A student wraps a copper wire around an iron nail. Then she connects the ends of the wire to a battery, making an electromagnet. She notices that if she wraps more coils of wire around the bolt, then her electromagnet can pick up more paper clips. What conclusion can she draw?

Answer 1

The student can conclude that increasing the number of coils of wire around the iron nail enhances the strength of the electromagnet. This is because each additional coil of wire contributes to the overall magnetic field generated by the electricity flowing through the wire. As the number of coils increases, the magnetic field becomes stronger, allowing the electromagnet to attract and pick up more paper clips. This demonstrates the principle that the strength of an electromagnet is influenced by the number of turns of wire in the coil, as well as other factors like the current flowing through the wire and the core material (in this case, the iron nail).