What is the cause of a magnetic field about a permanent magnet ...

[Kthamas]

What is the cause of a magnetic field about a permanent magnet and about a current-carrying wire?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What correction do you suggest to a friend who states that a step-up transformer boosts energy, while a step-down transformer reduces energy in a circuit?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[meganmoser117]

Answer to Question 1

Answer: All magnetic fields have their origin in the motion of electric charges. About a permanent magnet the moving charges are electron motions, including possibly spin motions, in the atoms that compose the magnetmost commonly iron atoms. About a current-carrying wire, the drifting electrons produce the magnetic field.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: Mainly, remind your friend of the conservation of energy. Although a transformer can step up or step down voltages and currents, in no way can it do the same with energy. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.