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Sports Physics 6-8 / Week 10 / Game Day
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Week 10 · Forces Without Touching

Game Day

Game Day: Magnet maze
// Magnets, charges and fields
⏱ about 20 min

Game Day: Magnet Maze

Saturday morning, a paper maze is taped to the kitchen table. A single paper clip sits at the start.

"No touching the clip," Raven says. "Move it through the maze with the magnet from under the table."

Rocket crouches below, magnet in hand, and slides it. Above, the clip glides along the paper path.

"The force goes right through the table," he says. "Thick table, though. I have to hold the magnet close."

Nova hovers above the maze, tracking the clip. "What do you notice when the table is thicker?"

"Weaker pull," Rocket says. "Same as the paper stack. Distance matters."

Raven starts the timer. "Then let us see who gets through the maze fastest without losing the clip."

  1. Magnets and charged objects push or pull across a gap, without touching.
  2. Like poles repel and unlike poles attract. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract.
  3. The force across a gap weakens as the distance grows.
  4. A field is a map of the force around an object, found by moving a test object and recording the force.
  5. Gravity is a field too. Its pull depends on mass and distance, and it always attracts.
◇ FAMILY MAGNET MAZE AND TAPE RACE
Draw a simple maze on a sheet of paper and tape it to a thin table or a cardboard box lid.
Each person guides a paper clip through the maze with a fridge magnet held underneath. Time each run.
Try the same maze on a thicker surface, such as a hardcover book. Did the clip get harder to steer?
Tape race: each person pulls a tape strip off the table. See how far away a paper scrap will jump to it.
For a grown-up
Fridge magnets and paper clips only. Keep them away from phones, cards with a magnetic stripe and younger children.
A thin table, a box lid or a clipboard works best for the maze. Collect every clip at the end.
The magnet, charge and field facts this week come from a college physics text at libretexts.org and NASA's Planetary Fact Sheet.
Safety first
Never put magnets or paper clips near your mouth. Keep them away from younger children.
Keep magnets away from phones and any card with a magnetic stripe.
Count the paper clips before and after the game.
THINK IT THROUGH
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
The clip was harder to steer through a thick book than through thin paper. Why?
Which object in the maze game was the test object mapping the magnet's field?
Game Day checkTrue or false?
A magnet can move a paper clip through a thin table.?
The pull gets stronger as the table gets thicker.?
A charged tape strip can attract a paper scrap from a short distance.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEForce fading with distance is the pattern that links magnets, charge and gravity.
Draw your maze from above with the clip's path. Below it, draw the magnet and the gap between them.
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