HOTS Questions: Fun with Magnets | Class 6: Additional Practice PDF Download

Q1: When you are listening to a song using a small radio, it gives a lot of disturbance when you change the direction. Why?
Ans: This happens because the small radio receives signals through radio waves. These waves travel in straight lines from the broadcasting station to the radio's antenna. When you change the direction of the radio, the antenna's position also changes. If the antenna is not aligned properly with the direction of the radio waves, buildings, trees, or other objects might block or reflect the waves. This causes the signal to become weak or disrupted, leading to static or noise in the sound.

Q2: While storing the magnets, a wooden stick is kept between the two magnets. Why?
Ans: When we keep magnets close to each other, they can stick together very strongly because of their magnetic power. To prevent this and to keep them safe, we use a wooden stick or something that is not a magnet. This helps to stop the magnets from pulling towards each other. Also, keeping a wooden stick between them protects the magnets from becoming weaker over time when they are too close.

Q3: Why can't a wooden piece be made into a magnet?
Ans: Wood is not a material that can become a magnet. To be a magnet, the tiny parts inside a material need to be special and align in a certain way. Wood doesn't have these special parts that can do that. Even if we try to make wood a magnet by putting it near a strong magnet, it won't work. The magnetic power won't stay in the wood because it's not the right kind of material for magnets.

Q4: If you want to listen to a song using a small radio while sitting in a rail compartment, you can't. Why?
Ans: Listening to a song using a small radio in a train compartment is difficult because the metal surfaces of the compartment can block radio waves. Radio waves are like invisible signals that the radio catches to play music. However, metal objects, like the walls and roof of the train compartment, can stop these signals from reaching the radio's antenna. This makes it hard for the radio to receive the signals and play the song properly.

Q5: Do not keep magnets near electronic equipment. Why?
Ans: Magnets can be strong and their magnetic field can disturb electronic things like computers, phones, and TVs. Some of these things use tiny parts that work with electricity. Magnets can confuse these parts and make them stop working or give the wrong results. So, it's better to keep magnets away from these devices to keep them working properly.

Q6: What is a magnet? How is it different from a non-magnetic material?
Ans: A magnet is an object that attracts certain materials like iron, nickel, and cobalt. It has the ability to pull these materials towards itself. Non-magnetic materials, on the other hand, do not get attracted to magnets. For example, wood, plastic, and paper are non-magnetic materials.

Q7: How can you identify the poles of a bar magnet without using any other magnet?
Ans: To identify the poles of a bar magnet without using any other magnet, you can suspend the magnet freely using a thread. The end of the magnet that points towards the north direction is the North Pole, and the end that points towards the south direction is the South Pole.

Q8: What is the significance of the Earth's magnetic field? How does it affect a freely suspended magnet?
Ans: The Earth itself behaves like a giant magnet due to its magnetic field. The North Pole of the Earth's magnetic field is located near the geographic South Pole, and the South Pole of the Earth's magnetic field is located near the geographic North Pole. When a freely suspended magnet is allowed to move, its North Pole aligns with the Earth's magnetic North Pole, and its South Pole aligns with the Earth's magnetic South Pole. This behavior is due to the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the magnet.

Q9: Describe how to make a temporary magnet. How is it different from a permanent magnet?
Ans: A temporary magnet is made by rubbing a piece of iron or steel with a permanent magnet. This process aligns the magnetic domains in the iron or steel, making it temporarily magnetic. However, this magnetism fades over time and the material loses its magnetism when the domains randomly realign. In contrast, a permanent magnet maintains its magnetism for a long time without the need for external influence because its domains are already aligned and fixed.

Q10: Explain the concept of poles in a magnet. What are the different types of poles?
Ans: A magnet has two ends or poles called the North Pole and the South Pole. The North Pole of one magnet attracts the South Pole of another magnet, while the North Pole of one magnet repels the North Pole of another magnet. Similarly, the South Pole of one magnet repels the South Pole of another magnet. So, unlike poles attract, and like poles repel.