🌟 Exploring Magnets – Class 6 Science

(NCERT Solutions with Fun Facts!)

Magnets have always fascinated humans — from sailors navigating stormy seas to children playing with fridge magnets. In this blog, we’ll dive deep into Class 6 Science Chapter: Exploring Magnets, explore all in-text questions and exercises, and uncover some amazing facts about magnets.

🧲 Magnetic and Non-Magnetic Materials

In-Text Question:
👉 Do magnets stick to objects made of certain materials only?

✅ Answer: Yes. Magnets stick only to certain materials such as iron, nickel, and cobalt. These are called magnetic materials. Materials like wood, glass, rubber, and plastic are non-magnetic.

💡 Did You Know?
Your refrigerator door works because of magnetic strips inside the rubber lining!

In-Text Question:
👉 Which materials listed in Table 4.1 were found to be non-magnetic?

✅ Answer: Materials such as wood, plastic, rubber, and glass are non-magnetic because they are not attracted to a magnet.

🧲 Poles of a Magnet

In-Text Question:
👉 Do all parts of a magnet attract magnetic materials equally?

✅ Answer: No. Magnetic attraction is strongest at the two ends of a magnet, called poles.

In-Text Question:
👉 Can we find a magnet with a single pole?

✅ Answer: No. Even if a magnet is broken into small pieces, each piece will always have both a North and South pole. A single pole (called a “monopole”) does not exist in nature.

🎉 Fun Fact: Scientists are still researching magnetic monopoles, but so far, none have been found!

🧭 Finding Directions

In-Text Question:
👉 What direction does this line indicate along which the magnet rests? How can we find it out?

✅ Answer: A freely suspended bar magnet always rests in the north-south direction. We can confirm this by checking the direction of the rising or setting Sun (east-west).

In-Text Question:
👉 How can we make our own magnetic compass?

✅ Answer: By magnetizing a needle using a bar magnet and floating it on cork in water, we can make a simple magnetic compass. The needle aligns itself in the north-south direction.

💡 Pro Tip for Students: Try this activity at home under guidance — it’s a fun and safe science experiment!

⚡ Attraction and Repulsion Between Magnets

In-Text Question:
👉 What happens when we bring two magnets closer to each other?

✅ Answer:

Unlike poles (N-S): Attract each other
Like poles (N-N or S-S): Repel each other

In-Text Question:
👉 The compass needle is also a magnet. Will it show the same behaviour if a magnet is brought closer to it?

✅ Answer: Yes. The compass needle, being a magnet, also shows repulsion when like poles come closer and attraction when unlike poles come closer.

In-Text Question:
👉 Suppose we place a piece of wood between the compass needle and the magnet. Will this affect the deflection of the compass needle?

✅ Answer: No. Magnetic force can act through non-magnetic materials like wood, cardboard, plastic, and glass.

🎡 Fun with Magnets

Magnets can move objects without touching them.
You can make a magnetic garland or a maze game with steel balls.
You can even make toy cars that repel each other using magnets!

🎉 Fun Fact: High-speed Maglev trains float above the tracks using powerful magnets, reaching speeds of over 600 km/h!

📘 Exercise Questions and Answers

Q1. Fill in the blanks:

(i) Unlike poles of two magnets attract each other, whereas like poles repel each other.
(ii) The materials that are attracted towards a magnet are called magnetic materials.
(iii) The needle of a magnetic compass rests along the north-south direction.
(iv) A magnet always has two poles.

Q2. State whether True (T) or False (F):

(i) A magnet can be broken into pieces to obtain a single pole. – ❌ False
(ii) Similar poles of a magnet repel each other. – ✅ True
(iii) Iron filings mostly stick in the middle of a bar magnet. – ❌ False
(iv) A freely suspended bar magnet always aligns with the north-south direction. – ✅ True

Q3. Match the following (Column I and II):

N – N → Repulsion
S – S → Repulsion
N – S → Attraction

Q4. Atharv’s experiment (pins attracted at positions A, B, C):

✅ Answer: (i) 10, 2, 10 → Maximum attraction at poles, minimum in the middle.

Q5. Reshma bought three identical metal bars. How to identify magnets?

✅ Answer: Bring one bar near the other two. If it shows repulsion, it must be a magnet (since only magnets repel). By repeating, Reshma can identify the two magnets.

Q6. You are given a magnet without poles marked. How to identify its poles?

✅ Answer: Suspend it freely. The end pointing north is the North pole, and the other is the South pole.

Q7. A bar magnet has no markings. How to find its North pole without another magnet?

✅ Answer: Suspend it freely. The end that points north is the North pole.

Q8. If Earth is a magnet, can you guess its poles by a compass?

✅ Answer: Yes. The geographical north is actually the magnetic south pole of Earth, which attracts the north pole of a compass needle.

💡 Did You Know?
Earth’s magnetic field protects us from harmful solar radiation!

Q9. Mechanic’s problem with falling screws. Solution?

✅ Answer: Magnetize the screwdriver by rubbing it with a magnet. This way, screws stick to it while repairing.

Q10. Two ring magnets X and Y repel (Fig. 4.16). Why?

✅ Answer: Because like poles are facing each other. To make them attract, flip one magnet.

Q11. Three bar magnets arranged (Fig. 4.17). Find polarity at ends 1,2,3,4,6 (end 5 given as N).

✅ Answer:

End 1 → S
End 2 → N
End 3 → S
End 4 → N
End 6 → S

🏁 Final Words

Magnets are more than just fun toys — they are used in navigation, electronics, medicine, transport, and daily life. From a simple compass needle to MRI machines and Maglev trains, magnets shape our world in incredible ways!

✨ So the next time you stick a note on your fridge, remember — you’re using a tiny piece of science magic!