CHAPTER 7

Magnetism and Its Uses

What You’ll Learn
1 Magnetism
• how a magnet applies force
• how temporary and
Before You Read
permanent magnets act Think about a magnet that you have used. Tell what it looked like
• magnetic materials and and the kinds of materials it attracted.
magnetic domains

Focus Read to Learn

After reading this section, use an
index card to write down the Magnets
two most important things you Magnets were discovered over 2,000 years ago. Greeks
learned. Put one idea on one discovered a mineral that could attract pieces of iron. This
side and the second idea on the
back. Form a group of four mineral is now called magnetite. About 1,000 years ago, Chinese
students to discuss your topics. sailors used magnetite to make compasses. Compasses are tools
that can help you determine which direction you are traveling.
Since then many items have been invented that use magnets.
Magnetism refers to the properties of magnets and how magnets
interact when they are near each other.

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What is a magnetic force?
Magnets apply a force on each other. These forces make
magnets do one of two things. The magnets can attract, which
means they pull together. Or the magnets can repel, which means
they push each other away. How they react depends on which
ends of the magnets are close together. Two magnets interact with
each other even before they touch. As the magnets move closer
together, the force between them increases. As the magnets move
farther apart, the force decreases.

Think it Over Magnetic Fields

1. Infer What causes the ways The way magnetic forces interact with each other is caused
magnetic forces interact with by magnetic fields. The magnetic field exerts a force on other
each other?
magnets and objects that are made of magnetic material.
The magnetic force is strongest close to the magnet.

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

110
 Lines can represent a magnetic field. The figures below show
what magnetic fields might look like. The arrows show that
magnetic fields have direction.
What are magnetic poles?
Magnetic poles are the places on
a magnet that exert, or put forth, the
strongest magnetic force. All magnets Take a Look
have a north and a south pole. As shown, 2. Highlighting Using a
the north and south poles are at the N S highlighter, trace the lines
of the magnetic fields for all
opposite ends of a bar magnet. The lines three types of magnets
that represent the magnetic field are shown on this page. At which
closest together at the poles. magnetic pole did you always
The next figures show the magnetic start?
poles of two magnets with different
N
shapes. A horseshoe-shaped magnet has
its north and south poles at its two ends.
S
The magnetic field lines start at the north
pole and end at the south pole. Look at
the disk magnet and the bar magnet.
Like all magnets, the magnetic field lines N

of the disk magnet and the bar magnet S

go from north pole to south pole.
How do magnetic poles interact?
Remember, two magnets can either attract or repel each other.
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This depends on which poles of the magnets are placed close

together. Two north poles will repel each other. The same is true
for two south poles. However, a north pole and a south pole
always attract each other. Like magnetic poles repel each other
and unlike poles attract each other.
How do magnets affect compasses?
A compass needle is a small bar magnet. The force exerted
by another bar magnet will make the compass needle turn.
The needle turns until it lines up with magnetic field lines.
The south pole in a compass needle is attracted to the north pole of
a magnet.
How does Earth act like a magnet?
Earth is like a giant bar magnet. It is surrounded by a magnetic
field and has a north and a south magnetic pole. Earth also has
a north and a south geographic pole. The geographic poles are
at opposite ends of Earth—one in the north and one in the south.
These are different from the magnetic poles. The south magnetic
pole is near the geographic north pole.
Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses
111
 Why does a compass point north?
A compass needle lines up with Earth’s magnetic field lines.
The needle always points toward Earth’s geographic north pole.
Remember that magnetic poles are attracted only to their
opposite. So, even though
North geographic pole
the compass is pointing at
the geographic north pole
of Earth, the north pole of
S
the compass is pointing at
Take a Look the south magnetic pole of
3. Determine Write an N on Earth.
the figure to show where The figure shows the
Earth’s north magnetic pole
is. Write an S on the figure
magnetic field lines around
to show where Earth’s south Earth. No one is sure what N
magnetic pole is. causes Earth’s magnetic
field. Earth’s inner core is
South geographic pole
made of iron and nickel.
One theory suggests that this may produce Earth’s magnetic field.

Magnetic Materials
A magnet will not attract all metal objects. For example,
a magnet will not attract aluminum foil. Only a few metals,
such as iron, cobalt, and nickel are attracted by magnets. These
metals can be made into permanent magnets. Permanent magnets
keep their magnetism even after they have been removed from

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a magnetic field. Think back to what you have learned about
electrons. Recall that electrons have magnetic properties. In most
elements, the magnetic properties of the electrons cancel out.
But in iron, cobalt, and nickel, they don’t cancel out. Each atom in
GET IT? these metals acts like a small magnet with its own magnetic field.
4. Explain Why do the atoms Even though the atoms in iron, cobalt, or nickel have magnetic
of magnetic materials behave fields, objects made from them do not always act like magnets.
like small magnets?
For example, a nail is made from iron. If you hold an iron nail
close to a refrigerator door and then let it go, it will fall to the
floor. However, you can make the nail act like a magnet
temporarily and it will stick to the door.
What are magnetic domains?
In magnetic materials, the magnetic field made by each atom
exerts a force on other nearby atoms. This causes the atoms
to rotate and form a magnetic domain. A magnetic domain
is a large group of atoms with their magnetic poles lined up in the
same direction. Because the atoms are lined up, a domain acts like
a magnet. A domain has a north pole and a south pole.
Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses
112
 How do domains line up?
An iron nail has a large number of magnetic domains that act
like magnets. So why doesn’t a nail act like a magnet? The poles of
the domains point in different directions. Since the domains do
not line up, the magnetic fields cancel each other out. Therefore,
the nail does not act like a magnet. The figure below shows the Think it Over
magnetic domains of a nail. 5. Explain Why doesn’t a nail
One way to make the domains line up is to touch a bar magnet act like a magnet?
to the nail. The domains will rotate and point in the same
direction because of the magnetic field of the magnet. Now the
nail acts like a magnet. The second figure shows domains that
have lined up.

S N S S S S
S N
N S S
NN S
N S
S N SN
S
S
Take a Look
S N N
N N N S N S S N N N
S S N S N S S S
S S S
S S S N S
6. Observe Look at the second
N N N
S
S
N
S N S N N
N N N SN N N S figure. How are the north and
S S N N S N
S S S N S N S
N
N N N N N S
N S S S S N N
south poles lined up?
S N
S
S S N N N S
S N N N N N S S
N S S S N S N
S S
S N N N S
N S S N N N
N N S S
N S NS S S N
N S S
S S N
S N N N
N N N

If the bar magnet is taken away, the atoms in the nail move
around and bump each other. This causes the domains to move
out of line. This is why a nail is not always a magnet.
How can you make a permanent magnet?
Permanent magnets can be made by placing a magnetic
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material, such as iron, in a strong magnetic field. The strong

magnetic field causes the magnetic domains to line up and
combine to make a strong magnetic field inside the material.
This field keeps the atoms from bumping the domains out of line.
The material becomes a permanent magnet.
Heating a permanent magnet causes it to lose its magnetism.
Heat causes the atoms in the magnet to move faster. This moves
the domains out of line. The magnet then loses its magnetic field.
Can a pole be isolated? Take a Look
Suppose a magnet is broken into two NSN
S 7. Infer If the two pieces of
S N
pieces as shown in the figure. Is one N
S N S N S magnet were put back
piece a north pole and the other piece N S N N
S together, what would happen
S N S S N
a south pole? Remember, each atom in S N N S to the north and south poles
SN S
S N at the broken edge?
a magnetic material acts like a tiny N S
S
mag net. So, every magnet is made up N S

of many smaller magnets that are lined S N

S
up. Both pieces of a broken magnet N
have their own north and south poles.
Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses
113
After You Read
Mini Glossary
magnetic domains: groups of atoms with magnetic poles that line magnetic poles: the north and south pole where the forces of the
up in the same direction magnet are strongest
magnetic field: the lines of force around a magnet magnetism: the properties of magnets and how magnets interact
with each other

Review
1. Review the definitions of the vocabulary words. Write a sentence that explains how Earth
is a magnetic field.

2. Complete the chart below. List the different things you learned about magnetism that have
the word magnetic as part of their description.

Magnetism

1. magnetic force

2.

3.

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4.

3. Review the ideas your group wrote on the index cards. Write one idea that you all agreed
was important. How did this idea help you to understand magnetism?

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

114
 2 Electricity and Magnetism What You’ll Learn
5(C) • how an electric current and
electromagnet produce
Before You Read magnetic fields
List some machines that use motors to make them work. • about electromagnets and
electric motors

Read to Learn Focus

As you read this section, use
Electric Current and Magnetism a highlighter to mark the most
In 1820, a Danish physics teacher discovered that there is important ideas in each
paragraph.
a connection between electricity and magnetism. He was doing
a demonstration using an electric current. There was a compass
near the electric circuit. He noticed that the compass needle
changed direction depending on the flow of the electric current.
This made the teacher hypothesize that an electric current produces
a magnetic field around the wire. He also hypothesized that the
direction of a magnetic field changes with the direction of the
electric current. The figure shows that when the current in the wire
changes direction, then the direction of the magnetic field lines also
change. A strong current in the wire makes a strong magnetic field,
and moving away from the wire weakens the magnetic field.
GET IT?
Magnetic field lines
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1. Explain how the strength

Current of the magnetic field around
a wire can be increased.

Current
Magnetic field lines

What is electromagnetism?
Moving electric charges are surrounded by magnetic fields.
So a magnet close to an electric wire will be affected by the
current. Scientists determined that magnetism and electric
current must be related. The interaction between magnets and
electric charges is called electromagnetism. The force that is
produced by the interaction of electric force and magnetic force
is called the electromagnetic force. The electromagnetic force
is a fundamental force, like gravity.
Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses
115
Think it Over Electromagnets
You can make a magnetic field
2. Describe a solenoid.
stronger. This is done with a solenoid. Current
A solenoid (SOH luh noyd) is a single
wire carrying electric current that is S N
wrapped into a cylinder-shaped coil.
It looks like a spring. The figure to the
right is a solenoid.
What does a solenoid do?
A solenoid makes a magnetic field stronger. Suppose there is an
electric current flowing through a wire. If a loop is formed out of
the wire, the magnetic fields inside the loop combine. This makes
Think it Over the magnetic field inside a loop stronger than the magnetic field
3. Explain How is a solenoid around a straight wire. Since
used to make an a solenoid has many loops, the
electromagnet? Electromagnet
magnetic field inside it is even
stronger.
S N
The solenoid is used to make an
electromagnet. An electromagnet is
Electron
a solenoid wrapped around an iron flow
core. The figure to the right is an
electromagnet. The solenoid’s
magnetic field temporarily magnetizes the iron core. The
magnetic field inside the electromagnet can be 1,000 times
Take a Look stronger than the field inside a solenoid without an iron core.

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4. Draw In the second figure,
change the drawing of the How do electromagnets behave?
electromagnet so that it will Electromagnets are temporary magnets. The magnetic field
be stronger than the one
shown.
is present only when current is flowing in the solenoid.
The magnetic field of an electromagnet can be made stronger
by adding more coils of wire or by adding more current.
An electromagnet acts like any other magnet. It has a north
and a south pole, attracts magnetic materials, and is attracted
GET IT? or repelled by other magnets. If put in a magnetic field,
5. Compare and contrast an electromagnet will line itself up along the magnetic field lines.
permanent magnets and
electromagnets.
Electromagnets are useful because you can control how they
act by changing the electric current flowing through the solenoid.
When the current flows in the electromagnet and it moves toward
or away from another magnet, electric energy is changed into
mechanical energy. The mechanical energy will do work.
Electromagnets make mechanical energy to do the work in many
devices, such as stereo speakers and electric motors.

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

116
 What makes an electromagnet rotate?
A permanent magnet can apply forces on an electromagnet
to make it rotate. The figure below shows an electromagnet
between the north and south poles of a permanent magnet.
The north and south poles of the electromagnet are attracted
to the opposite poles of the permanent magnet. This causes
a downward force on the left side of the electromagnet in the
figure and an upward force on the right side. These forces make
the electromagnet rotate until opposite poles are lined up. Take a Look
6. Identify Which pole of the
electromagnet is attracted to
Electromagnet the north pole of the
Electromagnet
S N permanent magnet?
S
N

Current
Current
Permanent Permanent
magnet magnet

The electromagnet continues to rotate until its poles are next

to the opposite poles of the permanent magnet. Once the north
and south poles of the electromagnet are in opposite directions,
the electromagnet stops rotating.
How do electromagnets make sound?
There is an electromagnet in the speaker you use when you
listen to a CD. The electromagnet is connected to a speaker cone
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made from paper, plastic, or metal. A permanent magnet

surrounds the electromagnet.
Changing Electric Current Recall that increasing the current
passing through a wire increases the strength of a magnetic field.
A CD player produces a voltage, a measure of electrical potential
energy that can be changed into other forms of energy. As voltage
increases, more electrical potential energy is ready to be changed
into other forms of energy. The CD’s voltage produces an electric
current in the electromagnet next to the speaker cone. The CD GET IT?
contains information that changes the amount of electric current 7. Summarize how a stereo
and its direction. The changing electric current causes the speaker uses an electro-
magnet to produce sound.
direction and the strength of the magnetic field around the
electromagnet to change. A change in direction causes the
electromagnet to attract or repel a permanent magnet. This makes
the electromagnet move back and forth causing sound.
The electromagnet changes electrical energy to mechanical
energy. The mechanical energy vibrates the speaker cone so it
reproduces the sound that was recorded on the CD.

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

117
 How does a fuel gauge work?
A galvanometer is a device that uses an electromagnet
to measure electric Scale

current. Look at the first Needle

figure. It is a galvanometer.
An electromagnet is
Spring
located between the poles Permanent
magnet
of a permanent magnet
and is connected to a
small spring. Wires carrying
current to coil Electromagnet
The electromagnet rotates
until the force applied by the spring is
balanced with the magnetic forces on
Take a Look the electromagnet. A needle is attached
8. Analyze What would make to the electromagnet, so it turns also.
the needle in the fuel gauge The second figure is a fuel gauge
turn to the right? from a car’s dashboard. The fuel gauge
is a galvanometer. When the amount of
gasoline in the car’s fuel tank changes,
the needle in the gauge moves. This
movement is started by a sensor in the car’s fuel tank that tells
when the fuel level changes. This sensor sends an electric current
to the galvanometer. The current changes as the amount of fuel
changes. The current change causes the electromagnet to turn.
This makes the needle move to different positions on the gauge.
The gas gauge is set so that when the fuel tank is full, the needle

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moves to the full mark on the gauge.

Electric Motors
On hot days, do you use a fan to keep cool? A fan uses
an electric motor. An electric motor is a machine that changes
electrical energy into mechanical energy. The wires carrying
electric current produce a magnetic field. This magnetic field acts
in the same way as the magnetic field that a magnet produces.
Two wires carrying electric current can attract each other as if
they were two magnets,
gnets, as shown in the figure below.
b

w
tron flo
Elec
Take a Look
9. Trace the arrows between
both the magnets and the
wires that show the
attractions. n flow
tro
ec
El

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

118
 Where are electric motors used?
Electric motors are used in many types of machines. You can
find these machines in industry, agriculture, and transportation.
Objects as large as airplanes and cars use electric motors. Objects
as small as personal-sized fans also use motors. You can find
machines with electric motors in most rooms of your house.
Almost every appliance with a moving part contains an electric
motor. Electric motors are used in CD and DVD players,
computers, hair dryers, electric fans, and many other appliances.
How does a simple electric motor work? Think it Over
Any machine that changes electric energy into kinetic energy 10. Identify What is a machine
is a motor. A motor is a permanent magnet and an electromagnet that changes electric energy
connected to an electric source. The electromagnet is positioned into kinetic energy called?
so that it is able to spin in the magnetic field of the permanent
magnet. Electricity from the source creates the magnetic field
of the electromagnet. The opposite poles of the two magnets
attract one another and the electromagnet spins. The wire ends Take a Look
of the electromagnet rub against a circular device that is split 11. Determine In the figure on
so that the current reverses in the electromagnet at the midpoint the right, which direction
of its spin. This allows it to spin continuously as its poles change will the loop spin, clockwise
and interact with the poles of the permanent magnet. The figure or counterclockwise?
shows a simple motor set up.

Simple Electric Motors

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Permanent magnet
Permanent magnet
N
Brushes
Brushes N
Commutator
N
Battery Commutator
Battery
S
Coil S
Coil

Current

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

119
After You Read
Mini Glossary
electromagnetic force: the attractive or repulsive force between electromagnetism: the interaection between electric charges and
electric charges and magnets magnets
electric motor: a device that changes electrical energy into galvanometer: a device that uses an electromagnet to measure
mechanical energy electric current
electromagnet: a single wire carrying an electric current that is solenoid: a single wire carrying electric current that is wrapped
wrapped around an iron core into a coil shaped like a cylinder

Review
1. Review the vocabulary words and their definitions in the Mini Glossary. Write a sentence
that shows how a solenoid and an electromagnet are related.

2. Complete the diagram to list three items that use electromagnets to make them work.

Use electromagnets to make them work

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3. Look at the parts of the text that you highlighted. How did this help you to learn about
electricity and magnetism?

4. What could you do if something you highlighted didn’t make sense to you?

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

120
 3 Producing Electric Current What You’ll Learn
5(C) • what electromagnetic
induction is
Before You Read • how a generator produces an
Name three things you used today that use electrical energy electric current
to make them work. Where do you think the electrical energy • the difference between direct
came from? and alternating current
• how to change the voltage of
an alternating current

Read to Learn Focus

Place sticky notes at parts of
Electromagnetic Induction the section you find interesting
In 1831, scientists discovered that if they moved a loop of wire or that you have a question
through a magnetic field, it caused an electric current to flow about. Write the question on
the sticky note.
in the wire. They also found that moving a magnet through a loop
of wire produced a current in the wire. In both cases, the
movement caused an electric flow in the wire. In other words, GET IT?
mechanical energy was changed into electrical energy. 1. Define the term
electromagnetic induction.
The loop of wire or the magnet has to move to make an electric
current. This makes the magnetic field inside the loop change.
When the magnetic field changes, it causes an electric current
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to flow in the wire. The current change in the wire can start
a current in a nearby coil. Electromagnetic induction is the
making of a current by a changing magnetic field.

Generators Compare and Contrast

Generators use N Make a folded table. Label it
electromagnetic induction to as shown. Use it to organize
change mechanical energy your notes on how magnets
are used to transform
into electrical energy. The energy.
figure shows a hand turning
S
the handle of a simple gen-
a l t o Me c h a
erator. The turning handle Electraicnical to Elecntrical
provides mechanical energy Mech rgy Energyical
Current Ene
to rotate the coil between the
poles of a permanent magnet
producing a current in the coil.

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

121
 Current Flow A simple generator with a
Take a Look turning wire coil is shown in the figure on the N
2. Explain What provides the previous page and this page. The coil rotates
original mechanical energy through the magnetic field of the
for the simple generator in
the figure? (Hint: It is not the permanent magnet. This
handle.) makes a current flow S
through the coil. Each time
the coil makes half of a
turn, the ends of the coil move past Current
opposite poles of the permanent magnet. This causes the current
to change direction. The current in the coil changes direction
twice each time it makes one full turn. You can control how often
the current changes direction by controlling how fast the
generator rotates. In the United States, generators rotate 60 times
per second to produce electric current. This is equal to 3,600
turns per minute.
How are electric generators used?
Generators are used in cars. They are called alternators and
provide electrical energy for the car’s lights. They also provide
electrical energy to the spark plugs in the car’s engine. The spark
plugs ignite (cause a spark that burns) the fuel in the cylinders
ofthe engine. Once the engine is running, the fuel provides the
mechanical energy to turn the coil in the alternator.
How is electricity produced for your home?

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Electric power plants produce most of the electrical energy.
The huge generators in electric power plants operate in a different
way from the alternator. The coil does not rotate. Instead, the
permanent magnet rotates. Mechanical energy rotates the
magnet, and electrical current is produced in the coil.
The electrical energy you use in your home comes from a power
plant with huge generators. These generators have many coils of
wire wrapped around huge iron cores. The magnets are connected
to a turbine (TUR bine), a large windmill-like wheel. The turbine
rotates when it is pushed by steam, water, or wind, and the
rotating magnets produce the electric current in the wire coils.
Think it Over Power plants use three different kinds of energy to make
3. Identify What are three electricity. They use thermal, wind, or water energy. For thermal
types of energy used by energy, power plants burn fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and
power plants?
coal, or use heat made by nuclear reactors. The thermal energy is
used to heat water and produce steam. When the steam pushes
the turbine blades, the thermal energy is changed into mechanical
energy. The generator then changes the mechanical energy into
the electrical energy you use.
Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses
122
 Wind Energy Some power plants use the mechanical energy
in falling water to turn the turbines. Other power plants use wind
energy. Fields of windmills, like those in the figure below, use
mechanical energy in wind to turn the generators. The propeller
on each windmill is connected to an electric generator. The
turning propeller rotates a coil or a permanent magnet.
Take a Look
4. Make Connections What do
the propellers rotate?

Direct and Alternating Currents Think it Over

Have you ever had a power outage in your house? The electrical 5. Apply List two devices that
devices do not work because electrical energy is not coming into use DC only and two devices
your house. Some electrical devices use batteries as a primary that use AC only.
source of energy. A battery-operated radio is an example of this
type of device. The current produced by a battery is different
from the current from an electric generator.
A battery produces a direct current. A direct current (DC)
is a current that flows in only one direction through a wire.
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A CD player or any other appliance that plugs into a wall outlet

uses alternating current. An alternating current (AC) reverses
or changes the direction of the current twice during each rotation
of the coil. Electronic devices that use batteries for backup energy,
such as a radio, usually need direct current to operate. When the
radio is plugged into a wall outlet, electronic parts in the radio
change the alternating current to direct current.

Transformers Think it Over

Have you ever seen power lines along a highway? They carry 6. Explain Why can some
electrical energy from a power plant to buildings. When electrical radios work on both batteries
energy travels through wires, some of the electrical energy and when plugged into a wall
outlet?
changes into heat because of electrical resistance in the wires.
As wires get longer, there is more electrical resistance and the heat
increases. One way to reduce the heat produced in a power line
is to send the electrical energy at high voltage. This voltage in the
lines is too high for appliances to use. A transformer is used to
decrease the voltage before it enters your home.
Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses
123
 How does a transformer work?
Think it Over
A transformer is used to increase or decrease the voltage of an
7. Identify What causes the alternating current. A transformer has a primary coil and a
magnetic fields in the
primary coil to change secondary coil. Both coils are wrapped around the same iron core.
direction? An input voltage of alternating current passes through the
primary coil. This causes the coil’s magnetic field to magnetize
the iron core. When the current in the primary coil changes
direction, this causes the magnetic fields in the primary coil and
the iron core to also change directions. This causes an output
voltage in the secondary coil.
The figures show two kinds of transformers, a step-up
transformer and a step-down transformer.

60 volts Secondary coil 240 volts Secondary coil

AC in 20 turns of wire AC in 20 turns of wire

Primary coil
Primary coil 120 volts 120 volts
40 turns of wire
10 turns of wire AC out AC out
Increase Decrease
2 times 2 times

Take a Look Step-Up Transformer A step-up transformer increases

voltage so that the output voltage is greater than the input
8. Identify In the two figures,
circle the labels that are voltage. The secondary coil then has more turns than the
the same. primary coil. In the first figure, an input voltage of 60 volts in
the primary coil provides an output voltage of 120 volts in the
secondary coil. The secondary coil has twice as many turns

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as the primary coil has. Therefore, the output voltage is twice
as large as the input voltage.
Step-Down Transformer A step-down transformer decreases
voltage so that the output voltage is less than the input voltage.
The secondary coil then has fewer turns than the primary coil. In
the second figure, the input voltage of 240 volts in the primary
coil is changed to an output voltage of 120 volts in the secondary
coil. The secondary coil has half as many turns as the primary coil
has. Therefore, the output voltage is one-half of the input voltage.
What path does an alternating current follow?
Power plants usually make alternating current because the
voltage can be changed with transformers. As the electrical
energy leaves the power plant, a step-up transformer increases the
voltage. This electrical energy is carried along power lines. When
the electrical energy leaves the power lines to enter a building, a
step-down transformer decreases the voltage. Even though the
voltage is changed, the amount of electrical energy is not changed.

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

124
 After You Read
Mini Glossary
alternating current (AC): electrical current that changes its generator: a device that uses electromagnetic induction to change
direction twice during each rotation of a coil mechanical energy into electrical energy
direct current (DC): electrical current that flows in only one transformer: a device that increases or decreases the voltage of an
direction through a wire alternating current
electromagnetic induction: a changing magnetic field producing turbine: a large wheel that rotates when it is pushed by water,
an electric current in a wire wind, or steam

Review
1. Review the definitions of the vocabulary words in the Mini Glossary. Choose one of the
words and write what it means in your own words.

2. Complete the chart below to organize information you have learned about electric current.

Electric Current

Direct Alternating
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How it flows What produces it How it flows What produces it

_____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

3. Think about what you have learned in this section. Look at the parts you marked with
sticky notes. How did these notes help you learn?

Reading Essentials • Magnetism and Its Uses

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