A compass needle points north because the north pole of the magnet inside it is attracted to the south pole of Earth's built-in magnet.

What causes a compass to point?

A compass points north because all magnets have two poles , a north pole and a south pole, and the north pole of one magnet is attracted to the south pole of another magnet. (You may have seen this demonstrated by a pair of simple bar magnets or refrigerator magnets pushed end to end.)

Why does a compass always points north?

The north pole of a compass magnet points toward the north. ... Earth's south magnetic pole is near Earth's geographic north. Earth's magnetic north pole is near Earth's geographic south. That's why the north pole of a compass points toward north because that's where Earth's south magnetic pole is located and they attract.