Indiana Science HS-PSII-6.4
The Standard
Determine the magnitude of the magnetic force acting on a charged particle moving through a uniform magnetic field and apply the right hand rule to determine the direction of either the magnetic force or the magnetic field.
Indiana Academic Standards for Science (2023) · Magnetism
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students calculate the magnetic force on a moving charge from its charge, speed, field strength, and angle of motion. They use the right-hand rule to find the force or field direction, accounting for the charge’s sign.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student calculates F = |q|vB sin θ in newtons and finds zero force when motion is parallel to the field. They mark the force direction for either charge sign and infer field direction from a given force.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may point the force along the particle’s motion instead of across it. They may report a negative force magnitude or forget to reverse the direction for a negative charge. Some use F = |q|vB when the particle moves parallel to the field.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A +2.0 μC charge moves right at 3.0 × 10⁴ m/s through a 0.50 T field into the page, perpendicular to its motion. Find the force magnitude and direction, then state the direction for a negative charge.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Place a right-pointing velocity arrow beside a field card marked ×, then point where the force acts on positive and negative charges.
Write two sentences explaining why a charge moving parallel to a magnetic field feels no magnetic force.
Give pairs six motion-and-field diagrams; they race to mark force direction and calculate magnitude for two diagrams with numbers.
On a mass spectrometer diagram, draw positive ions moving right into a field marked ×; have students mark the force and curved path.
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