When a bar magnet is cut in half, what can be inferred about the resulting pieces?

• A. One becomes a magnet with only a north pole.
• B. Both pieces will still have north and south poles.
• C. One piece becomes a steel bar, the other an iron bar.
• D. Both pieces become non-magnetic.

Answer: (B)

When a bar magnet is cut in half, it is correct to state that both resulting pieces will still exhibit both a north and a south pole. This phenomenon occurs because the magnetic property of a material is due to the alignment of magnetic domains within it.

When the magnet is severed, each half retains its magnetic domains in such a way that new north and south poles emerge at the cut ends. This means that even though the original magnet is now two separate pieces, each piece acts as a smaller magnet with its own north and south poles.

The other options do not accurately reflect this fundamental property of magnets. For instance, a magnet cannot exist with only a north pole; the nature of magnetism requires both poles to be present. Additionally, cutting the magnet does not transform the pieces into a steel or iron bar, nor does it make them non-magnetic. Each piece continues to function as a magnet.