The Choosy Stone
Magnets and what they attract
Setting up the lab…
What this lesson covers
Why it matters
Legend says a shepherd named Magnes found his iron-tipped stick stuck to a black rock. The rock chose iron — it always chooses iron — and we've been playing with magnets ever since.
Predict first
A magnet will pick up…
Magnets are choosy: iron (and its close friends nickel and cobalt) — never wood, paper, plastic or copper.
- an iron nail, but not a plastic button or paper — correct
- everything small
- only other magnets
What you do
Test all six objects with the magnet — sort the magnetic from the non-magnetic.
Check yourself
Which will a magnet attract?
Steel contains iron — the magnet's favourite food.
A magnet's pull is STRONGEST at…
Dip a magnet in iron filings: they crowd at the ends — the poles wear the beards.
Materials NOT attracted by magnets are called…
Magnetic vs non-magnetic — the first sorting test of this chapter.
- a steel spoon — correct
- a wooden spoon
- a rubber band
- its two ends (the poles) — correct
- its middle
- everywhere equally
- non-magnetic — correct
- broken
- insulators