Read this to the class:
A sewing teacher knocked a whole box of pins onto the classroom floor. She grabbed a magnet and swept it over the floor. Some pins jumped up from far away. Others didn't move until the magnet was almost touching them. She wondered how close she really needed to get, and whether two magnets would reach farther. Your team's job: measure how far a magnet can make a paper clip jump, and find a pattern you can use to predict.
Teams of three, with three jobs that rotate after each number of magnets: Slider (moves the magnet), Spotter (watches the clip at eye level), Recorder (reads the ruler and writes).
In the full lesson PDF
- Bet (5–10 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.