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Science · Grade 3

Magnets and Noncontact Interactions

Magnets can push and pull without touching. Learners test which materials a magnet attracts (only some metals!), discover that like poles repel and opposite poles attract, and gather data showing the magnetic pull gets weaker with distance. They meet static electricity as another force that acts without touching, then define and compare designs for a problem that magnets can solve.

  • 3 lessons
  • About 90 minutes
  • Magnets and noncontact forces check: 9 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, match pairs, type a number, put in order, sort into groups and true or false
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What learners will discover

  • Describe how magnets interact: they attract some metals such as iron and steel, opposite poles attract and like poles repel, without touching.
  • Ask cause-and-effect questions and use data to show how distance changes a magnetic or static electric force between objects that are not touching.
  • Define a simple design problem that magnets can solve, including what the solution must do and its limits, and compare designs.

Lessons

  1. Magnets attract and repel 5 steps3 practiceabout 28 min
  2. Distance and other noncontact forces 6 steps3 practiceabout 30 min
  3. Solve a problem with magnets 6 steps2 practiceabout 32 min
  4. Magnets and noncontact forces check 9 questions at the end

Keep exploring

Games to practice with

  • Marble MountainLay straights, curves, drops and splitters to roll marbles down the mountain.
  • Bridge LabBuild a bridge from beams, brace it with triangles, and stay on budget.
  • Circuit Workshop 3DWire up batteries, bulbs and switches on a 3D workbench.

More 3rd grade science

Guide for grown-ups