CENCO® AP Physics Lab 2.11: Observing and Measuring Magnetic Fields

Visualize and compare the relative strengths of different magnetic fields.

Introducing the new CENCO AP Physics lab series!
Ideal for AP Physics 1 and 2, AP Physics C, IB DP Physics, and advanced/honors physics courses, each of the 35 experiments is aligned with the revised College Board AP curriculum. These innovative labs go way beyond traditional exercises, turning real to world scenarios into true guided to inquiry investigations. Students are given a goal, but the investigation is driven by their ideas. As they draw conclusions, students report their results using the Claim to Evidence to Reasoning model. The teacher guides and student manuals are authored and reviewed by AP Physics teachers with decades of combined experience, so you can trust the setups to be successful in your classroom. All labs come complete with instructions and materials for one lab group of 2 to 4 students. For your convenience, labs are packaged to allow you to purchase only what is required for each experiment.

This engaging three-part activity brings the shapes of magnetic fields to life. In Activity 1, students will determine the direction and strength the magnetic force exerts on every point surrounding a bar magnet; and then, determine how the magnetic field lines interact with one another. In Activity 2, students will plot the magnetic field surrounding a current carrying wire and then observe the relationship between the magnitude of the current in a wire and its magnetic field. In Activity 3, students will observe the change in the strength of the magnetic field as the number of coils in a coil of wire increase.