3rd grade · Science · Unit 10 of 10
Magnet Inventions
Use magnets to solve problems, then test your design.
What your child practices
Practices using what magnets do to solve simple design problems, such as a latch or a sorter, by setting criteria and constraints and running fair tests that change one thing at a time.
Oregon State Standards learning standard: 3.PS2.4; 3.ETS1.1; 3.ETS1.3 · solving design problems with magnets, setting criteria and constraints, and running fair tests
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
A magnet's pull gets weaker when it is…
- farther away
- painted
- colder
- closer
farther away
Hint: Distance matters.
Question 2
In engineering, constraints are…
- a kind of force
- the winner
- limits like time, cost or materials
- what the design must do
limits like time, cost or materials
Hint: What holds you back.
Question 3
Which could pick up spilled paper clips fast?
- A paper towel
- A feather
- A cup of water
- A magnet on a stick
A magnet on a stick
Hint: Clips are steel.
Question 4
In engineering, criteria are…
- a type of magnet
- the limits on a design
- the test results
- what a design must do
what a design must do
Hint: Goals for success.
Question 5
Why do engineers test a design many times?
- To skip planning
- To find where it fails
- To make it pretty
- To waste magnets
To find where it fails
Hint: Look for failure points.
Question 6
Two latch designs both hold the door. One costs less. If cost is a constraint, choose…
- neither
- the one that costs more
- the one that costs less
- a third one at random
the one that costs less
Hint: Meet the criteria within the limits.