NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 4 Fun with Magnets — Fun with Magnets

Book page 71 & 72 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

Can we make a garland? (Fig. 4.11)

Answer

Yes. A magnetic garland is a chain of steel paper clips hanging one below the other from a single magnet, with nothing but magnetism holding them together.

How to make it:

Hold a strong bar magnet by one end.
Touch a steel paper clip to the free pole. It sticks.
Touch a second clip to the bottom of the first — it also sticks. Then a third, a fourth, and so on.
The chain grows until the clips at the bottom are too far from the magnet to be held. Gently lift the magnet and the whole garland hangs from it.

Why the second clip sticks to the first: the first clip, while it is touching the magnet, itself becomes a temporary magnet with its own two poles. It can then hold the next clip. This passing on of magnetism is called induced magnetism. Take the magnet away and the whole garland collapses at once, because the clips lose their borrowed magnetism.

Try This: Count how many clips your garland holds. Repeat with a stronger magnet — the chain gets longer. This is a fair way to compare the strength of two magnets.

Q2.

Can we take the steel balls out of the maze by moving a magnet below the cardboard tray? (Fig. 4.12)

Answer

Yes. Hold the magnet under the cardboard tray, right below a steel ball, and slide it slowly. The ball follows the magnet through the maze and can be walked all the way to the exit — without ever touching it.

Magnet below the tray → magnetic effect passes through the cardboard → steel ball above is attracted → ball follows the magnet

Why it works: cardboard is a non-magnetic material, so it does not stop the magnetic effect (Activity 4.7). Steel contains iron, so the ball is a magnetic object. The ball moves because it is always being pulled towards the nearest, strongest part of the magnet.

Tip: Move the magnet slowly. If you jerk it, the ball is left behind — the pull weakens very quickly as the gap between magnet and ball grows.

Q3.

Can we pick out a steel paper clip fallen in water using a magnet, without getting our fingers or the magnet wet? (Fig. 4.13)

Answer

Yes. Use the wall of the glass as the barrier.

Hold the magnet outside the glass, touching the wall, level with the clip.
The clip is attracted through the glass and the water and clings to the inner wall.
Now slide the magnet slowly up the outside of the glass. The clip climbs up the inner wall with it.
When the clip reaches the rim, tilt it out onto your palm. Neither your fingers nor the magnet has touched the water.

Why it works: both glass and water are non-magnetic, so the magnetic effect passes right through them. This is more than a game — it is how a doctor removes a tiny iron splinter from an eye, and how factories fish out iron pieces that fall into oil or chemicals.

Q4.

Will the two cars speed towards each other or run away from each other when brought closer? (Fig. 4.14)

Answer

In Fig. 4.14 the two matchbox cars carry magnets with like poles facing each other, so they will run away from each other — they repel.

How the magnets are placed on the cars	What the cars do
Like poles facing (N–N or S–S) — as in Fig. 4.14	The cars run away from each other (repulsion)
Unlike poles facing (N–S)	The cars speed towards each other and stick (attraction)

Why the cars are used: the wheels remove almost all friction, exactly like the round pencils in Activity 4.5. So even the small push between two magnets a few centimetres apart is enough to send a car rolling.

Did you know? A Maglev train works on this very push. Powerful magnets on the track and on the train repel each other, so the train floats a little above the rails. With no wheels touching the track there is almost no friction, and such trains run at over 400 km per hour.

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