Science // Forces & Motion

Magnetic Materials

Observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others

Ages
7 to 8
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
1 topic
Standards
2 codes

Quick check

Can the learner test a magnet on different objects around the house and predict which ones will stick?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Demonstrate that magnets attract some materials (iron, steel, nickel) but not others (wood, plastic, copper)
  • Show that two magnets can either attract (pull together) or repel (push apart)
  • Test at least six objects and correctly predict which are magnetic

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Contact & Non-Contact ForcesRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 7 to 8

    Must know about non-contact forces before investigating magnetic attraction/repulsion

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Magnetic Materials

Ages 7 to 8 // Concept

Leads to

1 topic
  • Magnetic PolesRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 7 to 9

    Must observe magnets attract/repel before formalising pole rules

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For ages 7–8, learners investigate that only some materials (iron, most steels, nickel, cobalt and many alloys containing them) are attracted to magnets — NOT all metals and NOT all shiny things — through a predict-test-record-conclude cycle with deliberately chosen counter-examples, including shiny non-ferrous metals so shininess and metal-ness are held constant. A second strand gives first-hand experience of both attraction AND repulsion between two magnets, and separates 'attracted to a magnet' from 'being a magnet' via a flip-test. The goal is an empirical, testable property discovered by hands-on investigation, not any model of fields or domains (reserve that for later).

Common misconceptions

  • 'All metals are magnetic / magnets stick to any metal' — THE robust misconception, reinforced by earlier conductor/insulator (metals-are-special) teaching, and frequently held by teachers themselves (IOP Spark; NSTA).
  • 'Anything shiny or silver-coloured is magnetic' — the same error generalised by appearance rather than material.
  • Confusing 'attracted to a magnet' with 'is a magnet'.
  • 'Bigger magnet = stronger magnet' — strength depends on material, not just size (IOP Spark).
  • Merging magnetism with static electricity or with gravity (both act at a distance, so children conflate them).

Useful representations

  • A sorting tray / two-column record: magnetic vs non-magnetic, populated by real testing
  • A mixed object set chosen to break the rule: paperclip & steel scissors (attract) beside copper coin, aluminium ring, brass key, plastic, wood (don't)
  • Two bar magnets brought together to show attract, then one flipped to show repel
  • A simple 'is it a magnet?' flip-test: if it's repelled when the magnet is turned round, it is itself a magnet

Teaching practices

  • Run a predict-test-record-conclude practical: child predicts for each object, then tests with a magnet, records the result, and concludes what the magnetic ones have in common (iron/steel/nickel/cobalt).
  • Deliberately stock the object set with CONFOUND counter-examples — copper coin, aluminium ring, brass key, gold/silver-coloured non-ferrous items — so 'all metals' and 'all shiny things' are visibly disproved in the child's own hand.
  • Teach explicitly, with many examples, that only some metals are magnetic (iron, steel, nickel, cobalt and their alloys); most metals (copper, aluminium, gold, silver) are not — don't rely on discovery alone.
  • Separate two distinct ideas: being ATTRACTED to a magnet (a magnetic material) is not the same as BEING a magnet — test by flipping the magnet; a true magnet will then be repelled.
  • Give first-hand experience of BOTH attraction and repulsion between two magnets, including the invisible 'push' of repulsion, and repeat tests so the response is felt as a stable property of the material.
  • Pre-empt cross-topic confusion: keep magnetism distinct from static electricity (test a charged balloon) and from gravity (it is not 'the Earth being a giant magnet').

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Predict–test–record–conclude with a confound-rich object set

    Why it works: Magnets attract specific materials (iron, steel, nickel, cobalt), not metals-in-general and not shiny/silver-coloured things. The deciding factor is what the material actually is, not whether it is a metal or whether it looks shiny.

    1. Lay out a mixed set of everyday objects chosen to break the rule: a steel paperclip and steel scissors (attract), beside a solid copper item (e.g. a short piece of copper pipe or wire), an aluminium can-ring/tab, a solid brass key, a plastic brick and a wooden block (don't). The adult should check each item with a magnet beforehand: many 'copper' coins (e.g. UK 1p/2p from 1992 onwards, euro 1–5 cent coins) are copper-plated steel and DO stick, and some keys are steel.
    2. Before testing, predict for EACH object whether a magnet will stick to it, and say WHY.
    3. Include three SHINY items together — a shiny steel paperclip, a shiny solid copper item (pre-checked; not a copper-plated steel coin) and a shiny aluminium tab — so that all three are shiny and all are metal, and the difference that matters is the material they are made of.
    4. Bring a magnet to each object in turn and observe whether it is attracted or not.
    5. Record each result in two columns: magnetic vs non-magnetic.
  2. 2

    Feel both attraction and repulsion between two magnets

    Why it works: Attraction and repulsion are two faces of one magnetic force between magnets; a magnet can push as well as pull, and which happens depends on which poles face each other (orientation), not chance.

    1. Bring two bar magnets together one way and feel them snap together (attract).
    2. Flip one magnet end-for-end and bring the SAME two magnets together again — feel them push apart (repel), including the invisible 'push' before they touch.
    3. Repeat the attract-then-flip-to-repel test several times so the response is felt as a stable, repeatable property.
    4. Describe in your own words that two magnets can BOTH attract and repel depending on which ends face each other.
  3. 3

    Flip-test: 'attracted to a magnet' vs 'is a magnet'

    Why it works: Being attracted to a magnet (a magnetic material) is not the same as being a magnet. The distinguishing test is repulsion: a magnetic material is attracted whichever way the magnet faces, while only another magnet can be made to push away when a like pole is turned toward it.

    1. Stick a paperclip to a magnet and notice it is attracted.
    2. Ask: is the paperclip itself now a magnet? Decide how to check.
    3. Turn the magnet around (so the opposite pole faces the paperclip) and bring it to the paperclip again — observe that the paperclip is still attracted, never repelled.
    4. Contrast with a known second magnet, which IS repelled when a like pole is turned toward it.
    5. Conclude that something attracted to a magnet is a magnetic material, but a true magnet is the thing that can also repel when turned around.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Y3.Sci.FM.3Y3.Sci.FM.4

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