About Electromagnetism - Part 1

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Like all our Science Reasoning Center activities, the completion of the Electromagnetism-Part 1 activity requires that a student use provided information about a phenomenon, experiment, or data presentation to answer questions. This information is accessible by tapping on the small thumbnails found on the bottom right of every question. However, it may be considerably easier to have a printed copy of this information or to display the information in a separate browser window. You can access this information from this page. 





The Standards
The Electromagnetism-Part 1 activity is an NGSS-inspired task that consists of five activities. Each activity involves a different type of skill or understanding. Collectively, these five activities were designed to address the following NGSS performance expectation:

HS-PS2-5:
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that an electric current can produce a magnetic field and that a changing magnetic field can produce an electric current.



As a whole, the questions in this task address a wide collection of disciplinary core idea (DCI), crosscutting concepts (CCC), and science and engineering practices (SEP). There are five activities, each of which is a two- or three-dimensional activity. That is, the task of completing each activity requires that the student utilize at least two of the three dimensions of the NGSS science standards - a DCI, a CCC, and/or an SEP.


The following DCI, SEPs, and CCCs are addressed at some point within Electromagnetism-Part 1:

DCI:  PS2.B: Types of Interactions 

• Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields. 

DCI: PS3.A: Definitions of Energy

• Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents. (secondary)​

SEP 2.3: Developing and Using Models
Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system.

SEP 3.2: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.

SEP 4.5: Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Evaluate the impact of new data on a working explanation and/or model of a proposed process or system.

SEP 5.4: Using Mathematical and Computational Thinking 
Apply techniques of algebra and functions to represent and solve scientific and engineering problems.

CCC 1.2:  Patterns 
Empirical evidence is needed to identify patterns.

CCC 2.1:  Cause and Effect 
Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.

CCC 3.2:  Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth).



Here is our NGSS-based analysis of each individual activity of the Universal Gravitation Science Reasoning task. The core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices that we reference in our analysis are numbered for convenience. You can cross-reference the specific notations that we have used with the listings found on the following pages:
   

Disclaimer: The standards are not our original work. We are simply including them here for convenience (and because we have referenced the by number). The standards are the property of the Next Generation Science Standards.

 

Part 1: Planning and Investigation

This activity includes 20 Questions organized into five Question Groups. Questions target student ability to follow the logic of an experiment, identify basic assumptions inherent to the procedure, and propose reasons for various procedural steps. Students must demonstrate mastery on each Question Group before being rewarded the trophy for this activity.


NGSS Claim Statement: Conduct an investigation to produce data showing that current carrying wires cause magnetic fields.

 

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Physical Science Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions HS-PS2.B Newton’s law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces between distant objects.  Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.	Planning and Carrying Out Investigations SEP 3.2 Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design: decide on types, how much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g., number of trials, cost, risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.	Cause and Effect CCC 2.1 Empirical evidence is required to differentiate between cause and correlation and make claims about specific causes and effects.
Energy: Definitions of Energy HS-PS3.A “Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents. (secondary)

 

Part 2: Collecting and Analyzing Data

This activity includes 20 Questions organized into five Question Groups. Questions target student ability to identify accurate graphical representations of data, to recognize patterns in existing data, and to predict experimental results for additional trials in a given experiment. Students must demonstrate mastery on each Question Group before being rewarded the trophy for this activity.


NGSS Claim Statement: Evaluate the impact of new data to look for patterns in the presence of magnetic fields around current carrying wires.

 

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Physical Science Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions HS-PS2.B Newton’s law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces between distant objects.  Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.	Analyzing and Interpreting Data SEP 4.5 Evaluate the impact of new data on a working explanation and/or model of a proposed process or system.	Patterns CCC 1.2 Empirical evidence is needed to identify patterns.
Energy: Definitions of Energy HS-PS3.A “Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents. (secondary)

 

Part 3: Predicting Fields Around Wires

This activity includes 20 Questions organized into five Question Groups. Questions target student ability to use the right-hand-rule and proportional reasoning to determine the relative magnitude and direction of the magnetic field in the space surrounding a current-carrying wire. Students must demonstrate mastery on each Question Group before being rewarded the trophy for this activity.


NGSS Claim Statement: Revise a model based on evidence to illustrate that changes in distance and orientation affects the magnitude and direction of the magnetic field at various locations around a current carrying wire.
 

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Physical Science Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions HS-PS2.B Newton’s law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces between distant objects.  Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.	Developing and Using Models SEP 2.3 Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system.	Scale, Proportion, and Quantity CCC 3.2 Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth).
Energy: Definitions of Energy HS-PS3.A “Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents. (secondary)

 

Part 4: Calculating Magnetic Field Strength 1

This activity involves the completion of a table with eight missing blanks. To complete the table, students must determine the magnitude and direction of the net magnetic field at four locations in a plane perpendicular to two parallel wires. Students must accurately complete the table before being rewarded the trophy for this activity.


NGSS Claim Statement: Use algebraic thinking to solve for the strength of the magnetic field around a current carrying wire.

 

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Physical Science Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions HS-PS2.B Newton’s law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces between distant objects.  Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.	Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking SEP 5.4 Apply techniques of algebra and functions to represent and solve scientific and engineering problems.	Scale, Proportion, and Quantity CCC 3.2 Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth).
Energy: Definitions of Energy HS-PS3.A “Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents. (secondary)

 

Part 5: Calculating Magnetic Field Strength 2

This activity involves the completion of a table with seven missing blanks. To complete the table, students must determine the magnitude and direction of the net magnetic field at four locations in a plane perpendicular to two parallel wires. Students must accurately complete the table before being rewarded the trophy for this activity.


NGSS Claim Statement: Use algebraic thinking to solve for the strength of the magnetic field around a current carrying wire.

 

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Physical Science Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions HS-PS2.B Newton’s law of universal gravitation and Coulomb’s law provide the mathematical models to describe and predict the effects of gravitational and electrostatic forces between distant objects.  Forces at a distance are explained by fields (gravitational, electric, and magnetic) permeating space that can transfer energy through space. Magnets or electric currents cause magnetic fields; electric charges or changing magnetic fields cause electric fields.	Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking SEP 5.4 Apply techniques of algebra and functions to represent and solve scientific and engineering problems.	Scale, Proportion, and Quantity CCC 3.2 Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth).
Energy: Definitions of Energy HS-PS3.A “Electrical energy” may mean energy stored in a battery or energy transmitted by electric currents. (secondary)