Question

How could you work out the direction that the motor will turn

Answer 1

If you mean work out as in using calculations, I don't know how to help you. But there is a way to find out, using Fleming's left hand rule. I can't define it properly, and I don't want to copy-paste from another site, so I strongly recommend that you look it up. Try google, or more specific, BBC GCSE bitesize.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Electric motors use the motor effect. A simple electric motor can be built using a coil of wire that is free to rotate between two opposite magnetic poles. When an electric current flows through the coil, the coil experiences a force and moves. One side moves up and the other side moves down. The direction of the current must be reversed every half turn, otherwise the coil comes to a halt again. This is achieved using a conducting ring split in two, called a split ring or ‘commutator’.