Experimenting with Electromagnets

This is a great physics experiment that can be done at school or at home. It makes a good science fair project or just a fun activity to do with the kids on the weekend. You probably have most of the materials you need around the house or you can get them with a quick trip to the grocery or hardware store.

The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the relationship between the number of times the wire is wound around the metal bolt and the strength of the electromagnet. This experiment incorporates many of the activities that scientists do every day, including building and testing scientific equipment, collecting and analyzing data and drawing conclusions from your observations.

There is a full demonstration of this experiment on my Step by Step Science YouTube channel. Link to the video: https://youtu.be/Ar-6s_tF3tM

An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. The electromagnets you will use in this experiment are made from a length of wire wrapped around a large metal bolt. A battery will be connected to each end of the wire. A current will then flow through the coil of wire producing a magnetic field inside the coil. The metal bolt concentrates the magnetic field in the coil, making it stronger. The field disappears when the current is turned off.