Question

you are given two similar bars. one is magnet and the other is of soft iron. how will you distinguish them?

Answer 1

there are many ways of doing the same -
1. Suspend both of them - the one which always faces in the north- south direction is the magnet and the other is the soft iron bar.

2. Take another magnet and bring its north pole close to all four ends, one-by-one. The bar whose one side repels and the other attracts is a magnet, while the bar whose both sides attract is the iron bar

Answer 2

place the bar a on the table . touch one end of the bar b to the bar a , first at one end , then at other end and finally at the middle . if the bar b sticks to the bar a at both the ends as well as at the middle of bar a , then the bar a will be an iron bar