A bar magnet has no markings to indicate its poles. How would you find out near which end is its north pole is located?

Poles of a bar magnet:

The poles of a bar magnet are located at their ends. There are two poles every bar magnet has at its ends-

1. North pole

2. South pole

Finding poles of a bar magnet:

When a bar magnet has no marking to indicate its poles, then by suspending it free we can find its poles. One end of the magnet will face the north direction and the other end will face the south direction. The pole or end of a bar magnet facing the north direction is said to be the north pole of the bar magnet and the pole or end of the bar magnet facing the south direction is said to be the south pole of the magnet.

Let us find its poles by following these steps:

• Take the bar magnet and suspend it freely with help of a thread.
• The end that points towards the north pole will be regarded as the north end of the magnet.
• For confirmation, take a bar magnet with known/marked poles on it.
• Let the north pole of the magnet be brought closer to the suspended magnet at the end that is pointing towards the north, it shows repulsion.