Final answer:
A bar magnet has two poles: a north pole and a south pole. This remains true even if the magnet is divided into smaller pieces, as magnetic monopoles do not exist.
Step-by-step explanation:
A bar magnet is a magnetic object that always has two poles: a north pole (N) and a south pole (S). When suspended, a bar magnet will align itself with the Earth's magnetic field, with the north pole pointing toward the geographic North Pole of Earth, and the south pole pointing toward the geographic South Pole. No matter how many times you cut a bar magnet in half, each piece will always have a north pole and a south pole, as magnets are continuous dipoles and there are no magnetic monopoles. Therefore, answering the student's question, a bar magnet has two poles.