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Forces and Motion - Magnetic forces and poles

Grade 3IGCSE

Review the key concepts, formulae, and examples before starting your quiz.

🔑Concepts

A magnet has two ends called poles: the North Pole (NN) and the South Pole (SS).

Magnetic forces are 'non-contact forces', meaning they can push or pull objects without touching them.

The Law of Magnetism states that opposite poles attract (NN and SS pull together) and like poles repel (NN and NN or SS and SS push apart).

Magnetic materials include metals like Iron (FeFe), Nickel (NiNi), and Cobalt (CoCo). Most other materials, like plastic, wood, and aluminum (AlAl), are non-magnetic.

The magnetic field is the invisible area around a magnet where the magnetic force (FF) can be detected.

📐Formulae

Like PolesRepel ()Like\ Poles \rightarrow Repel\ (\leftarrow \rightarrow) iconography

Opposite PolesAttract ()Opposite\ Poles \rightarrow Attract\ (\rightarrow \leftarrow) iconography

Fmagnetic1distance2F_{magnetic} \propto \frac{1}{distance^2} (The force gets weaker as the distance increases)

💡Examples

Problem 1:

Tim brings the North pole (NN) of a bar magnet close to the North pole (NN) of another bar magnet. What force will he feel?

Solution:

A force of repulsion.

Explanation:

According to the laws of magnetism, like poles (the same poles) push away from each other. Therefore, N+NRepelN + N \rightarrow Repel.

Problem 2:

Sarah has a mixture of steel (iron-based) paperclips and plastic beads. How can she separate them quickly using physics?

Solution:

Use a magnet to attract the steel paperclips.

Explanation:

Steel contains Iron (FeFe), which is a magnetic material. The plastic beads are non-magnetic. The magnet will apply a magnetic force to the steel but not the plastic.

Problem 3:

If the distance between two attracting magnets is increased from 2 cm2\ cm to 10 cm10\ cm, what happens to the strength of the pull?

Solution:

The magnetic pull becomes much weaker.

Explanation:

Magnetic force is strongest at the poles and weakens rapidly as the distance between the magnet and the object increases.