Attraction and repulsion
What Attraction and repulsion means in Combined Science GCSE, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Attraction and repulsion
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Attraction and repulsion in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
A magnet and a magnetic material always attract, while two permanent magnets repel when like poles face each other and attract when unlike poles do.
Like charges repel and opposite charges attract, and like poles repel and opposite poles attract.
Topics that use Attraction and repulsion
- Contact and non-contact forces (AQA GCSE)
- Magnetic fields (AQA GCSE)
Related terms
- Action at a distance
- Alignment of a freely suspended magnet
- Contact and non-contact forces
- Contact force
- Earth's magnetic field
- Field line direction
- Field lines
- Field strength
Using Attraction and repulsion in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise Combined Science questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge