Amanda is holding a compass and notices that the north pole of the compass points toward the north pole of the Earth. She is confused because she knows from her science classes that the north poles of two magnets will repel each other. How can she explain this phenomenon?
The Earth's magnetic poles may have reversed positions while Amanda was observing the compass.
The geographic north pole of the Earth is actually near the Earth's magnetic south pole.
The north pole of the compass was probably pushed in the wrong direction by a nearby magnet.
The Earth's poles are not strong enough to attract any handheld magnets, so it was probably a coincidence that the compass pointed towards the north pole.
I think C
the answer was "The geographic north pole of the Earth is actually near the Earth’s magnetic south pole."
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The geographic north pole is near the magnetic south pole
Thanks for telling us the answer. I had no idea about this.
Your welcome
http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=65
To explain this phenomenon, Amanda may consider option C - "The north pole of the compass was probably pushed in the wrong direction by a nearby magnet."
When Amanda is using a compass, it is important to note that the compass needle aligns itself with the Earth's magnetic field. The Earth acts as a giant magnet with its own magnetic field, and the compass needle is a small magnet that aligns itself with this field. The north-seeking pole of the compass needle is attracted to the Earth's magnetic south pole, which is near the geographic North Pole.
If Amanda notices that the north pole of the compass is pointing towards the geographic North Pole of the Earth, it may be due to the presence of a nearby magnet interfering with the compass. The magnetic field of the nearby magnet might be strong enough to affect the alignment of the compass needle and push it in the wrong direction.
Therefore, option C provides a possible explanation for Amanda's confusion. It suggests that the nearby magnet has caused the compass needle's north-seeking pole to point towards the Earth's geographic North Pole, seemingly contradicting Amanda's understanding of magnetism where like poles repel each other.