Magnetic Problems

1. A recycling centre has a problem. Somehow the iron cans have

been mixed up with the aluminium cans, and they look identical!
All signs point to a couple of mischievous Year 8s being
responsible. Luckily there are some more helpful Year 8 pupils
(i.e. you) who have offered to separate them. How can you
separate the cans?

2. Olivia, sister (and consistent source of annoyance) of

Robert, has stolen the steel bearings out of his bike
wheels and hidden them inside bamboo shoots in the
garden. Robert cant pull up the bamboo shoots or his
mother will ground him for the rest of the year. How
can Robert get his steel bearings back?

3. After arriving late for work, Joshuas dad drops his keys down a
drain. One key is brass, one key is steel, and one key is zinc.
Knowing Joshua has just studied magnetism at school he phones
him for his advice. What advice should Joshua give his dad?

4. Special Agent Scott Nash has been captured by his arch-nemesis The
Electrode. The Electrode has a diabolical scheme, including a rather
energy-inefficient Weapon of Doom. Previous failed
schemes have forced The Electrode into a smaller
house, and he has no option but to keep Agent Nash in
the next room, with the high-current wire trailing
through. Nash is cuffed to a radiator stuck to the
wall, but there is some loose iron piping scattered
around the floor. He can see the keys to his handcuffs hanging on the wall.
How can Agent Nash stop The Electrode?
 Magnetic Problems

5. Roy and his son and daughter, Harry and Rose, are
building an Ultimate Fighting Robot for a competition
and they need a switch to turn on a 24 V electric
motor. They have the following equipment: 1.5 V cells
x2, wire, iron core, two-way switch, 24 V battery,
cables, reed switch, and a motor.

6. Seb is competing in a Sci-athlon. He has battled through the assault

course when he comes across the final hurdle. He is confronted with an
enormous hole in the floor. There is a steel bar overhead, reaching across
the length of the hole, all the way to the finish line. He considers
swinging along the bar, but it is too slippery to hold onto. The only
materials he has are: a power supply, several metres of insulated wire,
and an iron replica of Wolverines claws (from the X-Men). How can he get
across?

7. Design your own problems for your classmates to solve. A prize will be
awarded for the most imaginative or devious problem.