Lab 8.

Magnetic Fields
Simulation Link:
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/cheerpj/faraday/latest/faraday.html?simulation=faraday

Objectives:
 Observe the direction of the magnetic field around a bar magnet by the bringing a
compass close to north and south poles of a bar magnet.
 Note down the x, y component and angle of the bar magnet’s magnetic field by
changing the strength of the bar magnet.
 Observe the strength of the bar magnet by moving into coil and by changing the
coil loops.
 Investigate the strength of an electromagnet using DC current.
 Investigate the strength of an electromagnet by changing the wavelength and
amplitude of AC current.

(a) Investigate the characteristics of a bar magnet:

Open the simulation link and click on

On the upper right side select all the following options,

By changing the strength of the bar magnet observe the value of induced magnetic field
and fill the following table 1.
Strength of Value of induced X-component of Y-component of
Bar Magnet Magnetic field “B” Magnetic field “Bx” Magnetic field
“By”
1 10%

2 30%
 3 50%

4 70%

5 80%

6 90%

Question 1: By Flipping the polarity the what changes in x and y components of the
induced magnetic field are observed?

Question 2: Move compass to various locations around the bar magnet. Explain which
orientation of the compass keeps the needles perfectly align with respect to the bar
magnet and why?

Question 3: By drawing the regression line using the data in table.1, is there any
change in slope between x and y components of the induced magnetic field and what
you infer from the results?
(b) Investigate the characteristics of the pickup coil:

Open the simulation link and click on

On the upper right side select all the following options

 Set the number of loops to “1”, “2” and “3” respectively and note and explain what
happens to the light bulb when

i. The magnet is not moving and is not in the loop

ii. The magnet is moving and is not in the loop –

iii. The magnet is not moving and is in the loop –

iv. The magnet is moving and is in the loop –

Question 1. Does the speed of the magnet affect your results to #3? If so, describe
how.

Question 2. Increase the number of loops to “3” and see if it affects your results from
#3. If so, describe how.
Question 3. Increase the loop area to “100” and see if it affects your results from #3. If
so, describe how.

(c) Investigate the characteristics of the Electromagnetic:

Open the simulation link and click on

By changing the values of voltage note down the values of induced magnetic field using
the DC current and fill the following table 2.
1 Loop 2 Loops 3 Loops 4 Loops
Voltage
(Gauss) (Gauss) (Gauss) (Gauss)
(Volt)
B Bx By B Bx By B Bx By B Bx By

5
 7

Question 1: By drawing the regression line using the data in table.2, is there any
change in slope of the regression line between x and y components of the induced
magnetic field by increasing the loops of the coil and what you infer from the results?

Question 2. Change your current source from DC to AC and describe what the compass does.

Question 3: Change the wavelength (x-axis) and amplitude (y-axis) of AC current and
observe the changes in the induced magnetic field.
Question 4. Observe the electrons in the AC current source and compare their
movement to those in the DC current source. Explain the difference between DC and
AC in terms of electron movement.