Description
Students will love these labs on static electricity and magnetism! Both magnetic fields and static electric fields will be examined. We cannot see these fields, but we can see the forces they exert on each other even when objects are not touching. This is a huge resource addressing several standards. There are 98 pages in this unit on static electricity for Middle School.
Students will learn about energy fields by studying these two topics (static electricity and magnetism) and will be able to demonstrate a field through a hands-on activity.
Students will also use engineering skills to create an electromagnet and then they will test it using Fair Test practices to see if they can influence the strength or their electromagnet.
There is a slide show on static electricity that will give background information on the atomic structure and the interaction of electrons in simple terms that middle school science students can understand.
This resource includes six labs in the 5 E format. It also includes follow up pages for each lab.
A three-page article on magnetism is included with comprehension questions. Students will practice reading informational text skills aligned with CCSS. Word Wall Words are included.
Students will also make a model of electrons moving to create charge imbalance and of static discharge. This aligns with MS PS1-1 and will help students make a model that shows the electrons and protons of several molecules.
This resource is aligned with NGSS Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
NGSS MS-PS2-5. Conduct an investigation and evaluate the experimental design to provide evidence that fields exist between objects exerting forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact.
MS-PS2-3. Ask questions about data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces. [Clarification Statement: Examples of devices that use electric and magnetic forces could include electromagnets, electric motors, or generators.
MS PS1-1
Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures (partially addressed in this resource).
Also aligned with Utah SEEd 7th grade
Standard 7.1.3
Construct a model using observational evidence to describe the nature of fields that exist between objects that exert forces on each other even though the objects are not in contact. Emphasize the cause and effect relationship between properties of objects (such as magnets or electrically-charged objects) and the forces they exert.
Standard 7.1.4
Collect and analyze data to determine the factors that affect the strength of electric and magnetic forces. Examples could include electromagnets, electric motors, or generators. Examples of data could include the effect of the number of turns of wire on the strength of an electromagnet, or of increasing the number or strength of magnets on the speed of an electric motor.
Science Concepts Include:
Charge imbalance
Static discharge
Magnetic poles
Attract and repel
Basic atomic structure
Equilibrium
Magnetic field
Static electric field
Making a model
Providing Evidence
Asking Questions
Fair Tests
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
