Friday, February 16, 2018

Review: Magnetism Investigations by Karen Latchana Kenney

9781512440058
$27.99

You've probably played with magnets or seen them on a refrigerator door. But did you know that magnets are used in everything from laptops to electric guitars? Why and how do these magnets work? Throughout the centuries, scientists have wondered about magnetism. Why are some objects always magnetic while others are magnetic for only a short time? How do compasses work? Do migrating animals use magnetism to navigate? When scientists have questions like these, they complete experiments to find the answers. Learn what they have discovered about magnets and magnetism.

At first glance this seemed pretty basic - the introduction talks about a compass pointing north, but doesn't actually explain how to USE that knowledge to find your way around. It quickly got into more detail, however, explaining early thoughts and discoveries about how magnets work, how everything has its own magnetic field, and the ways animals use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate. There are interesting side bars with tidbits such as farmers feeding cows magnets (I grew up in farm country, and I totally did not know that!)

Everything is presented with clear explanations and real life connections that make this accessible to even non-sciencey people like myself! It is part of a series from Lerner titled "Key Questions in Physical Science", and we will definitely be ordering the rest of the titles:

Electricity Investigations
Energy Investigations
Forces and Motion Investigations
Sound and Light Waves Investigations
State of Matter Investigations

If science fair projects are at all a 'thing' in your neck of the woods, you will want to purchase this set as well!

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