http://www.ck12.org Chapter 24. Magnetism
24.2 Earth as a Magnet
Lesson Objectives
- Describe Earth as a magnet.
- State how Earth’s magnetism benefits living things.
Lesson Vocabulary
- magnetosphere
Introduction
Did you ever use a compass like the car compass inFigure24.9? The pointer in a compass always points north
because Earth is a giant magnet. In this lesson, you’ll learn why Earth is a magnet and how Earth’s magnetism
benefits living things.
FIGURE 24.9
A compass pointer is aligned by Earth’s
magnetism to point north.