IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines

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This page from the Institute of Physics provides resources developed specifically to address secondary students' difficulties in understanding how magnetic field is related to patterns they see in common magnetism demonstrations. The authors suggest starting with a compass needle simulation or demo, rather than using iron filings as the basis for drawing field lines. Five distinct lessons (free access) are available to help students build more sophisticated reasoning about how scientists use patterns (like field line drawings) to help them visualize magnetic fields.

This page is part of a robust collection from IOPSpark that presents findings from academic literature about the conceptions (and misconceptions) young people have regarding processes in the physical world. See Related Materials for a link to the full collection.

https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represen...

Subjects Levels Resource Types

Education Foundations
- Alternative Conceptions

- Cognition
= Cognition Development

- Problem Solving
= Representational Use

Electricity & Magnetism
- Magnetic Fields and Forces
= Magnetic Fields

General Physics
- Scientific Reasoning

- High School
- Middle School

- Collection

- Instructional Material

= Activity

- Reference Material

= Nonfiction Reference

Intended Users Formats Ratings

- Educators
- Administrators

- text/html
- application/ms-excel
- application/pdf

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Access Rights:

Free access

License:

This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No derivatives 3.0 license.

Rights Holder:

Institute of Physics and IOP Publishing

Record Cloner:

Metadata instance created February 16, 2022 by Caroline Hall

Record Updated:

February 16, 2022 by Caroline Hall

Last Update
when Cataloged:

January 11, 2021

Other Collections:

The Physics Front

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Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas (K-12)

Types of Interactions (PS2.B)

Forces that act at a distance (electric, magnetic, and gravitational) can be explained by fields that extend through space and can be mapped by their effect on a test object (a charged object, or a ball, respectively). (6-8)

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. (9-12)

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=15992">IOPSpark. IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines. London: IOPSpark, January 11, 2021.</a>

AIP Format

(IOPSpark, London, 2021), WWW Document, (https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represent-magnetic-field-using-field-lines).

AJP/PRST-PER

IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines (IOPSpark, London, 2021), <https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represent-magnetic-field-using-field-lines>.

APA Format

IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines. (2021, January 11). Retrieved May 1, 2025, from IOPSpark: https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represent-magnetic-field-using-field-lines

Chicago Format

IOPSpark. IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines. London: IOPSpark, January 11, 2021. https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represent-magnetic-field-using-field-lines (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines. London: IOPSpark, 2021. 11 Jan. 2021. 1 May 2025 <https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represent-magnetic-field-using-field-lines>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines}, Publisher = {IOPSpark}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {January 11, 2021}, Year = {2021} }

Refer Export Format

%T IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines %D January 11, 2021 %I IOPSpark %C London %U https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represent-magnetic-field-using-field-lines %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D January 11, 2021 %T IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines %I IOPSpark %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 January 11, 2021 %9 text/html %U https://spark.iop.org/many-students-are-unable-accurately-represent-magnetic-field-using-field-lines

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Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.

IOPSpark: Many students are unable to accurately represent a magnetic field using field lines:

Is Part Of IOPSpark: Misconceptions Collection

A link to the full Misconceptions Collection developed by the Institute of Physics
relation by Caroline Hall

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