Opposite poles on a magnet repel each other. Y r the N poles of compasses attracted to the Noth Pole of Earth?

Question

If opposite poles on a magnet repel each other, why are the N pole of compasses attracted to the Noth Pole of the Earth? This is for my physics class. We're studying magnetism.

Answer 1

Opposite poles on magnets ATTRACT each other, not repel.
The "north" end of a magnetic is attracted to the "south" end. Like poles repel, dissimilar poles attract.

Actually, the "North" pole on the Earth is actually a magnetic "south" pole.
The north end of a compass is magnetically attracted to Earth's north pole because Earth's north pole is actually a south pole.

Answer 2

My friend, the point on the needle of the compass labelled 'north' is actually a south pole. This is done deliberately so it points towards north. It isn't actually a north pole at all, it's a south pole. That's why.

I hate to be pedantic, mrjeffy321, but the magnetic north pole on Earth is in the northern hemisphere with our conventional labelling system, not the other way round. It is the compass that is deliberately mal-labelled, not the Earth.