The effects of magnetic fields on water

The Science Experiment Procedure

1. Ask an adult with a scissors to cut off the rounded top part of a 2-liter bottle.
2. Place a metal paper clip in the bottom of the bottle.
3. Wrap a strip of masking tape around one end of a six-sided, not round, pencil and then number the sides. Write" 1" on the tape on one side, then turn the pencil and write "2," and so on.
4. Tie a piece of string to the middle of the pencil and secure it with a piece of masking tape.
5. Tie the other end of the string to a magnet.
6. Turn the pencil, wrapping the string around it, and set it over the top of the plastic bottle.
7. Slowly, lower the magnet into the bottle.
8. When the magnet is close enough and captures the paper clip, stop!
9. Notice the number on the side of the pencil.
10. Carefully, lift the magnet straight up without turning the pencil.
11. Remove the paper clip, and lay it back in the bottle in the exact same spot.
12. Fill the bottle half full with water, then slowly lower the magnet into the bottle.
13. Be sure not to turn the pencil, so that the string length is not changed.

The string length, the position of the paper clip, and the distance from the magnet to the paper clip are CONSTANTS. The VARIABLE is the substance between the magnet and the paper clip: air and water.

Does the magnet still attract the paper clip?

If so, does it do so from about the same distance above it as it did when the bottle was filled with air instead of water?

Results and Conclusion of the science experiment

Write down the result of your experiment. Come to a conclusion as to whether or not your hypothesis was correct.

Extra credit science fair experiments

After you have determined the effects of magnetic fields on water, try something more. Now test magnetism using salt water, sugar water, or ice water.