Magnetism Practice Questions

Name the three objects in the table that will be attracted to a permanent magnet.

The technician holds the south pole of one bar magnet close to the south pole of a second bar magnet. State what the technician will feel.

Compasses have needles made from steel. The cores of scrapyard lifting magnets are made from iron.

Explain why each of these materials has been chosen.

State which end of the magnet, X or Y, is the north pole. Give a reason for your answer.

State at which of the points A, B or C the magnetic field is strongest. Explain your answer.

Describe how the student should use the plotting compass to find the shape and the direction of the magnetic field around the bar magnet.

Suggest why the student should carry out this investigation on a wooden bench, well away from other magnets.

Explain why the paper clips hang in a chain below the magnet.

The student pulls the magnet away. The paper clips fall apart, but the top paper clip is still able to pick up one other clip.

Explain these observations.

Explain why a permanent magnet always attracts, and never repels, an unmagnetised iron nail.

Describe the field lines you would draw in region R to show the magnetic field there.

The field in region R is described as uniform. State what is meant by a uniform magnetic field.

Explain why the magnetic field just outside one pole of a single bar magnet is not uniform.

Explain why the needle of the compass comes to rest pointing towards geographic north.

Explain how the behaviour of compasses like this one provides evidence that the core of the Earth is magnetic.

Inside a building with a steel frame, the same compass settles pointing several degrees away from geographic north.

Explain why.