Question

A freely suspended magnet rests in the geographic __________ direction.

Answer 1

Earth's Magnetism

1. Like a bar magnet, our planet contains two magnetic poles, the north magnetic pole and the south magnetic pole.
2. The magnetic poles are closer to the geographic poles, but not quite there.
3. A freely suspended magnet points towards a magnetic pole. The magnetic north pole of the Earth is actually the geographic south pole and vice versa.
4. In addition, the freely suspended magnet is a magnet with two magnetic poles. As a result of the magnetic field formed by the earth's core, it behaves as a very large magnet.
5. Because the Earth's magnetic South Pole is close to its geographic north, the freely suspended magnet, if allowed to spin in any direction, will always line up with the north-south direction.
6. We can say that when a magnetic needle is suspended freely above the earth, the south pole of the needle is attracted to the earth's north pole, and the north pole of the magnet is always attracted to the south pole of the magnet.
7. Demonstrating with the help of a diagram.

Hence, a freely suspended magnet rests in the geographic north-south direction.