Magnets & Motors
Lesson 15
How Does A Motor Work
Students learn how a motor works.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Motion of Objects: Describe the positions, relative speeds, and changes in speed of objects (PR01 1.1.2).
Energy Sources and Kinds: Understand that energy is a property of substances and comes in many forms, including stored energy, energy of motion, heat energy, and other forms of energy (PR01 1.1.4).
Energy Transfer and Transformation: Determine factors that affect rate and amount of energy transfer; associate a decrease in one form of energy and an increase in another (ST01 1.2.2).
Explaining: Use evidence from scientific investigations to think critically and logically to develop descriptions, explanations, and predictions (INO3 2.1.3).
A simple motor can be created from an electromagnet and rotating armature.
An electric current moving through a wire produces magnetism; a coil of copper wire conducting an electric current becomes an electromagnet.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
You will need the electric motor (taken apart) from the last lesson. Materials can be handed out in numbered baggies. If this is the first time this unit has been used, then you will need to have made the double-strand hook-up wire by taping together two pieces of #20 wire.
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Student Management:
Again, depending on the amount of materials available, you may want to have students work together in groups of two or four for the lesson. Again, neatness in construction is very important.
The placement of the magnets is also important. You may want to experiment yourself to see outcomes of different placements.
Writing Support:
Have students draw a picture of their set-up in their science notebooks.
Reading Support:
See the Student Activity Book for Lesson 15.