Question

What do we mean by north-south direction when we say that - Magnetsncome to rest in a North-South direction when suspended freely

Answer 1

This statement means when you suspend a bar magnet freely, it will oscillate a bit and then it will come to rest aligning in such a way that its North Pole will point towards the geographic North Pole of the earth (near to which magnetic south pole is situated) and its South Pole towards the geographic South Pole of the earth (where magnetic north pole is situated).