Magnets & Fields

Poles and field lines

An interactive lesson with 7 steps, about 6 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Magnets always have two poles. Like poles repel, opposite poles attract.
• Field lines run N → S outside a magnet and form closed loops.
• Earth is a giant magnet, with a magnetic south pole near the geographic North Pole.

Steps

1. Snap a magnet
2. Field lines
3. Earth’s magnet
4. Field inside
5. Carry a compass
6. At the magnetic pole
7. Fridge magnet versus Earth