Exploring Magnets
Class 6 · Science
4 ideas in Class 6 Science, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials
Part of: What magnets attract
A magnet pulls on some materials but ignores others. Materials that a magnet pulls towards itself are magnetic, such as iron, nickel and cobalt. Materials like wood, glass, plastic and rubber are non-magnetic. A steel pin jumps to a magnet, but a pencil does not.
Why it matters. Sorting by a test, not by looks, is the heart of science. Without it, children guess that anything metal or shiny must stick to a magnet.
Try it in two minutes
- Gather ten small household objects and one fridge magnet.
- Ask your child to guess which ones will stick and put the guesses in two piles.
- Test each object with the magnet and move any wrong guesses to the right pile.
- Ask: what do the objects that stuck have in common?
Try at home. Mix a few steel pins into a bowl of rice and ask your child to find a quick way to take the pins out.
Poles of a Magnet
Part of: Poles of a magnet
Every magnet has two special ends called poles, the North pole and the South pole. Dip a bar magnet in a heap of pins and most pins hang from the ends, very few from the middle. If you break a magnet, each piece gets its own North and South pole.
Why it matters. Poles explain how magnets push and pull and how compasses work. Children who know poles come in pairs avoid the common idea that a magnet can be cut into a North piece and a South piece.
Try it in two minutes
- Roll a bar magnet slowly through a pile of steel pins or paper clips.
- Ask your child where most of the pins cling, the ends or the middle.
- Say that those strong ends are called poles and ask how many a magnet has.
- Ask: if we could cut the magnet in half, what would each half have?
Try at home. Draw a bar magnet and a ring magnet and mark where the clips would cling most on each.
Magnets and Directions
Part of: Finding directions
A magnet that can swing freely always settles along the north-south line. A magnetic compass is a small box with a light magnetic needle that can turn easily, so it settles that way and shows directions. This happens because the Earth behaves like a giant magnet. An iron bar that is not a magnet will not do this.
Why it matters. Compasses guide travellers, sailors and trekkers. The idea also gives a simple test to tell a real magnet from a plain piece of iron.
Try it in two minutes
- Tie a thread around the middle of a bar magnet and hang it so it stays flat and swings freely.
- Let it settle, give it a small push, and watch it settle again. Ask: does it point the same way each time?
- Hang a plain iron nail in the same way and ask: does it do the same?
- Ask your child why a ship's crew might want this on a cloudy night.
Try at home. Use a phone-free compass or a toy one to find which wall of your room faces north and make a small label for it.
Attraction and Repulsion
Part of: Magnets together
When two magnets meet, like poles push each other away (repel) and unlike poles pull towards each other (attract). Because only a magnet can push another magnet, repulsion is the sure test for a magnet. The pull or push also works through thin sheets of wood, card, plastic or glass.
Why it matters. Attraction and repulsion explain magnetic toys, fridge latches and pencil-box closures. Children also learn that a result like only attraction does not prove something is a magnet.
Try it in two minutes
- Take two fridge magnets and bring them close, face to face, then flip one over.
- Ask your child what happened each time and which sides pulled and which pushed.
- Put a sheet of paper between them and ask if the effect is still there.
- Ask: how could you be sure a metal bar is a magnet and not just iron?
Try at home. Stick a magnet under a cardboard tray and use it to slide a steel paper clip around on top of the tray.
What your child will practise
- Attraction and Repulsion: Space Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials: Jungle Sort (Sort It Out)
- Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials: Treasure Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Magnets and Directions: Desert Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Poles of a Magnet: Candy Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Quiz: Attraction and Repulsion (8 questions)
- Quiz: Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials (8 questions)
- Quiz: Magnets and Directions (8 questions)
- Quiz: Poles of a Magnet (8 questions)