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Science glossary · Australia

Magnet

An object that attracts iron and some other metals, and that has a north and a south pole.

Opposite poles attract each other and matching poles push apart. A magnet's pull acts through some distance and even through thin materials.

Example: A magnet picks up steel paper clips but not plastic ones.

Lessons, worksheets, practice and tools on this: Forces and motion.

Related words

  • Force: A push or a pull.
  • Friction: A force that slows things down when two surfaces rub together.
  • Lever: A simple machine: a bar that turns on a point called the fulcrum.
  • Gravity: The force that pulls objects toward each other, such as toward the center of Earth.

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