Hinglish

Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials

Class 6 Science · Chapter 4: Exploring Magnets · NCERT Curiosity section 4.1

Learn

Divit's fridge has colourful magnets holding up his drawings. He wonders: what else will a magnet stick to? He takes a magnet around the house and tests everything he can find.

A magnet pulls (attracts) things made of iron, nickel and cobalt. Steel has iron in it, so steel pins and clips are attracted too. These are magnetic materials. Wood, plastic, glass, rubber, paper, cloth, aluminium and copper are non-magnetic.

Careful: not every shiny metal is magnetic! An aluminium can and a copper wire are metals but are not attracted. Only test, don't guess.

Long ago, people found a natural rock that attracted iron. It is called magnetite (lodestone). Today most magnets are made in factories, in many shapes: bar, horseshoe, ring, disc and more.

Explore: test the objects with your magnet.

  1. Sort each object: does it stick to a magnet?

Remember

  • Magnets attract iron, nickel, cobalt (and steel). These are magnetic materials.
  • Not all metals are magnetic: aluminium and copper are not.

Quick check

Which of these will a magnet attract?

  1. A steel spoon
  2. A copper coin
  3. A plastic bottle
  4. A rubber band
Answer

A steel spoon. Steel contains iron, which is magnetic. Copper, plastic and rubber are not.

Think about it

Kabir drops a box of steel pins into a pile of sand. How can he get them back quickly?

One answer

Move a magnet through the sand. The steel pins stick to it, but the sand does not, because sand is non-magnetic.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.