Class 6 Science Chapter 4 Exploring Magnets Extra Questions

Extra practice questions for Class 6 Science Chapter 4, “Exploring Magnets”, to reinforce concepts of magnetic materials, poles, and the compass beyond the textbook’s own exercises. These Class 6 Science Chapter 4 important questions are handy for last-minute exam practice.

Very Short Answer Questions

Q1. Name three magnetic materials.
Answer: Iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Q2. What is a lodestone?
Answer: A naturally occurring magnetic mineral (magnetite) that acts as a natural magnet.

Q3. What happens when two like poles of magnets are brought close together?
Answer: They repel each other.

Q4. Name the historical Indian navigational device made using a magnetised, fish-shaped iron piece.
Answer: The Matsya-yantra.

Q5. Is aluminium a magnetic material?
Answer: No, aluminium is a non-magnetic material.

Short Answer Questions

Q6. Explain why the middle of a bar magnet cannot pick up as many iron pins as its ends.
Answer: The magnetic force in a bar magnet is concentrated and strongest at the two poles (ends), while the middle region has very weak magnetic force — so pins are attracted much more strongly to the ends than to the middle.

Q7. If you cut a bar magnet exactly in half, will you get one piece with only a North pole and one piece with only a South pole? Explain.
Answer: No. Cutting a magnet always produces two new, complete magnets, each with its own North and South pole. It is impossible to isolate a single magnetic pole.

Q8. Describe how you would make a simple compass at home using a needle, a magnet, a cork, and a bowl of water.
Answer: Magnetise a sewing needle by stroking it about 30-40 times in one direction with one pole of a bar magnet (lifting the magnet away after each stroke rather than rubbing back and forth). Pass the magnetised needle through a small piece of cork, then float the cork in a bowl of water so the needle stays above the water’s surface. The needle will settle pointing in the north-south direction, acting as a simple compass.

Q9. Why does a compass needle always point roughly north-south when left free to rotate?
Answer: Because Earth itself behaves like a giant magnet, with its own magnetic field. The compass needle, being a small freely-pivoted magnet, aligns itself with Earth’s magnetic field, causing it to consistently settle in the north-south direction.

Q10. Would a magnet still attract a paperclip if a sheet of glass were placed between them? Explain.
Answer: Yes. Magnetic force can pass through non-magnetic materials like glass without appreciable weakening, so the magnet would still be able to attract the paperclip through the glass sheet.

Long Answer / Reasoning Questions

Q11. You are given two identical-looking iron bars and told that only one of them is a magnet. Describe an experiment using only these two bars to determine which one is the magnet (or if both are).
Answer: Bring one end of each bar close to an end of the other bar and observe what happens, then flip one bar around and repeat. If at any point the two bars repel each other, then both bars must be magnets, since only two magnets (with like poles facing each other) can repel. If the bars only ever attract regardless of orientation, then at least one of them is a plain (non-magnetic) iron bar being attracted by the magnet, and repulsion can never occur between a magnet and a non-magnetised iron bar.

Q12. Explain why storing two bar magnets with like poles facing each other (without a keeper) is not considered good practice for preserving their magnetism.
Answer: Placing like poles facing each other causes constant repulsion between the stored magnets, which can disturb the internal alignment of magnetic domains over time and gradually weaken their magnetism. The recommended practice is to store them in pairs with unlike poles adjacent, often using a soft-iron keeper bar across the ends, which helps maintain a stable magnetic field and preserves their strength for longer.

Q13. A student says, “Since a compass needle points north, Earth’s North magnetic pole must be located at the geographic North Pole.” Is this statement correct? Explain using the rule of attraction and repulsion.
Answer: No, this statement is incorrect. Since unlike poles attract, and the compass needle’s north-seeking end is attracted toward the geographic North, the pole of the Earth actually located near the geographic North Pole must be a magnetic South pole (which is what attracts the needle’s north-seeking end) — not a North pole.

Q14. Explain, step by step, how you could determine which end of an unmarked bar magnet is its North pole, using only a piece of thread (no other magnets or compass allowed).
Answer: Tie the thread around the middle of the bar magnet so it balances horizontally, then suspend it from a fixed point so it hangs freely and can rotate without touching anything. Allow it to come to rest completely. The end of the magnet that settles pointing toward geographic North is its North pole, and the opposite end is its South pole.

Q15. Explain why a plain iron nail can be temporarily magnetised by stroking it with a magnet, but this magnetism is usually weaker and less permanent than that of the original magnet.
Answer: Stroking the iron nail repeatedly in one direction with a magnet causes the tiny magnetic domains inside the iron to gradually align in the same direction, which is what gives magnetic materials their magnetism. However, this induced alignment in ordinary iron is not as strong or stable as the alignment in a material specifically designed to be a permanent magnet (like hardened steel), so the nail’s magnetism tends to be weaker and can fade over time or be lost through rough handling, heat, or being dropped.

Practice more: Solutions | Revision Notes for this chapter.

Written by Satish

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