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NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 4 Activity 4.1: Let us explore — Magnetic and Non-magnetic Materials

Book page 62 & 63 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Do magnets stick to objects made of certain materials only?
Answer

Yes. A magnet is fussy about what it will hold on to. It sticks only to objects made of a few special materials — mainly iron, and also nickel and cobalt (and mixtures such as steel that contain them).

Magnet + iron nail → sticks
Magnet + steel U-clip → sticks
Magnet + wooden pencil → does not stick
Magnet + rubber eraser → does not stick

So the test is not “is it hard?” or “is it shiny?” or even “is it a metal?”. A copper wire and an aluminium foil are metals, yet a magnet ignores both. What matters is which metal it is.

Why it happens: only in iron, nickel and cobalt can the tiny magnetic parts inside the material line up when a magnet comes near. Once they line up, the object itself behaves like a small magnet for that moment and is pulled in. In wood, plastic or glass nothing lines up, so nothing is pulled.
Try This: Run a magnet along the edge of a one-rupee coin, a steel spoon, a plastic bottle cap and a brass key. You will quickly build a feel for which materials answer the magnet and which stay silent.
Q2.
Predict which of the objects will stick to the magnet. Write your prediction in Table 4.1. Now hold a magnet in your hand and bring it near the objects one by one (Fig. 4.3). Observe which of the objects stick to the magnet. Record your observations in Table 4.1.
Answer

Collect about eight to ten everyday objects, write your guess first, and only then test with the magnet. A completed Table 4.1 looks like this.

Name of the objectMaterial the object is made ofPrediction (Yes/No)Observation (Yes/No)
PencilWoodNoNo
EraserRubberNoNo
Iron nailIronYesYes
Safety pin / U-clipSteel (contains iron)YesYes
ScalePlasticNoNo
BangleGlassNoNo
Sharpener bladeSteelYesYes
KeyBrassYes (a common wrong guess)No
Aluminium foilAluminiumYes (a common wrong guess)No
Notebook pagePaperNoNo
Tip: Write the prediction column in pencil before you touch the magnet to anything. The whole point of the activity is to find out where your guess and nature disagree — the brass key and the aluminium foil are the two that usually surprise the class.
Q3.
Was your prediction correct for all objects? Which materials stuck to the magnet? What conclusion can you draw?
Answer

Usually not for all of them. Most students predict correctly for wood, rubber, plastic, glass and paper, but go wrong for the shiny metals — a brass key, an aluminium foil or a copper wire looks like it “should” stick, and it does not.

The objects that stuck were the ones made of iron or steel — the nail, the U-clip, the safety pin, the blade, the iron key.

Conclusion:

Materials attracted by a magnet = magnetic materials (iron, nickel, cobalt)
Materials not attracted by a magnet = non-magnetic materials (wood, rubber, plastic, glass, paper, copper, aluminium)
A magnet does not attract everything — it attracts only magnetic materials.
Why the shiny-metal guess fails: “metal” is a huge family. Only three ordinary metals — iron, nickel and cobalt — are magnetic. Copper, aluminium, brass, gold and silver are metals too, but a magnet has no hold on them.
Q4.
Which materials listed in Table 4.1 were found to be non-magnetic?
Answer

From the table above, the non-magnetic materials were:

  • Wood — the pencil
  • Rubber — the eraser
  • Plastic — the scale
  • Glass — the bangle
  • Paper — the notebook page
  • Brass — the key
  • Aluminium — the foil

None of these was pulled towards the magnet, not even a little, however close the magnet was brought.

Did you know? This simple difference is used every day at scrap yards and recycling centres. A big magnet lifts out all the iron and steel from a mixed heap of waste and leaves the plastic, glass and aluminium behind — sorting in seconds what would take hours by hand.
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