Exploring Magnets – Class 6 Science Chapter 4 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 6ScienceChapter 4NCERT book: Curiosity - Science Class 6

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 4 of the NCERT Class 6 Science book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 4: Exploring Magnets

Introduction

Reshma, who lives in a coastal town in Kerala, is writing a story for her grandmother's 60th birthday. In it, a spice ship from Kerala is caught in a storm, and the sailors cannot see the stars to find their way. Reshma learns that travellers used a magnetic compass to find directions. She has seen magnets in pencil boxes, purses and board dusters, and now she becomes curious about how magnets work.

Key Concepts

Natural and artificial magnets

Lodestones are natural magnets discovered in ancient times. Early sailors' magnets were based on them.

Later, people learnt to make magnets from iron. Today's magnets, in labs, pencil boxes, stickers and toys, are artificial magnets.

Magnets come in different shapes: bar, U-shaped, ring, and also disc, cylindrical and spherical.

4.1 Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials

Magnetic materials are attracted by a magnet: iron, nickel, cobalt and some of their combinations (alloys).

Non-magnetic materials are not attracted: wood, rubber, plastic, glass, paper and so on.

4.2 Poles of a Magnet

When a bar magnet is placed in iron filings, most of the filings stick near its ends. These ends are the poles: the North pole and the South pole.

Most filings stick to the poles of a magnet of any shape.

Poles always exist in pairs. If a magnet is broken, even the smallest piece has both a North and a South pole. A single pole cannot exist.

4.3 Finding Directions

A freely suspended bar magnet always comes to rest along the north-south direction.

The end pointing north is the North-seeking pole (North pole), and the other end is the South-seeking pole (South pole).

This happens because Earth itself behaves like a giant magnet.

An ordinary iron bar can rest in any direction, so this is a way to test whether a metal piece is a magnet.

A magnetic compass has a needle-shaped magnet on a pin, so it can rotate freely, inside a box with a transparent cover and a dial. The north end of the needle is usually painted red. To use it, let the needle settle, then rotate the box until N-S on the dial lines up with the needle.

Matsya-yantra (machchh-yantra): long before the modern compass, Indian sailors used a magnetised fish-shaped iron piece floating in a vessel of oil.

4.4 Attraction and Repulsion

Unlike poles attract (N–S). Like poles repel (N–N, S–S).

An iron bar is attracted by both poles of a magnet. Only a magnet can repel another magnet, so repulsion is the sure test for a magnet.

A compass needle is also a magnet. Bring a magnet's N pole near the needle's N pole and the needle moves away. Bring the S pole near it and the needle moves closer.

The magnetic effect acts through non-magnetic materials. Wood, cardboard, plastic or glass placed between a magnet and a compass causes no noticeable change in the needle's deflection.

4.5 Fun with Magnets

Magnets can move objects without touching them. Examples from the chapter: a magnetic garland, steel balls moved through a maze by a magnet under the tray, picking a steel clip out of water without getting wet, and matchbox-magnet cars that race towards or away from each other.

Taking Care of Magnets

Store them in pairs with unlike poles on the same side, with a wooden piece in between and soft iron pieces across the ends.

Do not heat, drop or hammer magnets, and keep them away from mobile phones and remote controls.

Pole markings: N/S letters, a white dot for North, or red paint (North) and blue paint (South).

Activities in the Chapter

4.1 Let us explore: Predict, then test, which objects stick to a magnet (Table 4.1). Conclusion: only some materials are magnetic.

4.2 Let us investigate: A bar magnet in iron filings. Observation: filings gather at the ends, so the poles are there.

4.3 Let us experiment: Suspend a bar magnet by a thread and let it rest, then rotate and repeat. It rests along the same line (N–S) each time. An iron bar does not.

4.4 Let us construct (make a compass): Stroke an iron sewing needle 30–40 times with one pole of a magnet, always in the same direction. Check that it attracts pins, pass it through a cork and float it in water. It settles in the N–S direction.

4.5 Let us experiment: Roll magnet A on round pencils and bring magnet B near it. It is attracted with unlike poles and repelled with like poles.

4.6 Compass and magnet: The N pole of a magnet pushes the needle's N end away, and the S pole pulls it.

4.7 Let us investigate: Put wood, cardboard, plastic or glass between a magnet and a compass. The deflection doesn't change.

Key Terms

Magnet (चुंबक); Lodestone (प्राकृतिक चुंबक / चुंबक पत्थर)

Magnetic materials (चुंबकीय पदार्थ): iron, nickel, cobalt

Non-magnetic materials (अचुंबकीय पदार्थ)

North pole / South pole (उत्तरी ध्रुव / दक्षिणी ध्रुव)

Bar / U-shaped / Ring magnet (छड़ / U-आकार / वलय चुंबक)

Magnetic compass (चुंबकीय दिक्सूचक)

Attraction / Repulsion (आकर्षण / प्रतिकर्षण)

Iron filings (लोहे का बुरादा)

Freely suspended magnet (स्वतंत्र रूप से लटका चुंबक)

Matsya-yantra (मत्स्य-यंत्र)

Real-life Connections

Magnets are used in pencil boxes, purses, refrigerator doors, board dusters and toys.

A magnetised screwdriver stops screws from falling.

Maglev trains float using magnetic repulsion, and magnets are also used in medicine (for example, MRI machines).

Common Misconceptions

"Magnets attract all metals." Only iron, nickel, cobalt and some alloys are attracted. Aluminium, copper and gold are not.

"Breaking a magnet separates its N and S poles." Each piece still has both poles.

"Attraction proves something is a magnet." Iron is also attracted. Only repulsion proves it.

"The middle of a bar magnet is the strongest part." Its attraction is strongest at the poles and weakest in the middle.

"Wood or plastic blocks magnetism." The magnetic effect passes through non-magnetic materials.

Keep the Curiosity Alive (Exercise Hints)

Three identical bars (two magnets, one iron): the pair that repels at some ends are the magnets.

Unmarked magnet: its end that repels the N pole of a marked magnet is also N. Without another magnet, suspend it freely, and the end pointing north is the N pole.

Atharv's U-clips: the most clips stick at the ends (A and C) and few in the middle (B), so option (i) 10, 2, 10.

Ring magnets X and Y: X floats because their facing like poles repel. Flip X over to make them attract.

Earth's poles: the compass N pole points to geographic north, so a magnetic S-type pole must lie near geographic north (unlike poles attract).

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Magnetic materials (iron, nickel, cobalt and some alloys) are attracted by magnets; non-magnetic materials like wood, rubber, plastic and glass are not.
✓Every magnet has a North and a South pole where attraction is strongest; poles always exist in pairs, and a single pole cannot exist.
✓A freely suspended magnet rests along the north-south direction because Earth behaves like a giant magnet; the magnetic compass uses this property.
✓Unlike poles attract and like poles repel; repulsion is the sure test to identify a magnet, since iron is attracted by both poles.
✓The magnetic effect acts through non-magnetic materials such as wood, cardboard, plastic and glass.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Hook the class with Reshma's storm story: ask 'How would sailors find direction with no stars?' before showing a compass.
→Give each group a magnet and a tray of everyday objects; insist they write predictions first, then test (Activity 4.1).
→Sprinkle iron filings on paper over a bar magnet and let students sketch where the filings gather, to discover the poles themselves.
→Hang a bar magnet from a thread in the classroom and mark its resting line on the floor; compare it with the direction of sunrise.
→Have every student make a floating needle compass (Activity 4.4) and check it against a real compass.
→Use the 'three identical bars' puzzle as a challenge to teach that repulsion, not attraction, identifies a magnet.
→Set up the chapter's fun stations: magnetic maze, clip-from-water and matchbox-magnet cars, and ask students to explain each using poles.
→Tell the story of the Indian matsya-yantra to connect science with India's navigation history.

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the student sort given objects into magnetic and non-magnetic materials correctly?
Can the student predict attraction or repulsion for N–N, N–S and S–S combinations?
Can the student explain why a freely suspended magnet points north-south and how a compass is used?
Can the student describe how to identify a magnet among identical iron bars using only repulsion?
Can the student list the steps to magnetise a needle and make a simple compass?

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