Compasses
What to do!
1. Read the information 2. Play the quiz 3. Create your own compass a) Print experiment sheet b) Write out experiment c) Make a compass |
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Origin
North and South Pole
The north pole of a magnet points roughly toward Earth's north pole and vice-versa, because Earth behaves like a gigantic magnet.
Earth is magnetic because it's packed with molten rocks rich in magnetic materials such as iron. Just like a magnet, Earth's magnetic field stretches out into space, in a region called the magnetosphere, and can affect things around it. When energetic particles zooming in from the Sun (the solar wind) interact with Earth's magnetic field, we get amazing auroras in the sky (the northern lights or Aurora Borealis and the southern lights or Aurora Australis).
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Magnetization
If you run a magnet a few times over an un-magnetized piece of a magnetic material (such as an iron nail), you can convert it into a magnet as well. This is called magnetization.