Poles: attraction and repulsion

In a nutshell

The ends of a magnet are where the magnetic force is greatest, these ends are called the north pole and south pole. Opposite poles attract one another and poles of the same type repel one another.

Opposite poles

A north pole and a south pole attract one another. This means that when you hold the north pole of one magnet near the south pole of another, they will move towards each other because of the magnetic force.

Pulling magnets apart can be hard because you have to overcome the magnetic force between the magnets.

Same poles

Two north poles repel one another and two south poles repel one another. This means that when you hold the north pole of one magnet near the north pole of another, they will move away from each other because of the magnetic force.

You have to push poles of the same type with a lot of force to get the magnets to touch, this is because the magnetic force is pushing them apart.