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Class 6 Science: Exploring Magnets, 8 practice questions with answers

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These are 8 practice questions on Class 6 Science Chapter 4, Exploring Magnets, of the new NCERT textbook, Curiosity. Each has a worked answer and the textbook page it comes from. They cover magnetic and non-magnetic materials, the poles of a magnet and what happens when it breaks, reading a magnetic compass, attraction and repulsion, natural and artificial magnets, and how to handle and store magnets. Try each one before you open the answer.

These questions are our own, drafted with AI help, and every answer was checked against the textbook page it cites, but no practising teacher has reviewed them yet. If you find a mistake, please tell us.

What the chapter says you need

Facts from the NCERT textbook (Curiosity: Textbook of Science for Grade 6, Chapter 4, printed pages 61 to 78):

Magnetic materials and poles

Question 1. Dev says, "Magnets attract metals, so every metal object will stick to a magnet." Find his mistake.

Answer: only magnetic materials are attracted, and not every metal is magnetic. The chapter names the metals iron, nickel and cobalt, and some of their combinations with other metals, as magnetic materials. A metal object that is not made of a magnetic material is not attracted. So Dev should test the object with the magnet, or know what it is made of, before saying it will stick. (Magnetic and non-magnetic materials, page 64.)

Question 2. A bar magnet falls and breaks into three pieces. How many magnetic poles are there now, counting all three pieces?

Answer: 6. It is not possible to get a magnet with a single pole: if a magnet is broken into smaller pieces, North and South poles always exist in pairs, even in the smallest piece. So each of the 3 pieces has 2 poles, and 3 × 2 = 6 poles in all. (Poles always in pairs, page 65.)

Question 3. Nina says, "A ring magnet has no ends, so it cannot have any poles." Find her mistake.

Answer: every magnet has a North pole and a South pole, whatever its shape. Magnets are made in many shapes, such as bar, disc, cylindrical, ring and spherical magnets, but their poles always occur in pairs, no matter the shape. A ring magnet also has a North pole and a South pole. (Magnet shapes and poles, pages 62 and 78; poles in pairs, page 65.)

Compass, attraction and repulsion

Question 4. You place a magnetic compass on a table and wait. The red end of the needle comes to rest pointing towards the classroom door. In which direction is the door? If you face the door, which direction is behind you?

Answer: the door is to the north; behind you is south. The needle of a magnetic compass rests along the north-south direction, and the end that rests towards north is usually painted red. So the door is to the north, and the direction opposite to it, behind you, is south. (The magnetic compass, page 66.)

Question 5. Sana brings one end of an iron bar near a magnet, and it is pulled towards the magnet. She says, "It was attracted, so this iron bar must be a magnet too." Is she right?

Answer: no; attraction does not prove it is a magnet, only repulsion does. A magnet attracts any magnetic material, so a plain iron bar is attracted by both poles of a magnet. Only another magnet can be pushed away: when like poles face each other, they repel. So a magnet is identified by its property of repulsion, not by attraction. (Attraction and repulsion, pages 68 and 69.)

Natural magnets, and caring for magnets

Question 6. Which of these is a natural magnet: a lodestone, the magnet in a pencil box, or a fridge sticker magnet?

Answer: the lodestone. Lodestones are naturally occurring magnets, discovered in ancient times and used by sailors in the olden days. The magnets in pencil boxes, stickers and toys are artificial magnets, made by people. (Natural and artificial magnets, page 62.)

Question 7. Raju keeps his bar magnet next to the TV remote, and he often drops it on the floor while playing. What is he doing wrong?

Answer: he should not keep the magnet near remote controls, and he should not drop it. The chapter's caution is that a magnet should not be heated, dropped or hammered, and should not be kept near mobile phones or remote controls. (Caution, page 73.)

Question 8. Mira stores two bar magnets side by side with their North poles together, in a box with nothing else in it. How should she store them?

Answer: in a pair with unlike poles on the same side, a piece of wood between them, and two pieces of soft iron across the ends. Magnets are stored in pairs with the North pole of one next to the South pole of the other, with a piece of wood in between and pieces of soft iron placed across their ends. Mira's magnets have like poles together, and nothing between or across them. (Keeping magnets safe, page 73.)

Questions students ask

What are magnetic materials? Materials that are attracted towards a magnet, such as iron, nickel and cobalt and some of their combinations with other metals. Materials that are not attracted, such as wood, cardboard, plastic and glass, are non-magnetic. (Pages 64 and 71.)

Where are the poles of a magnet? Near its two ends, where most iron filings stick: the North pole and the South pole. They always come in pairs. (Pages 64 and 65.)

Why is one end of a magnet called its North pole? A freely suspended magnet comes to rest along the north-south direction. The end that points towards north is called the North-seeking pole, or the North pole, of the magnet; the other end is the South pole. (Page 66.)

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Sources

All opened and read on 22 October 2026. Page numbers are the printed page numbers of the textbook; printed page = PDF page + 60.

The facts are from the textbook pages above. The questions and worked answers are our own. This guide is general information; follow your teacher and the textbook.