Nail Experiment

From 10:15 to 10:40, Emily worked on the “Nail Experiment” with the class. She gave the students the materials (water, bowl, Styrofoam float, two nails, paperclip, and a bar magnet). She first had them place the paperclip on the float and hold the nail close to the paperclip horizontally. When the students’ experiment failed to show significant results, she had them use the bar magnet. It took some time, but eventually they realized that they could magnetize the nail by rubbing it along the bar magnet. The students realized that after becoming magnetized, the nail’s tail was repelled by the other nail’s tail, and the nail’s tail was attracted to the other nail’s head. Overall, they determined the idea that the same sides are repelled by each other while different sides are attracted to each other.