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Overview
Using two magnets and stand, a pencil balances on its lead!
Materials Required
• A pencil with a small magnet glued to the eraser
• A wooden stand made of a block of wood and a stick. The stick should be a little longer that your pencil.
• A plastic top for the stand
• A small round magnet mounted on the plastic top
• A glue gun or glue
Directions: Download at HOME EXPLORATIONS- MAGIC PENCIL (PRINT) PDF.PDF
1) Build a stand like the picture. Glue a stick to the base. Then glue a piece of plastic to the top of the stick. When complete, a pencil should fit under the stand.
2) Glue a round magnet to the plastic top.
3) Glue a small magnet to the eraser of a pencil or pen.
4) Place the pencil under the magnet of the stand. If it is too tall, find a different pencil or sharpen it to make it smaller. If it is too short, add a spacer made of squares of paper or some other material.
5) As you use the pencil and sharpen it you will need to raise it up if it falls over!
Video of Experiment
Extensions
The round magnets used in this experiment are called ceramics. These are made by baking iron oxide and strontium carbonate in a strong magnetic field. These magnets keep their magnetic field better than iron ones.
If you have other questions about this exploration, contact mjaeger@eou.edu
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