A student measures the movement of a paper clip as it is placed near a magnet. The chart shows the data she collected.

Question

,begin bold,Distance of Paper Clip,end bold,

,begin bold,from Magnet,end bold, (millimeters)

,begin bold,Movement of Paper Clip,end bold,
15 None
10 None
5 Toward Magnet
3 Toward Magnet

Question
What inference can be made about magnetism and distance based on the data?

Answer options with 4 options
A.
The bigger the magnet, the greater the magnetic pull on the object.

B.
Magnets attract objects at short distances, but at longer distances objects are repelled.

C.
The larger the distance between the magnet and the object, the less magnetic pull there is on the object.

D.
Magnets are strong when objects are close, but lose their strength when objects are far away.

Answer 1

Based on the data collected, the best inference that can be made about magnetism and distance is:

C. The larger the distance between the magnet and the object, the less magnetic pull there is on the object.

This is supported by the observation that the paper clip only moved toward the magnet when it was within 5 millimeters, indicating that the magnetic pull decreases as the distance increases.