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LessonScienceBeginner

Wake the Needle — What is a magnet, and how does a compass work?

A compass works because its needle is a magnet, and a magnet is millions of tiny magnets inside the steel all facing the same way: line them up and the steel points north, scramble them and it points nowhere. The night before you were meant to walk your grandmother's trail with her compass, you rubbed a magnet down it to make it stronger - and turned it into a liar. Find out what is actually inside a needle, wake it back up with your own hand, and then build a working compass out of a sewing needle, a leaf and a bowl of water.

15 min26 questionsGrades 4, 5, 6

VCreated byViafocus

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