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How to know the north pole and south pole of a magnet?
Your magnet's North pole is attracted to the Earth's North pole.  Technically, the Earth is labeled backwards -- the geographic North pole is actually like the magnetic South pole of a magnet.

If you hang a small stack of magnets on a long thread, the magnets will freely rotate.  Hang up your 3 foot length of string on a stable platform, like an overhead light.  Once it stops wobbling, the North end should be pointing North.  If you know roughly which direction is North (the sun rises in the East), you'll find your magnet's North pole.


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