Discover Magnets

Cool facts about magnets:
  1. Magnets have two poles, North and South
  2. Opposite poles will attract each other, like poles will repel each other
  3. Magnets are able to attract items that contain iron, nickel and/or cobalt
  4. Iron filings can be used to see a magnetic field

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Magnosort

Magnosort Recycling centres use magnets to sort aluminium and steel cans. Can you use the magnosort to make the cans land in the correct bins? HINT: If you look on the cans they will say if they are made from steel or aluminium.

You might need to experiment with:

  • how hard to push the cans
  • which cans are magnetic
  • which direction to put the bins
  • what order to put the bins

The steel cans are attracted to the magnet and so are pulled down at the end of the tube, while the aluminium cans shoot straight out.

When using the activities in the discovery zone remember to:

  1. Predict: What do you think will happen?
  2. Experiment: Test the activity
  3. Conclude: What did happen?
  4. Investigate: How could you change the experiment to get a different outcome?

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