1. By: Corbin Maroney Date Finished: 11/30/14
The Magnetic Test!
By: Corbin Maroney
Date Finished: 11/30/14

2. Scientific Question
Does battery voltage make a difference in the strength of a magnetic field?

3. Background
I chose this topic because I really like messing with magnets. So, I chose to do my science fair project on electro magnets! I also chose to do this experiment because my step dad and I love to do things with magnets. So, we did it together.

4. Hypothesis
I think that if I use a 9 volt battery then the magnet will pick up at least 30 paper clips.

5. Variables
-The independent variable is the voltage of the batteries.
-The dependent variable is the number of paper clips the electro magnet will pick up.
-The constant variable is the length of wire, the nail and the type of toggle switch.

6. Procedure
Cut a long length of wire and attach one end to the positive output of the toggle switch.
Twist the wire at least 50 times around the nail to create a solenoid.
Once the wire has covered the nail, tape the wire to the negative terminal of the 12V battery
Cut a short piece of wire to connect the positive terminal of the battery to the negative terminal of the toggle switch.
Repeat the process for the other batteries.

7. Data

8. Conclusion
Does battery voltage make a difference in the strength of a magnetic field?

9. Conclusion
What I did:
I cut a long length of wire and attach one end to the positive output of the toggle switch
I twisted the wire at least 50 times around the nail to create a solenoid
Once the wire had covered the nail, I taped the wire to the negative terminal of the RV battery
Then I cut a short piece of wire to connect the positive terminal of the battery to the negative terminal of the toggle switch
I repeated the steps for the other sized batteries

10. Conclusion
Comparison: My hypothesis was wrong. it was wrong because I said I think the 6 volt battery will at least pick up 10 paperclips, and I said the 12 volt battery will only pick up 30 paperclips.

11. Conclusion
I’ve learned that battery voltage can affect a magnetic field.

12. Conclusion
One of the problems I had was trying to not burn the switch out. Another problem was that I should have used more safety because the magnet got really hot and burnt me. An improvement I could make is that I should have used more safety.