Can an object change motion without being touched?
Submit: Investigation plan, actual observations and annotated field model.
Related lesson: Electromagnetic Spectrum
This is a teacher-led extension beyond the short lesson. The task supplies a performance opportunity; completion alone does not certify mastery, full NGSS coverage or state alignment.
Teacher review guideBuild the idea
A field model describes how an object can exert a force on another separated object. Seeing a response before contact supports noncontact interaction, but air movement or hidden contact must be considered. Mapping observations at several locations is stronger than one dramatic trial.
Science / engineering practice
Planning and carrying out investigationsCore idea
Fields permit noncontact interactionsCrosscutting concept
Cause and effectEvidence and model inputs
No results are supplied: learners collect their own qualitative records. Teacher-approved large enclosed magnets and a compass can show directional changes without contact. A matched cardboard spacer prevents contact; a nonmagnetic object serves as a comparison.
Keep actual observations, published findings and invented model cases labeled separately. If a source or required equipment is unavailable, pause that part with a teacher; do not invent results.
Materials and preparation
Teacher-approved enclosed magnet, compass, cardboard spacer, nonmagnetic comparison object, paper grid.
Grade-level scope
Use large enclosed classroom magnets only; keep away from medical devices and follow school guidance. No loose powerful magnets or electric shock demonstrations.
Do the work
- Plan compass locations on a marked grid and a fixed magnet orientation. Keep phones and other magnets away.
- Record the compass direction before introducing the magnet.
- Move the enclosed magnet to the marked location without touching the compass; record responses at several distances and positions.
- Repeat with a nonmagnetic object and with the magnet reversed. Keep the setup otherwise consistent.
- Use observations to draw a qualitative field model and explain which alternative causes were controlled.
Learner worksheet
Write on paper or type here and print. Entries stay in this page’s memory and are lost when you leave or reload; they are not saved or submitted.
Check your reasoning
- Why include a nonmagnetic comparison?
- What observation matters most?
- Does a drawing photograph an invisible field?
- What if nearby metal changes results?
Teacher review guide
Review the actual deliverable and discuss the reasoning. For each criterion, use 0 when evidence is absent or fundamentally incorrect, 1 when partly supported with a material error or omission, and 2 when accurate, supported and complete for the stated task. Maximum 8 points is a task score, not a proficiency certification. Give feedback and allow revision.
- Plans and conducts separated-object trials.
- Records positions, orientations and repeated responses.
- Controls plausible contact or interference explanations.
- Uses evidence to justify a qualitative field model.
Answer guidance for the reasoning checks
Why include a nonmagnetic comparison?
It checks whether movement or nearby objects alone explain the response.
What observation matters most?
A repeatable response while objects remain separated.
Does a drawing photograph an invisible field?
No. It models a pattern inferred from observations.
What if nearby metal changes results?
Record it, relocate the setup and repeat with the interfering factor controlled.
Access, support and extension
Offer read-aloud support, labeled diagrams, larger print or an oral/recorded explanation while preserving the scientific reasoning. A partner or teacher can handle physical manipulation while the learner plans, records and interprets. Use a teacher-provided measured dataset only when its provenance and limitations are explicit; it does not replace conducting an investigation when that is the assessed practice. For greater independence, remove prompts and ask learners to compare a second explanation or test another justified revision.
Sources and standard reference
- Official NGSS MS-PS2-5 performance expectation — inspect the practice, core idea, crosscutting concept and assessment boundary.
Instructional text and hypothetical cases are original. Linked source readings supply published evidence where specified. Teachers should judge fit with their course and state requirements.