Here are a series of truths which answer the question: 1) A magnet, any magnet, always consists of a north pole and a south pole. 2) Opposite poles attract each other, same poles repulse each other. 3) A compass needle is a tiny magnet 4) The earth itself can be seen as one big magnet, with its magnetic south pole there at the geographical north pole Thus, the 'north pole' of you compass needle is attracted to the south pole of the planet. Which is the geographical north pole. (Here are a few disclaimers: Firstly, Geographical north and Magnetical south don't perfectly align, but its close. Some compasses even include a correcting factor. Secondly, the earth has no magnet inside it as most people know magnets. Instead, the earths core produces a magnetic field in a different way, but the end result is the same as if the planet had one big magnet inside it.)
The point to which a compass always points is the magnetic North Pole. This is because the compass needle aligns itself with the Earth's magnetic field, which is directed towards the magnetic North Pole.
The needle, or "pointer", of a compass will always point North. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass
No. The true north pole and the magnetic north pole are in different locations. The compass will point at the magnetic north pole. If you happened to be somewhere between the two north poles, the compass will point exactly backwards!
True north is the direction indicated by the Earth's axis of rotation, while magnetic north is the direction indicated by the compass needle. The arrowhead of a compass points towards magnetic north, not true north.
The compass relies on earth's magnetic field to orient itself. The magnetic field runs from the north pole to the south pole. The compass will orient itself with whichever pole it's closest to.
If you point the north side of the compass away from you the compass will point south. Because the needle always points north (magnetism).
north
north
the compass would point north because it Always points north unless you are at the north pole. :)
A compass.
The point to which a compass always points is the magnetic North Pole. This is because the compass needle aligns itself with the Earth's magnetic field, which is directed towards the magnetic North Pole.
The needle, or "pointer", of a compass will always point North. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass
the north pole
Compass points always towards Earth's magnetic north.
A compass point is lightly magnetised and is attracted the the magnetic north pole, so provided there are no other stronger magnets nearby the compass will always point north, and knowing where north is you can then work out all the other directions.
The Earth's magnetic field causes a compass needle to align with the magnetic North Pole, which is located near the geographic North Pole. This makes the compass point to the north direction consistently.
A compass will always point to the south pole of a magnet.