What is a characteristic of a paramagnetic material?

Paramagnetic materials exhibit a property characterized by being slightly magnetic. This means that when exposed to a magnetic field, these materials have a weak attraction to it, typically resulting in a measurable response. This weak magnetism is due to the presence of unpaired electrons in the material's atomic structure, which can align with an external magnetic field but do not create their own permanent magnetic fields.

In contrast, strongly magnetic materials, often referred to as ferromagnetic materials, exhibit a much greater level of magnetism and can retain magnetic properties even in the absence of an external magnetic field. Non-magnetic materials lack any magnetic response altogether, meaning they will not exhibit attraction or repulsion in a magnetic field. The assertion that a material is magnetic only at high temperatures usually relates to materials that become ferromagnetic at elevated temperatures, but this description does not fit the behavior of paramagnetic materials as they are naturally slightly magnetic regardless of temperature.

Thus, the distinctive characteristic of being slightly magnetic accurately describes paramagnetic materials.