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Grade 7 Beginner About 10 min Version 1 Awaiting review Free

Magnet poles: attract or repel?

Every magnet has two ends called poles, where its pull is strongest: a north-seeking pole (N) and a south-seeking pole (S). A freely hanging magnet turns so that its N pole points north. When two magnets are brought together, unlike poles (N and S) attract each other and like poles (N and N, or S and S) repel. The magnetic force acts without touching, and it gets much weaker as the magnets move further apart. Repulsion is the only sure test that something is a magnet.

What you will learn

  • Identify the poles of a magnet.
  • State the law of magnetic poles: like poles repel, unlike poles attract.
  • Describe how the magnetic force changes with distance.

Before you start

  • Know that magnets attract some metals.

Materials

  • Two bar magnets with marked poles

Equipment

  • Small trolley or a pencil-roller to let one magnet move freely

Procedure

  1. Put a north pole facing a south pole 2 cm apart and record what happens.
  2. Turn a magnet round so two north poles face each other, then two south poles.
  3. Move the magnets from 1 cm to 5 cm apart and compare the force.

How this simulation is simplified

  • The force follows a simple inverse-square model, 2 N at 1 cm.