NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 5 .4.2 Non-contact forces — Activity 5.5: Let us test

Book page 695 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

Now insert the second ring magnet above it such that the like poles of the two magnets face each other. Does the second magnet stay floating above the first magnet?

Answer

Yes. The upper ring magnet stays floating in the air, a little above the lower one, with only the wooden stick passing through it.

The Earth pulls the upper magnet downwards, so something must be pushing it up by exactly as much, or it would come down. Nothing is touching it. That upward push is the magnetic force of repulsion between the two like poles that face each other, and it is acting across a gap.

Q2.

Try pushing the second magnet down gently. Do you feel a force on it?

Answer

Yes — you feel a springy push resisting your finger, and the closer you press the upper magnet to the lower one, the harder that push becomes.

The moment you let go, the magnet rises back to where it was floating. This shows two things clearly: the repulsion between like poles is a real force, and its strength increases as the magnets come nearer.

Q3.

Now, reverse the poles of both the magnets. Does the second magnet still remain floating?

Answer

No. With the poles reversed, unlike poles now face each other, so the two magnets attract instead of repelling. The upper magnet slides straight down the stick and sticks to the lower one.

Why it happens: the magnetic force did not vanish — it changed direction. Facing like poles, it pushed the upper magnet up and balanced the Earth's pull. Facing unlike poles, it pulls the upper magnet down, adding to the Earth's pull instead of opposing it. This is the proof that a magnet can exert a force on another magnet without being in contact with it — and that the magnetic force is a non-contact force which can be either attractive or repulsive.

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