Activity 26

Teacher Notes: Electromagnetic InductionMagnet and Coil

PS-2826

Teacher Notes Activity 26: Electromagnetic InductionMagnet and

Coil
Time Estimates

Preparation: 20 min

Activity: 30 min

Objectives
Students will be able to

use a Voltage Probe to measure the voltage across a coil of wire when a bar magnet falls through the
center of the coil.

use the Xplorer GLX to record and display the voltage versus time.

examine the graphs of voltage versus using the Xplorer GLX to determine the maximum voltage
induced in the coil for both the north-pole and south-pole of the bar magnet.

compare the maximum voltages induced in a two coils with different numbers of turns of wire.

Notes

Remind students to be especially careful when they drop the bar magnet. The alnico bar
magnet is brittle and fragile.

Any conducting wire wound into a coil and any bar magnet will produce similar results.

After your students have completed one run, ask them to predict what would happen if they
reversed the red and black ends of the Voltage Probe. After they make their prediction,
have them collect data again. The voltage will be induced to the same magnitude, but the
shape of the voltage versus time curve will be inverted across the X-axis.

Background
When a magnet is passed through a coil there is a changing magnetic
flux through the coil that induces an Electromotive Force (EMF) in the
coil. According to Faradays Law of Induction:

where is the induced EMF, N is the number of turns of wire in the

coil, and is the rate of change of the flux through the coil.
If a plot of the EMF versus time is made and the area under the curve is
found by integration, the area represents the flux since:

The area under the curve for the first peak of the voltage-time plot equals the area under the
second peak. Although the second peak is taller, it is not as wide because the second pole is
falling through the coil at a faster speed and does not spend as much time in the coil as the first,
slower moving pole does.

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX

2006 PASCO

p. 99

Activity 26

Teacher Notes: Electromagnetic InductionMagnet and Coil

PS-2826

Sample Data
The screenshots show the voltage versus time graphs for several runs.

North pole first, 400 turn coil

South pole first, 400 turn coil

North pole first, 800 turn coil

South pole first, 800 turn coil

North-south poles together

North-north poles together

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX

2006 PASCO

p. 100

Activity 26

Teacher Notes: Electromagnetic InductionMagnet and Coil

PS-2826

Lab Report - Activity 26: Electromagnetic InductionMagnet and Coil

Answers and Sample Data
Prediction
How would the voltage produced in a coil with more turns of wire compare to the voltage
produced in a coil with fewer turns of wire?
The voltage produced in a coil with more turns of wire will be greater than the voltage produced
in a coil with fewer turns of wire.

Data
Sketch a graph of voltage versus time for one run. Include units and labels for your axes. (See
Sample Data.)

Data Table
Run

Pole

Turns

Voltage, peak 1

Voltage, peak 2

North

400

-0.32 V

0.82 V

South

400

0.46 V

-0.67 V

North

800

-0.70 V

1.71 V

South

800

0.94 V

-1.53 V

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX

2006 PASCO

p. 101

Activity 26

Teacher Notes: Electromagnetic InductionMagnet and Coil

PS-2826

2006 PASCO

p. 102

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX

Activity 26

Teacher Notes: Electromagnetic InductionMagnet and Coil

PS-2826

Questions
1.

For each run, why are there two peaks of voltage? Why do the two peaks point in opposite
directions (that is, why is one positive when the other is negative)?

There are two peaks of voltage because there are two poles in the bar magnet, and each one can
induce voltage in the coil of wire. The two peaks are in opposite directions because the two
magnetic poles are opposite (have opposite polarity).
2.

For each run, how does the magnitude (amount) of the voltage of the second peak compare
to the magnitude of the voltage of the first peak? Explain why you think this happens.

The magnitude of voltage for the second peak is always greater than the magnitude of voltage
for the first peak. This happens because the second pole to fall through the coil is traveling faster
than the first pole.
3.

How does the shape of the voltage versus time graph when the north pole of the magnet is
dropped first compare to the overall shape of the graph when the south pole is dropped
first?

Overall, the shape of voltage versus time when the north pole of the magnet is dropped first is a
mirror image across the X-axis of the shape of voltage versus time when the south pole is
dropped first. The fact that the shapes are not perfect mirror images is due to a difference in
magnetic field strength of one pole compared to the other.
4.

How does the maximum voltage for the coil with more turns compare to the maximum
voltage for the coil with fewer turns?

The maximum voltage for the coil with twice the number of turns is approximately double the
maximum voltage for the coil with fewer turns.
5.

Do your results support your prediction?

Answers will vary.

Introductory Physics with the Xplorer GLX

2006 PASCO

p. 103