Introduction to Magnetic North V’s True North:
All compasses will naturally aim toward magnetic north, unless you adjust them to aim
toward ‘True North’ (or Geographic North Pole). We didn’t do that in our activity last week,
but if you wanted to read a compass with a map, it would pay to do that, especially the
closer you get toward the North Pole. The amount you adjust your compass would depend
on where you are in the world.
Figure 1. Compass needle points to Magnetic North
If you were standing at the Geographic North Pole and you didn’t adjust your compass, in
which direction would your compass point according to Figure 2 below? ____________
The Geographic North Pole never changes, but Magnetic North does. This lesson, we will be
learning about how the Magnetic North Pole is moving faster and faster in recent years, and
what that could mean.
Figure 2. This is an old image of True North (Geographic North Pole) and Magnetic North
around 1990.
Read the news article called “Check your compass: the magnetic north pole is on the
move”
After you have read the article, answer the following questions:
1) Where is Magnetic North heading to?_____________________
2) Is Magnetic North heading toward or away from Canada?_____________________
3) Give one reason why is it important to update maps according to Magnetic North:
4) What large event do scientists predict will happen now that they see Magnetic North
moving so quickly, and Earth’s magnetic field is getting weaker?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
When you have answered the questions hand the article back to the teacher.
Using the scale on the map, approximately how many kilometers per year has the North
Magnetic Pole been traveling between:
2) 1900 and 1973? __________________________________________________
3) 1973 and 1994? __________________________________________________
4) 2001 and 2019? ___________________________________________________
Assignment 1 – write a newspaper article
Worth 3% of your grade.
The magnetic north is still shifting- what if it starts moving even faster? It is the year 2025
and magnetic north is located in Russia and seems to be headed for China... Write your own
short newspaper article breaking the news to the world, using the information gathered
from what you read and watching the videos that you are about to be shown.
The article should be about one page long, and contain the following:

A creative title.

Your name and date.

At least three paragraphs containing the following ideas:
o What the magnetic north is and how it is shifting
o What this pole shift means for navigation.
o What Earth could be like to live on during a pole reversal in the future