Where Is the Magnetism?

Magnets don't grow in fields, but magnetic fields are important to understand. The lesson covers the effect electricity has on magnetic fields. Scholars use a compass, magnets, and electrical wire to test magnetic fields and energy...

How do magnetic fields differ? Allow scholars to see the difference between 2-D and 3-D magnetic fields. They construct models of both and observe how they are similar and different. It is the fifth installment of an 18-part unit.

Middle and high schoolers use the Pythagorean Theorem to complete a table showing with the magnetic field strengths in given cities. They find the average value of the Earth's magnetic field and plot one of the three-dimensional values...

Students brainstorm on what they believe causes the Earth's magnetic field. After watching a video, they discuss how the magnetic field is shifting and losing strength. To end the lesson, they work together to test the magnetic field...

Do you believe in Santa Clause? Or a more practical question might be to ask if you believe in the location of the North Pole. Because of the convection currents in Earth's out core, the magnetic north pole drifts about 55 km per year....

This mini-episode is really more about magnetic fields than the phenomenon of magnetism. Computer graphics help Bill explain how charged particles from solar wind create the awesome Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis. Mr. Nye also...

How does the sun give us light and heat? Discover what's really going on inside the centerpiece of our solar system in a brief video. The content includes common misconceptions about the sun's source of energy, how the simple elements...

Our atmosphere is pretty amazing! How does it minimize the effects of solar weather? Scholars discover Earth's first line of defense against the sun—the magnetosphere. The activity, one of several in a sun unit from NOVA, explains how...

Teams work as material engineers to create ferrofluids, whose shape is influenced by magnetic fields. The activity, which is the fourth in the six-part series, has the teams create magnetic ink and use it to write, testing it with a...

Students make a compass.  In this magnetism lesson, students use the Internet to research magnetic fields and perform an experiment to find the magnetic fields around different magnets.  Students use the Internet to research compasses,...