Science // Forces & Motion

Magnetic Poles

Describe magnets as having two poles (north and south) and predict whether two magnets will attract or repel based on which poles face each other

Ages
7 to 9
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
1 topic
Standards
4 codes

Quick check

Can the learner hold two magnets together and explain why they sometimes snap together and sometimes push apart, based on which ends are facing?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Identify and label the north and south poles of a magnet
  • State the rule: like poles repel, opposite poles attract
  • Predict the outcome of bringing two magnets together based on their pole orientation

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Magnetic MaterialsRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 7 to 8

    Must observe magnets attract/repel before formalising pole rules

You are here

Magnetic Poles

Ages 7 to 9 // Concept

Leads to

1 topic
  • Magnetic FieldsRequired

    Forces & Motion // Ages 11 to 12

    KS3 magnetic field lines and Earth's magnetism extends KS2 magnetic poles, attraction and repulsion

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For children aged 7-9, build the rule 'like poles repel, opposite poles attract' from repeated predict-then-test trials with two labelled magnets. The target is a predictive rule grounded in observation: every magnet has two poles (north-seeking/south-seeking); predict whether two magnets attract or repel from how their poles face. No field model or explanation of why yet. Repulsion of like poles is grasped more slowly than attraction of opposites, so give plentiful like-pole trials. Poles are a property of every magnet, whatever its shape.

Common misconceptions

  • Children are slow to adopt the idea of poles and only gradually come to see magnetic effects as attraction of unlike poles and repulsion of like poles (IOP Spark) — repulsion is grasped later than attraction.
  • Reversing the rule (thinking like poles attract) — hence the need for many disconfirming like-pole trials.
  • Thinking poles are always 'the two ends' — not true for ring/button magnets; poles are a property of every magnet whatever its shape.
  • Thinking any two magnets always just 'stick' — ignoring that orientation determines attract vs repel.
  • Assuming a bigger magnet is automatically the stronger one (carried over from the materials topic).

Useful representations

  • Two colour-coded bar magnets (N/S labelled) brought together in the four orientations: N-N, S-S (repel) and N-S, S-N (attract)
  • A predict-then-test record table: orientation drawn → prediction → observed outcome
  • The 'like repel, opposite attract' rule stated as a short, memorable line
  • A freely-suspended/floating magnet swinging to point north (anchors the 'north-seeking' name)

Teaching practices

  • Build the rule empirically: child orients two labelled bar magnets, predicts attract or repel, then tests — across enough trials the pattern 'like repel, opposite attract' emerges as their own discovery.
  • Use precise, consistent pole language — 'north-seeking' and 'south-seeking' (a freely-moving magnet's north-seeking pole points north) — then progress to 'north pole'/'south pole' as understanding consolidates (IOP Spark progression).
  • Colour-code and label the poles (e.g. N red / S blue) so orientation is unambiguous while children are still learning the rule.
  • Confront the repulsion case explicitly and often — children adopt repulsion of like poles much more slowly than attraction of opposites, so give plentiful like-pole trials and the felt 'invisible push'.
  • Show magnets of different shapes (bar, ring, button, horseshoe) so pupils learn poles are a property of every magnet, not 'the two ends of a bar'.

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Predict-then-test with two labelled magnets

    Why it works: Whether two magnets attract or repel depends on which poles face each other: like poles push apart, opposite poles pull together. Because flipping one magnet reverses the outcome with the SAME pair, the result depends on which poles face each other, not on which particular magnets you use.

    1. Take two bar magnets with poles colour-coded and labelled (e.g. north red, south blue).
    2. Set an orientation by bringing two ends toward each other; before pushing, say aloud your prediction: will they attract or repel?
    3. Slowly push them together and observe/feel what happens: do they snap together, or meet an invisible springy resistance that pushes them apart unless you force them?
    4. Work through all four orientations: N-N, S-S, N-S, S-N. Record each in a table: draw the orientation, write your prediction, write what actually happened.
    5. On one pair that repels (e.g. N-N), flip just ONE magnet and push again — notice the outcome reverses.
  2. 2

    Confront the repulsion case head-on

    Why it works: Two magnets can push each other away. Repulsion is just as real as attraction and happens specifically when like poles face.

    1. Spend extra trials on like-pole orientations (N-N and S-S), slowly pushing and feeling the resistance.
    2. Describe the sensation: an invisible springy wall that slides and bounces and pushes the ends apart unless you force them together.
    3. Predict the like-pole outcome ahead of each push, then test, until you reliably expect repulsion.
  3. 3

    Poles on magnets of every shape

    Why it works: Every magnet has a north and a south pole whatever its shape; poles are a property of the whole magnet, not simply 'the two ends of a bar'.

    1. Examine magnets of different shapes: bar, ring, button, horseshoe.
    2. For a horseshoe or ring magnet, find where the poles are using iron filings (they cluster at the poles but cannot tell you which is north and which is south), then test with a labelled magnet to name each pole: the part that repels the labelled north pole is a north pole. Ring and button magnets often have their poles on the flat faces rather than at the ends.
    3. State where the north and south poles are on each magnet — not just on the two ends of a bar.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-5
3-PS2-33-PS2-4
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Y3.Sci.FM.5Y3.Sci.FM.6

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