This week we have been learning about magnets and magnetism. We have learnt that the earth is like a big magnet where everything is pulled to the centre. This is called gravity. We also learnt that things like scissors, paper clips, Countdown tiles, staples and sharpeners stick to a magnet because they are made of metal. We used a big ring magnet that came out of a washing machine to test this.
We also did an experiment called the floating paperclip. We tied a paperclip to a piece of string and taped it to a table. We built a bridge and taped a magnet to the top. We held the paper clip close to the magnet but not touching. We could feel the force of the magnet pulling the paperclip but it could touch it. This made it look like it was floating.
We think magnets are pretty fun and we are looking forward to doing more experiments.
