Student 1 said,

Magnetic force and electric charges are similar, because

opposites attract and likes repel.

Student 2 said,

Magnetism and electricity are similar because they both have

a force field extending out from them so they don't have to

touch to work.

How would you respond to these students?

Student 1 -

Magnetic force and electric force are similar, because as in magnets the like (North and South) poles repel and unlike poles attract similarly in electricity the charges repel

Explanation

Magnets are dipole having a north pole and south pole respectively and when two magnetic objects are close to each other and in magnetic fields it is when the magnetic forces act upon each other where like poles attract and unlike poles repel. Now in case of electricity, we have a positive (+) charge and a negative charge (-) which attracts and repels similarly. Hence we can say that magnetic force and electric charges can be similar.

Student 2 -

Magnetism and electricity are similar because magnetism exerts magnetic field extending out from it and electricity exerts electric field.

Explanation:

Now when we have to explain the forces acting with touching each other, we can give several examples for this one being the gravitational force. To consider the forces acting on each other without being in contact, we always imagine a field or an area around that object, and anything or any object coming close to this field would get pulled because of the field force or charge it exerts. The property of magnetism generally defined as a force of either attraction or repulsion acting at a distance. This is due to a magnetic field caused by moving electrically charged particles. It is also essentially in all magnetic objects. And for this, the magnetic objects in the field do not necessarily touch each other but the direction of poles which attract or repel from each other. In case of electricity, or you can term it is as an electric field it exerts an electrostatic force that pulls the object or a body coming close in that electrically charged field.