Resources: Selection of magnets, selection of magnetic materials and craft materials.
Handout: Questions related to the Mission Assignment and space for students to draw their diagrams.
Revise KS2 learning on magnets and magnetism. The students should recall that a magnet is a material that has the ability to attract certain types of metal, such as iron and steel. They will likely be familiar with the uses of magnets in everyday life, such as in fridge magnets, magnetic door catches and magnetic toys.
Ask the students when they have used magnets. You could extend the discussion further and ask for other examples of when magnets are used and why.
Answer questions and take part in activities during the presentation.
During the first part of the presentation, students can be given two bar magnets to observe the effects of magnetic attraction and repulsion. Once they are confident with the rules, they can complete the mission assignment to design a game. Some examples of games are given in the Mission Assignment film. The students should write rules for their game so other students can play it. Once the students have played their game, they can move around and play someone else's. They should then give a level from copper to bismuth based on the criteria outlined in the handout and explain why this level was awarded.
Career Film: Take a tour around Rolls Royce SMR's Heritage Museum in Derby to find out about Jason Kouvdos' job. Jason works as the Modelling and Simulation EVP for Rolls Royce SMR.
Expert Film: This is Jason Swan. Jason works as the Materials Manager for Rolls Royce SMR. Listen to Jason as he describes the properties of a magnet.
Magnetic Games
The students should build a magnetic board game that utilises magnetism as a part of the game. The game can be anything they like, but they should be able to design, make and play it quickly.
Support Task: The students can brainstorm on the board with the teacher about game design. Then, the class can discuss a few ideas before selecting from one or two. Students can work in groups to design the game and build it if time allows.
Challenge Task: Once the games are finished, the students can critique each other's games, rating them and justifying their decision. Some categories could include enjoyment, challenge or complexity.
With their talk partners, the students can discuss how good their games were and how well they used the rules of magnets. You could also prompt a class discussion on the applications of magnets in industry. For example:
Magnets themselves have two distinct ends, known as the north pole and the south pole. The north pole of one magnet will attract the south pole of another magnet because opposite forces attract. So, these 'unlike' poles attract because they are different from one another. The north pole of one magnet will repel the north pole of a separate magnet because like forces repel. These 'like' poles repel, or in other words, cancel each other out because they are the same. The north pole of a magnet will point to Earth's north pole and the same applies for the south pole. Each magnet has an invisible field of magnetism that is known as a magnetic field. Earth also has an invisible magnetic field that surrounds it and protects it from things like solar radiation from the Sun.
Magnets are capable of creating new magnets through a process known as magnetisation. This is where a magnet is 'stroked' over an unmagnetised piece of magnetic material and transformed into a magnet. A material that is magnetised has its molecular magnets lined up and thus has effective poles. This means that the north pole and the south pole are facing in opposite directions to one another. Another way in which you can make a magnet includes using a direct current. This simply involves running a direct current through an unmagnetised material for a while until it becomes magnetised. A magnetised material has a fully functioning magnetic field.
It is also important to know that you can demagnetise a magnet too. You can do this through heating, hammering and even by using an alternating current (AC) field which changes the position and direction of the magnetic molecules inside of the magnet.
Did you know that if you cut a bar magnet in half, it would create two new magnets, each with their own north and south pole?