THE TERRIFIC MAGNETRina had just bought a new pencil case. Rina showed it to her good friends, Nurul an Ain.Nurul and Ain helped Rina to put her pencils and sharpener inside the drawer. However , she dropped it accidentally.The pencil case fell onto the floor.Rina picked it up at once and checked the condition of the pencil case anxiously.Rina’s mother , Puan Aisyah , was doing some experiment at her home lab, when she heard the noise coming from Rina’s room.She stopped her work and went over to Rina’s room.“What’s happened to your pencil case, Rina?”,asked Puan Aisyah.“I dropped my pencil case accidentally , mama,” replied Rina.“Fortunately , the pencil case did not break,” added Nurul.“And the pencil case cover still remained intact,” said Ain.“You were lucky because the magnet kept your pencil case closed securely, “ said her mother.“Magnet?” asked Rina curiously.“What is magnet, mama?”“Magnet is something then can attract or repel. Let me show you what magnet is.” Puan Aisyah took Rina’s pencil case and opened it.Then Puan Aisyah pointed at the magnetic bars on the pencil case.“Those black-coloured bars are magnets. It’s the magnets that keep the cover tight.”“Girls, let me show you different types of magnets in my lab, “suggested Puan Aisyah.Rina , Nurul and Ain looked at the bar magnet curiously. The end of the bar magnet were blue and red in colour.

“The colours indicate the different poles of the magnet.For these magnets, the red end refers to the north pole and the blue end the south pole.However , the ends of bar magnets are not necessarily coloured. They might be labelled ‘N’ for north pole and ‘S’ for south pole. But there might not be any labels or colours at all,” explained Puan Aisyah.“Then how can we identify the two different poles?” asked Nurul.“Good question , Nurul , we can find out the poles by placing two magnets next to each other.You will get the answer by observing what the magnet will do,” answered Puan Aisyah.They noticed that when different poles of two magnets face each other , the magnets will attract. When the same poles of two magnets face each other , the magnets will repel.“Wow, that is so amazing,”said Ain.“Are all magnets shaped this way?” asked Rina.“No Rina. The magnets that we used just now are bar-shaped .Magnet have different shapes and sizes. This is U-shaped magnet, Horseshoe-magnet , circular-magnet and this is ring magnet,” explained Puan Aisyah.Rina looked at the strange ring, “ Where are the poles of the ring magnet, mama?” she asked.“This ring magnet has one pole on the outer ring and one pole on the inner ring,” answered Puan Aisyah.

Rina, Nurul and Ain played with all the magnets.For all the magnets, Like poles repel.

Unlike poles attract.“As you can see, the strength of a magnet does not depend on its size. A small magnet sometimes can be stronger than a big one.”Puan Aisyah held the smaller magnet and showed it to them. However , she accidentally dropped the bar magnet. The bar magnet fell on the floor and broke into two pieces.“A magnet could lose some of its power when broken. Magnetic power could also become weak due to hammering, heating or frequent dropping.“So , be careful with your pencil case, Rina. It may not be broken , but if you drop it too often , the magnet may become weak, “ said Puan Aisyah.“ I will, mama, “ answered Rina.They had a good time discussing more about magnet after that.So my dear fellow friends, the facts in this story are:

1. Magnet have different shapes and sizes.2. Like poles repel , unlike poles attract.3. A magnet will lose its strength if it is dropped , knocked or

heated over a fire.So that magnet should always be stored with keepers to keep their strength.Thank you