Maglev Car Racing Lesson Plan
Overview: Grades 1- 4 — 300 students
Grades 3 & 4 — 2 60 minute
sessions
Overall Outcome
To experiment, have fun and develop a love of science, technology,
engineering and math.
Grades 1 & 2—30 minutes
1. Car Building (60 min)
 Car Demo
 Magnet Experimentation
 Car Building & Testing
2. Art Class Support (45 min)
 Decorating cars
3. Socrative Quiz: magnetism
(30 min)
4. Car Racing (60 min)
 Weighing
 Timing
 Graphing & Calculating
results
5. Grades 1 & 2 Car Racing
(30 min) Review of learning
points by a 3rd or 4th grade
student with 15 minutes of
timed car racing.
Learning Objectives
 Core objectives in first grade focus on pushing and pulling to see how
things move. Second grade core objectives call for students to see how
things change. Third grade core objectives emphasize the relationship
between force applied to an object and resulting motion of the object;
and call for students to demonstrate that the greater the force applied to
an object (gravity & magnetic field), the greater the change in speed of
the object. They’ll also compare how the motion of an object changes
with a change in incline. Practice in operations with decimals, fractions,
and multiplication and division of two-digit numbers.
Students will:
 apply scientific processes, communicate scientific ideas effectively, and
understand the nature of science.
 generate evidence using the processes of scientific investigation i.e. framing questions, designing investigations, conducting investigations, collecting data, drawing conclusions.
 explain the basic properties of magnets
 demonstrate that the North and North poles or the South and South poles
of magnets repel
 use engineering, design and science skills to build a maglev car
 build cars that will float upon a magnetic field
 Use math computation, decimal measures, and graphing skills to show
the results of car racing
Students will use:
 Troubleshooting and design skills: Engineering Design Process, Boston
Museum of Science
 Teamwork and Leadership skills—following directions, listening,
combining ideas, working together, carrying out role assignments, making
presentations
Resources
 See Exhibits
North Summit Elementary School 240 S. Beacon Dr. Box 497 Coalville, UT. 84017
1
Maglev Car Building
60 minutes for Grades 3 & 4
Materials Needed (for detail,
see Exhibits)
 Maglev Track
 Working & non-working cars
 Boxes for elevating track
 Block insulation, pre-cut, 1
per student with extras
 Labels for name/class
 4 maglev magnets per student plus extras
 Double sided foam tape, cut
in 4” strips
 2 stop watches
 Scale (metric capability)
 Sandpaper
 Bucket for water (if no sinks)
 Duck tape
 Containers for finished cars
 Pens
Magnet demo
Pencil, dowel or skewer
Magnets
Compass
Preparation (for pre-prep detail, see Exhibits)
1. Set up demo tracks on 8’ table with working and non-working cars.
2. Set up blocks, magnets, tape.
3. Have magnet demonstration tower available.
4. Have a compass ready for demonstration.
————
Demonstrate Magnet Tower
North and South Poles—predict blue vs. pink, cool vs. warm color
Car Design Demonstration (10 minutes)
1. Demonstrate working & non-working car samples. Ask questions: Why is
one better than the other? How are the magnets attached? (Explain position) Why does this car flip? (Too thin) Why does the car float? Make
learning points about magnetism. Discuss how magnetic field pushes car
up and from side to side—find magnets that counteract side pushing.
Basic Car Building & Testing (25 minutes)
1. Have students experiment with their block and 4 magnets. Make sure
they put a label with their name and class on the underside. Give time for
students to test their cars on the tracks. Circulate & make connections
between their discoveries and the principles of magnetism.
2. Coach and problem-solve. Emphasize that problem-solving is a big part of
science and engineering.
Debrief (10 minutes)
Ask students what they learned—Reinforce learning points (next page) and
learning objectives.
Lesson made possible by
grants from the Park City
Community Foundation,
The North Summit PTA, All
West Communications,
Crayola, and the
Holcim Cement Company.
Science Buddies: Magnetism – 3 minutes of 6 minute video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6feEE716UEk
Demonstrate compass.
North Summit Elementary School 240 S. Beacon Dr. Box 497 Coalville, UT. 84017
2
Socrative Review Quiz: Magnetism
Materials Needed
Note: Your goal is to reinforce (not test) student’s knowledge of the science
concepts taught. MAKE THIS FUN!
Computer
Projected computer screen
Socrative account
iPads for each student
Paper copies of the Socrative
Quiz in case the computer
doesn’t work
Learning Points
 Some metals are magnetic Iron, nickel and cobalt, but not
all metals are magnetic.
 Every magnet has two poles: a
north pole and south pole.
 Opposite poles attract.
 Same poles repel—push away.
 Every magnet is surrounded by
an invisible magnetic field.
 A magnetic field can be detected using a compass.
 The earth has its own magnetic field and the compass
will point to the North Pole.
Vocabulary
Magnetism
Magnetic field
North Pole
South Pole
Preparation (10 minutes)
1. Set up Youtube video.
2. Have charged iPads available for each student.
3. Set up computer to project the screen.
4. Log into Socrative.com.
5. Select maglev quiz.
6. Choose Teacher Paced.
Prepare Kids for Review Quiz (7 minutes)
1. Have students pick up an iPad as they enter the class.
2. Have them sit in front of the screen.
3. Have them turn on the iPad.
4. Have students sign in to the room.
5. Have students enter their first names.
6. Check to see they are all signed in.
Show YouTube video before quiz
Science Buddies: Magnetism – 3 minutes of 6 minute video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6feEE716UEk
Administer Quiz
Note: If the video won’t play, review the Learning Points first.
1. Walk through each question by clicking on the number of the question.
2. After each question, show students their responses on the screen.
3. Explain correct answers. Emphasize learning points.
4. Have quiz report sent by email.
North Summit Elementary School 240 S. Beacon Dr. Box 497 Coalville, UT. 84017
3
Art Class: Maglev Car Design
40 minutes
Materials
 Cars for each student
 Contrasting & complementary
paints
 Brushes
 Water jars
 Water
 Smocks
 Rags/paper towels
Preparation
1. Prepare paint pots with contrasting & complementary colors.
2. Put out brushes, water jars; have students put on smocks.
Explain Color & Design Choices
 Equate the concept of north and south poles in magnetism with warm and
cool colors, complementary colors, and contrasting.
 Show how geometric designs on both sides of a car illustrate north and
south poles
 Have students to paint two different colors / geometric designs on each
side of their car, as a metaphor for north and south poles.
North Summit Elementary School 240 S. Beacon Dr. Box 497 Coalville, UT. 84017
4
Maglev Car Racing
Materials
 Maglev Track (2 @ 8’) on 8’
tables
 Books or boxes (for 15 & 30
centimeter rises)
 Scale in grams
 Two stop watches or cell
phones (timers 100th of
second)
 Recorder sheets (see Exhibits)
 Clipboard (2)
 Pens/pencils
 Flip chart paper
 Masking tape if flip chart paper is not self-sticking
 Colored dot stickers
Preparation
1. Prepare flip chart paper for Race Results (see Exhibits)
Set up Race—10 minutes
 Use the flip chart to explain how the two trials will be run.
 Explain the data that will be recorded: car weight, time, Distance: 1/4, 1/2,
3/4, Full
 Explain roles, make sure each team member understands his role.
 Starters (2)
 Timers (2) use stop watches/timers
 Recorder uses team results sheets (see exhibits)
Run Race: Trial 1. Incline 15 cm. (15 minutes)
 Run sample trial for the entire class.
 Divide class into two teams.
 Have teams run their own trials.
Note: Fourth grade students are learning how to read decimals. Make sure
time is called out in 100ths of a second and grams are called out in tenths of a
gram.
Run Race: Trial 2. Incline 30 cm. (10 minutes)
 Raise the track to 30 centimeters
 Have teams run their own trials.
Debrief (5 minutes)
Have recorders call out the times for each finishing car-Trial 1 and 2.
Have a student put a dot in the corresponding boxes on the flip chart.
Have the class count up the number of cars that finished in Trial 1 and determine what fraction or percentage of the cars finished the race; then compare
Trial 2 results with Trial 1. Ask the class what invisible forces were at work to
affect the results: magnetism and gravity.
North Summit Elementary School 240 S. Beacon Dr. Box 497 Coalville, UT. 84017
5
Flip Chart: Race Results: Paste colored dot stickers in each field to show distribution
Time
in seconds
.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7+
Trial 1—15 cm
Trial 2—30 cm
Class Results for Teacher: _____________________________
Trial 1
Name
Weight
Time
Trial 2
Distance
Weight
Time
Distance
Exhibit
Materials Ordering & Prep
http://kelvin.com/maglev-magnets/
http://www.pitsco.com/Maglev_II_Track
These two websites offer maglev magnets and maglev track. We bought two 8’ tracks from Pitsco.com. This aluminum
track is very high quality. Assembly is required: Clean the track with alcohol and attach magnetic strips with doublesided foam tape (both provided).
We bought the maglev magnets from kelvin.com — 5 bags, 250/
pkg. The magnets were 1"x 3/4"x3/16" and the magnetic field
was very strong . At least half the students had trouble keeping
their cars floating in the middle of the track because the magnets
would push the car against the track and the car would stop. Students experimented with positioning the magnets differently on
the bottom of their cars and tried to find magnets whose fields
would push their cars away from one side of the track or the other. We needed all 1,250 magnets for 150 students. The magnets
are re-usable. Children went home with their car, not the magnets. The tape needs to be removed from the magnets.
2—38 foot 3/4 inch double sided foam tape from Staples
We bought two 38’ rolls of double-sided foam tape and were
glad we did because the tape gets dirty from the magnets and
the students’ hands. Re-positioning magnets also results in tape
degradation. Students’ used a lot more tape than just one 4”
piece per car.
1/2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. Insulation Board
We bought insulation board at Home Depot, where they cut the entire board into 4”
strips. We used a chop saw to cut the strips into 2.5” widths so we ended up with 300
pink 2.5” x 4” blocks for the cars. This material did not need to be sanded. Students
could use classroom scissors to sculpt them, but they needed to be careful not to cut
away the sides, or the magnets would make their car flip and stick to the track.
Stop Watches and Scales
Both Pitsco.com and kelvin.com offer stop watches. We bought one from each website. The Pitsco.com stop watch was more expensive but was far more reliable and
easier for children to use. We bought a scale from Pitsco which we were happy with.