Question

Take a mixture of sand, pieces of paper, sawdust, iron filings and pins in a saucer and pass a magnet around the mixture. What do you see?

Answer 1

When a magnet is passed around the mixture, the iron filings and pins are attracted towards the magnet and stick to it. The sand, pieces of paper and sawdust do not get attracted and remain in the saucer.

This shows that iron is a magnetic material, while sand, paper and sawdust are non-magnetic materials.