Question

Ms. Klein divides her science class into 6 groups. She gives each group an iron nail, 2 meters (m) of insulated wire, a D-cell battery, and ten paperclips. She asks the groups to use the materials to build an electromagnet by wrapping the insulated wire around the nail. Then, groups should test their electromagnets to find the maximum number of paperclips their magnet will lift.

The illustration shows an iron nail wrapped with a coil of insulated wire. The ends of the wire are connected to the positive and negative ends of a battery.

The class completes a data table for all the groups as shown below.



Multiple Choice Question
Group 1 finds that an electromagnet with 16 wraps of wire can lift 4 paper clips. What can they do to make the electromagnet lift more paper clips?

A.
Move the battery farther from the electromagnet

B.
Add more wraps of wire around the nail

C.
Replace the nail with a wooden pencil

D.
Spread the wire wraps farther apart

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

B. Add more wraps of wire around the nail

Adding more wraps of wire around the nail will increase the strength of the electromagnet, allowing it to lift more paperclips. More turns of wire increase the magnetic field generated when the current flows through the wire.