-type battery, which could not
be included in the kit due to its limited
shelf life.
→Under no circumstances are more or
different batteries to be used than what
is specified here.
→Do not use rechargeable batteries.
→Non-rechargeable batteries are not to be
recharged. They could explode!
→Never bring batteries into contact with
other metal objects, such as key rings or
coins.
→Avoid bending or distorting batteries.
→Never throw batteries into flame or store
them near heat sources.
→Do not use electrical outlets for any
experiments! Never insert wires or other
metal pieces into outlets! The electrical
voltage (110 volts) can kill you!
→When experimenting, avoid connecting
the battery terminals directly to each
other — the battery could explode!
→Avoid short-circuiting the battery or
batteries.
→After the experiments, always
completely disconnect the electrical or
electromagnetic circuit from the
battery and store separately.
→Exhausted batteries are to be disposed
of properly at collection locations, not
simply thrown into the trash.
→Do not mix old and new batteries.
→Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-
zinc), or rechargeable (nickel-cadmium)
batteries.
WARNING Not suitable for children
under 8 years. This product contains small
magnets. Swallowed magnets can stick
together across intestines causing serious
injuries. Seek immediate medical attention
if magnets are swallowed.
WARNING! Not suitable for children
under 3 years. Choking hazard — small
parts.
WARNING! This kit contains functional
sharp edges or points. Do not injure
yourself!
WARNING! Only for use by children
aged 8 years and older. Instructions for
parents or other supervising adults are
included and have to be observed. Keep
packaging and instructions as they contain
important information.
SAFETY INFORMATION
a
P
n
t
r
es
(and other adult
supervisors)

G
m
e
s
a
Magnets, Iron, and Poles
Pages 3 to 19
Learn all about the
properties of your magnets.
Compass
Pages 20 to 25
How Christopher Columbus
found his way across the
open seas
You will find supplemental
information on pages , ,
, , , , and .
✔
CHECK IT OUT
Magnetic Force and
Magnetic Fields
Pages 26 to 36
How to make invisible
magnetic fields visible
with Magnets
Pages 44 to 48
665050-02-270217

CONTENTS
Electromagnetism
Pages 37 to 43
Build your own
electromagnet.

✔No. Description Qty. Item No.
 Ring magnets () with stand   
 Block magnet   
 Ball magnets (set of )   
 Plastic chips (approx. )   
 Horseshoe and bar magnet set   
 Compass   
 Iron powder in plastic box   
 Iron rod   
 Wire   
 Polystyrene disk   
 Multicolored cardboard strip   
Before doing anything else, please check all the parts against the list to make
sure that nothing is missing. If you are missing any parts, please contact
Thames & Kosmos customer service.
What’s in your experiment kit:
Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off
Any materials not
contained in the kit are
marked in italic script in
the “You will need” boxes.











KIT CONTENTS
Additional things
you will need:
1.5-volt AA battery,
scissors, adhesive tape,
glue stick, paper,
cardboard, permanent
marker, string, ruler, bowl,
saucer, needle, spoon,
water, stopwatch, thick
paper, various magnetic
and nonmagnetic objects
from around the house


Magnets, Iron
and Poles
Over 2,500 years ago, scientists in ancient Greece made an
astonishing discovery: Chunks of certain rocks exert a
mysterious power over things made of iron. Since these rock
chunks were primarily found near the ancient town of Magnesia
in Asia Minor, they were called magnets. Today, magnets play an
important role in many everyday and technical devices. You may
know about magnetic closures on kitchen cupboard doors, for
example. But you’ll also find magnets in speakers, in bicycle
dynamos, and in multiple locations in cars.
Now it’s time to learn about the mysterious nature of magnets...
Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Take all the parts except the magnets
out of the experiment kit box and
place them on a table.
. Now take the bar magnet and watch
what happens when you touch the
objects on the table with it.
What do you notice?
Do the same thing with the
horseshoe magnet, the block
magnet, and
the ball magnet.
Lots of magnets
YOU WILL NEED
→ all of the parts inside
this kit


There are various types of
magnets in your experiment kit.
All of them will have an effect on
the box with iron powder, the iron
bar, the plastic chips, and the
compass.
So you can use these four items to
check whether an object is a
magnet — even when you can’t
tell by looking, because the
magnet is hidden inside a plastic
covering.
So how about the stand for the
ring magnet? Is it a magnet or not?
EXPERIMENT 1


→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Place two ball magnets a slight distance
apart on the table.
What do you notice?
. Try to pull the two ball magnets apart.
. Repeat the experiment with all the
other magnets.
What do you notice?
Mutual
attraction
YOU WILL NEED
→ all of the magnets


Most magnets are hard to keep in
one place. The ball magnets, in
particular, roll toward each other
and stick together. But the others
seem to find each other attractive
as well. They exert a mysterious
pull on each other, and you really
need to use some force to pull
them apart again.
So magnets exert a mutual
attraction on each other. Some
will even flip around in the
process.
TIP
Magnets influence and
interfere with each other. So
you should always place only
those magnets on the table
that you need at that moment.
Keep the other ones at least
one meter away, so they don’t
interfere with the ones you’re
using.
Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 
EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Move the iron rod towards the
horseshoe magnet and note how
strongly they stick together.
. Now pull the rod away, gradually
increase the distance between magnet
and rod, and note the strength of the
magnetic force at different distances.
. Repeat the experiment with the block
magnet.
What’s the difference?
It all depends
on the distance
YOU WILL NEED
→ horseshoe magnet
→ block magnet
→ iron rod



The force that magnets exert on each
other is largely a factor of how far apart
they are. The closer they are, the stronger
the magnetic force that you’ll feel. But as
you move them farther apart, the force
quickly grows weaker.
With the block magnet, you will feel a
stronger force overall: It is somewhat
more powerful than the horseshoe
magnet.

EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Walk around your house or apartment
with the magnet, holding it up to
various objects to see if it attracts them.
. The following things would be good to
investigate as you make your rounds:
porcelain, glass, cardboard, paper,
plastic, coins, furniture, cutlery, nails,
needles, cooking pots, and paper clips.
Scientific
expedition
at home
YOU WILL NEED
→ horseshoe magnet
→ various household items
WARNING! Make a wide
detour around the TV, the computer
(especially diskettes and magnetic
media), video and music cassettes,
and credit and debit cards: The
magnet would destroy the data
stored on them!

You will notice that the magnet only
attracts certain objects, while others
don’t seem interested in it at all. There’s
an explanation for that: Magnets only
exert their force of attraction on things
that are made of or that contain iron.
That means that you can use the magnet
to test whether there’s any iron
contained in an object.

Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 
EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Lay the iron rod flat against the side of
the block magnet, with its end
projecting out beyond the magnet’s
edge.
. Spread the plastic chips out on the
table and pass the iron rod over them.
What happens?
. Now separate the iron rod from the
block magnet.
Iron turns into
magnet
YOU WILL NEED
→ block magnet
→ iron rod
→ plastic chips
At first, the iron rod will attract
one or more of the chips. So the
magnet doesn’t only attract the
iron rod — it also makes the rod
magnetic, so that the rod in turn
attracts the iron rings around the
plastic chips.
The chips will drop away from the
iron rod, however, once you’ve
removed it from the block magnet.
The rod only acts like a magnet
when it’s connected to one.




EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Place the needle against the compass.
. Do the same with the iron rod.
. Now stroke the iron rod  to  times
across one of the large surfaces of the
block magnet.
Important! Always stroke in the same
direction across the same surface of the
magnet.
. Now move the block magnet far away
and move the iron rod close to the
compass needle again.
. Now, stroke the sewing needle across
the block magnet as you did in step ,
and look what happens when you hold
the needle close to the compass.
Keep the magnetized needle in a safe
place — you’ll need it again later.
A new magnet
is born
YOU WILL NEED
→ block magnet
→ iron rod
→ compass
→ long sewing needle
Without the “treatment” with the block
magnet, the compass needle won’t react
much to either the iron rod or the sewing
needle (if it does, the sewing needle
must already have had contact with a
magnet). With the iron rod, still nothing
happens after “treatment” with the
magnet. The sewing needle, on the other
hand, astonishingly retains its magnetic
force — the compass needle reacts
strongly to it. That is due to the fact that
sewing needles are made of steel. Steel
has the property of remaining magnetic
after being stroked with a magnet.





Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 
EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Place the iron rod on a smooth
table surface and see how close
you can bring the block magnet before
the rod starts to roll toward it. Make a
note of the distance between magnet
and rod when that happens.
. Now slide a piece of cardboard in front
of the block magnet.
Is there a difference now in the distance
at which the rod starts to roll toward it?
Test the other materials as well by
sliding them in front of the block
magnet.
Penetrating
force
YOU WILL NEED
→ block magnet
→ iron rod
→ cardboard, paper, knife
made of steel, plastic wrap,
fabric, aluminum foil
→ ruler
The magnetic force penetrates
almost all the materials without
losing much of its strength at all.
Only the steel knife is really
effective at blocking it. That has
to do with the fact that steel
contains iron.



EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Place the individual magnets far apart
from one another on the table.
. Take the iron rod and use it to probe all
the parts of the horseshoe magnet.
Where do you feel the strongest force of
attraction?
Now, probe the block magnet and bar
magnet as well.
What do you notice?
Finding the force
YOU WILL NEED
→ horseshoe magnet
→ block magnet
→ bar magnet
→ iron rod 

You will notice that each of the
magnets has certain locations
where it attracts the iron more
powerfully. With the horseshoe
and bar magnets, it’s the ends
that are the strongest, while with
the block magnet it’s the large
surfaces. Not all parts of a
magnet are uniformly powerful.
Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 
EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
NORTH
HERES HOW
. You will see the letters “N” and S” at the
two ends of the bar magnet. These ends
are known as “poles.”
. Now approach one end of the horseshoe
magnet with one end of the bar magnet.
Then test the other end of the
horseshoe magnet.
Which ends attract each other, and
which repel each other?
. Probe all sides of the block magnet with
both ends of the bar magnet.
What do you determine?
. Do the same thing with the ball
magnets. Place them on a smooth
surface for your investigation.
Exploring the
poles
YOU WILL NEED
→ all the magnets
It’s strange: Sometimes you can feel
the expected force of attraction,
but at other times the two magnets
don’t seem to want to get together
at all — something pushes them
apart. The ball magnets will even
flip around, quick as a flash, in
order to turn their attracting pole
to the bar magnet. The two ends, or
poles, apparently have different
properties.





EXPERIMENT 

SOUTH
→WHATS HAPPENING
Hidden poles
YOU WILL NEED
→ ball magnets
→ bar magnet
→ 2 different-colored
permanent markers
HERES HOW
. Take two balls and let them roll freely on
the table a slight distance apart. They
will quickly click together.
. Pull them apart again, and mark the
touching point (the point of contact) of
one ball with one color, and that of the
other ball with the other color.
. Let all of the balls click together in turn,
and make your marks on them.
Important! Whenever you have used one
color to mark one ball, be sure to use the
other color to mark the other ball.
. Use the bar magnet to test the marked
locations.
What do you notice?
The markings reveal the truth —
the balls have two poles too. No
wonder, since each ball contains a
tiny bar magnet inside its plastic
cover.




Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 
EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Place one ring magnet on the table.
. Push the second ring magnet onto the
first one with their two repelling sides
facing each other. You will notice that
it’s not so easy to do without making
the lower one scoot away.
. When you finally manage to do it,
quickly let go.
Jumping
magnets
YOU WILL NEED
→  ring magnets



The magnet will really jump up
into the air.

EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Stack the ring magnets one on top of
one another on the stand. Be sure that
all the repelling sides are facing each
other, so all the magnets end up
hovering in the air.
. Push down on the top magnet a little.
What do you observe?
. Now carefully remove the top ring
magnet.
What happens now?
Hovering
magnets
YOU WILL NEED
→ all the ring magnets
→ ring magnet stand
Even the very first ring magnet
will hover freely a few
centimeters up in the air. All of
them will end up hovering above
one another, as if held up by an
invisible hand.
When you push down on the top
ring, the lower ones will also shift
down a little, even though there’s
no direct contact. Conversely, the
lower ones will rise up a little
when you remove the top ring
magnet.



Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 
EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Stack the four ring magnets with their
attracting poles facing one another.
. Carefully insert the iron rod through the
hole in the center.
. Holding the “ring tower” together
tightly, tip it so that you’d think the iron
rod would fall.
Does it fall?
Magical forces
explained
YOU WILL NEED
→ all the ring magnets
→ iron rod
When you start to insert the iron
rod into the hole, you will feel a
little resistance at first, but then
the rod will practically get pulled
inside. The rings hold it so tightly
that even its own weight won’t
pull it out again. There’s a
powerful magnetic force inside
the rings that holds the rod in
place.




EXPERIMENT 

→WHATS HAPPENING
HERES HOW
. Let your bar magnet stick to one end of
the horseshoe magnet.
. Now use the iron rod to test the
magnetic force, particularly at the place
where the poles meet.
. Pull the magnets apart again. Now test
all four ends with the iron rod.
Disappearing
poles
YOU WILL NEED
→ bar magnet
→ horseshoe magnet
→ iron rod
The horseshoe magnet and the
bar magnet became one single
magnet when they were stuck
together. That’s why you hardly
detected any magnetic force at
the place where they met. But the
two outer poles were still there.
After the magnets are pulled
apart again, the previously
attached poles regain their
former strength.



Magnets, Iron, and Poles | 
EXPERIMENT 

MAGNETS
The magnets that people discovered thousands of
years ago in nature were made of the mineral
magnetite. This mineral, which forms grayish-brown
crystals, is composed of iron and oxygen in a very
specific ratio. Magnetite is created naturally through
volcanic activity.
Today, magnets can be produced artificially from
compounds of the metals iron, nickel, and aluminum.
But there are also some magnets that contain no iron
at all.
A lot of materials and material mixtures have been
tested for their magnetic properties, and mixtures of
relatively rare metals have been discovered that can
make much stronger magnets than those found in
nature. Those magnets don’t just attract iron, but
will also attract the rarer metals nickel and cobalt
almost as strongly.
PERMANENT MAGNETS possess a magnetic force
all on their own, and they retain it permanently. This
experiment kit has numerous permanent magnets in
different shapes, some with plastic coverings. These,
too, are produced artificially, so they are stronger than
natural magnetic rocks.
→ → → → → → ← ← ← ← ← ←
PERMANENT MAGNETS possess a
magnetic force all on their own, and they
retain it permanently. This experiment kit
has numerous permanent magnets in dif-
ferent shapes, some with plastic coverings.
These, too, are produced artificially, so they
are stronger than natural magnetic rocks.
→ → → → → → ← ← ← ← ← ←
POLES
The locations where a
magnet’s magnetic
force is strongest are
called its poles. Every
magnet has two of
them. In other
locations, its magnetic
force is much weaker.
One
pole is called
the south pole, while
the other is known as
the north pole. You will
find the corresponding
letters — Nfor North
pole and Sfor South
pole — written on the
magnets.
