Question

Describe experimentally that a freely-suspended magnet comes to rest in the north-south direction.

Answer 1

1. To prove that freely suspended, the magnet comes to rest in the north-south direction we need to suspend that magnet with the help of a thread in air and let it get suspended in a random direction.
2. Now place a magnetic compass near that magnet you will come to know which pole is directing towards which direction.
3. Now you will be able to tell that the magnet is directed in the north-south direction.
4. So the reason for a magnet to align itself towards a north-south direction is that earth acts as a huge magnet with two opposite poles i.e. north and south that is why wherever a magnet is freely suspended it gets directed toward a north-south direction as we know that opposite poles attract each other.