step 1 of 6
You have met pushes and pulls that work without touching. A magnet pulls like that too. Grace is testing things around her house with her magnet.
First up: a wooden spoon, a plastic cup, and a steel spoon. Which one will the magnet pull?
Magnetic Materials
Observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others
What a learner can do afterwards
- Demonstrate that magnets attract some materials (iron, steel, nickel) but not others (wood, plastic, copper)
- Show that two magnets can either attract (pull together) or repel (push apart)
- Test at least six objects and correctly predict which are magnetic
1 · Read
You already know a magnet can push or pull without touching a thing. But a magnet does not pull on everything nearby. It only pulls on a few special materials, like iron, steel, and nickel. Wood, plastic, and copper stay right where they are, no matter how close the magnet gets.
Try it together
Zoe holds two magnets close together. They snap together on their own. That is called attract. Then Zoe flips one magnet around and brings them close again. This time they push apart. That is called repel.
Good to know
To test an object, hold your magnet close and let go. If it does not move on its own, it is not magnetic. Do not guess by looks alone. Copper and aluminum are shiny metals too, but a magnet will not pull them.
One more metal belongs on the magnet's list: cobalt. And the stay-put list is longer than it looks. Glass and rubber never stick, and aluminum does not either, even though it shines like a magnetic metal.
Magnets pull iron, steel, and nickel but not wood, plastic, or copper, and two magnets can either attract or repel.
2 · Watch
3 · Play
Take it off screen
Print a worksheetA4 with an answer key page for grown-ups. No screen, no internet.
Where it sits
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
Then practise
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.