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Electricity and Magnetism
Investigation 3
Investigation 3
Electricity and Magnetism

Phase 1 – Defined Understanding
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Phase 2 – Dynamic Understanding
Phase 2 – Dynamic Understanding
► Investigation Three Summary – Electricity and Magnetism
In Investigation Three, you studied electricity and magnetism. During this Investigation, you:
- Constructed a circuit with one, then, two, then three batteries and an electromagnet.
- For each circuit, you recorded the current and determined how many paperclips you could pick up using the electromagnet.
- Calculated magnetic field using the following formula: B=μ0 ×n×I
- Measured the length of the coil on the electromagnet, then calculated the ratio of the number of turns of the wire using the following formula:n = N/L
- Investigated the effect of adding more turns to the electromagnet on the magnetic field in a circuit with four batteries to see how many paper clips you could pick up with the electromagnet.
► Investigation Three Summary – Learning Goals
Through these experiments, you concluded that:
- There is a direct relationship between electricity and magnetism. The flow of current through a wire generates a magnetic field perpendicular to the wire. As the amount of current flowing through the wire increases, the magnitude of the magnetic field increases. As current increased from 1.88 A to 2.24 A, the magnitude of the magnetic field increased from 15762 × 10-7 T to 18781 × 10-7 T, allowing the number of paper clips attracted to the magnet to increase from 1 to 4.
- The strength of an electromagnet is affected by the number of turns of wire in the coil over a specific length. The strength of an electromagnet is also affected by the amount of current flowing through the wire. As the number of turns of wire in the coil increases, the strength of the electromagnet increases. Decreasing the number of turns of wire decreases the strength of the electromagnet. Increasing the current also increases the strength of the electromagnet. Decreasing the amount of current decreases the strength of the electromagnet.
Launch Concept Slides/Annotations
Mathematics Concepts in This Investigation
- (in)direct relationships
- qualitative/quantitative properties
- comparing (non)measurable characteristics
- predict/verify results
- circuit (sequential order)
- measuring electrical current using multimeter
- length in cm
- positive/negative charges
- patterns/trends
- calculating magnetic field
- multiplication
- manipulating mathematical formulas
- exponents
- metric conversion
- decimals to the nearest hundredth
- counting whole numbers
- pie
- ratio
- line graph
- (in)dependent variables
- skip counting by 5, 1000, and 2000
- data table
- data analysis