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Blessed Sacrament Catholic School
Blessed Sacrament Catholic School
Defying Gravity
Note: Ask for adult supervision.
Problem: What is the relationship between different forces?
Materials:
String
Paperclips
Scissors
Tape
Strong magnets
Metal ruler (or wooden ruler with tape)
Blocks, books, or other material for stacking
Wooden stick.
Procedure:
1. Start by tying some paperclip to a piece of string. Then tie the string onto a stick.
2. Lift the stick so the paper clips hang from the string. Tilt the stick to have a diagonal line.
3. Place magnet along a metal ruler. (If you are using a wooden ruler, you can tape the magnets to the top.)
4. Suspend the ruler from two stacks of blocks, books, or other materials. Be sure the magnets are facing
down.
5. Take the paper clip and string off your stick.
6. Take one paperclip and hold it until it is just suspended below the first magnet. Tape the string in place
onto the table.
7. After taping the string in place below the magnet, remove the ruler and observe what happens.
8. Put the ruler with magnets back above the paper clips. Slowly lift each paperclip toward each magnet
until they are all suspended.
Illustration: (Kindly attach the picture or draw the set-up of your experiment.)
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Guide Question:
2. What happens if you tilt the stick? Still the paperclips tilt downwards
5. Can you think of other activities where more than one force is exerted at the same time? Spinning marble inside
the glass can deffy gravity.
CONCLUSION:
I, therefore, conclude that paperclips does not fall into the ground because of the magnetic force just like
gravity is the reason why we don’t float on the space.
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