Science - Year 3/4A Autumn 1 Introduction PowerPoint Forces and Magnets Magnetic Fun and Games Session 3 Introduction PowerPoint © Original resource copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users. We refer you to our warning, at the foot of the block overview, about links to other websites.

Thank you for the fantastic research you did into the link between the weight of an object and the amount of force needed to pull it. Your results will help us to get the weight just right as we develop our new range of pull along toys.

We are now working on a new range of magnetic toys and games and hope that you may be able to help us with some design ideas. First you will need to brush up on your scientific knowledge of magnets.

Magnets come in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes

Can you think of anywhere you have seen magnets used in everyday life?

Here are some you might have thought of Magnets to decorate fridges Magnet clips hold messages Magnetic Puzzles Badges can be held in place by magnets Magnets can be used to clean fish tanks without getting your hands wet Magnetic travel games keep the pieces in place when you are on the move Magnetic catches keep cupboard doors closed Jewellery can be made from magnets

You probably thought of lots more uses for magnets. They are fascinating to play with and have some rather mysterious scientific properties that we would like you to investigate. We need you to have a really good knowledge of magnetism so you can help us design some exciting new magnetic toys and games.

Begin by exploring magnets and asking some scientific questions

Magnets can look very different, but are they all equally strong? You may have thought of your own questions to compare magnets But how can we set up an investigation to answer them?

Can you think of a way to test how powerful a magnet is? Discuss your ideas Would your test be fair? Here are a couple of ways you could test it: Count how many paper clips the magnet can hold Measure how far away the magnet can be to pull an object towards it