What is a magnet?

A magnet is any material or object that produces a magnetic field.

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What do we call the 2 poles of a magnet?

North and south.

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What are magnetic field lines?

Magnetic field lines are arrows that show the magnetic field around an object.

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Which direction do magnetic field lines point?

From the north pole to the south pole.


North ➔ South

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How can field lines show you the strength of a magnetic field?

The denser the field lines (the closer together they are), the stronger the magnetic field will be.

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What would the magnetic field lines around this magnet look like?

The arrows point out of north, and into south.

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How can you use a compass to visualise field lines?

The needle of a compass always points along a field line towards the south pole, so can be used to find the field lines of a magnet.


  1. Place the plotting compass near the magnet on a piece of paper.
  2. Mark the direction the compass needle points.
  3. Move the plotting compass to many different positions in the magnetic field, marking the needle direction each time.
  4. Join the points to show the field lines.

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How can you use iron filings to visualise field lines?

  1. Place the magnet under a piece of card.
  2. Sprinkle iron filings over the piece of card.
  3. Tap the piece of card - this will cause the iron filings to accumulate along the field lines. 

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What would the magnetic field lines look like for the magnets above?

The magnets are repelling each other because the same poles are facing (north to north).

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What would the magnetic field lines look like for the magnets above?

The magnets are attracting each other because opposite poles are close together.

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