Level 7: Motors and generators

Electricity and magnetism · level 7 of 8 · rough age 15-16 (a guide for parents; anyone can start anywhere)

A current makes a magnetic field, and a magnetic field pushes on a current. Put those together and you have a motor. Turn it round, moving a wire through a field to drive a current, and you have a generator. This level works through both with numbers, adds the transformer, and ends with the motors that drive a rover's wheels and spun a helicopter's rotors on Mars.

Lesson	You will be able to
Electromagnets	Find the field of a wire and a coil
The motor effect	Use \(F = BIL\) and find the direction of the force
Electric motors	Explain how a motor turns and find its torque
Electromagnetic induction	Use Faraday's law to find an induced voltage
Generators and transformers	Find a generator's peak voltage and a transformer's output
Motors on Mars	Work out how fast a rover's wheels and a helicopter's rotors turn

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