Why does a magnetic compass always point towards towards NORTH?
A magnet always has two faces or ‘poles’. One is called north, because it will be attracted to the north pole of the earth if allowed to freely rotate. The other is called south because it will be attracted to the south pole of the earth. The earth itself acts like a magnet. The north pole of the earth actually has a south magnetic polarity and therefore attracts the north pole of a magnet. A compass needle is a magnet in which the arrow that points north has a north magnetic polarity.