Magnetic Effects of Electric Current Class 10th Notes - Free NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 13 Notes - Download PDF

Magnetic Effects of Electric Current Class 10th Notes - Free NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 13 Notes - Download PDF

Vishal kumarUpdated on 04 Jul 2025, 10:46 PM IST

Ever wondered why magnets attract some materials or how electric current can create a magnetic field? That is exactly what you will learn in Class 10 Science Chapter 12: Magnetic Effects of Electric Current. This chapter explains how electricity and magnetism are connected and it is very useful for understanding everyday devices like electric bells, motors, generators and circuit breakers. This is also a very important chapter for CBSE board exams and science competitions like NSO and NSEJS etc.

These NCERT Notes for Class 10 Science are made by expert faculty of Careers360 as per the latest CBSE syllabus. These NCERT notes for class 10 include important topics such as magnetic field and field lines, the magnetic field due to a current-carrying wire, the right-hand thumb rule, electromagnets, and domestic electric circuits. These NCERT Notes also include clear diagrams and real-life applications to make your learning simple and effective. Whether you are studying for school or preparing for exams, these notes will make the concepts easy to grasp.

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  1. Magnetic Effects of Electric Current Class 10 Notes: Download PDF
  2. NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 12 Notes
  3. Class 10 Chapter Wise Notes

Magnetic Effects of Electric Current Class 10 Notes: Download PDF

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NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 12 Notes

Magnetic Field

A magnetic field is the area around a magnet where any other magnetic element can feel its influence.

(i) The SI unit of magnetic field intensity is tesla (T) or Weber per square metre ( $\mathrm{Wb} \mathrm{m}^{-2}$ ).
(ii) The CGS unit of magnetic field intensity is gauss ( G ) [1 $\mathrm{T}=10^4$ gauss].
(iii) Magnetic field is a vector quantity, because its complete specification needs both direction as well as magnitude.

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Magnetic Field Lines

Magnetic field lines represents the magnetic field, it is a path either straight or curved, the tangent to which at any point gives the direction of the magnetic field at that point.

Properties of Magnetic Field Lines
(i) These are always closed loops.
(ii) The lines point from north pole to south pole outside the magnet and from south pole to north pole inside it.
(iii) The magnetic field lines never cross each other. If they do so, then at the point of intersection there will be two tangents which give two directions of magnetic field at the same point which is not possible.
(iv) The density of the lines is proportional to the strength of the magnetic field.
(v) In the region of stronger field the lines converge and in the region of weaker field the lines diverge.

Magnetic Field Due to a Current-Carrying Conductor

When an electric current flows through a conductor (like a wire), it creates a magnetic field around it. This was first discovered by Hans Christian Oersted.

  • The direction of the magnetic field depends on the direction of the current.
  • The Right-Hand Thumb Rule helps to find this direction.

Magnetic Field due to a Current through a Straight Conductor

The magnetic field lines around a straight conductor carrying current are concentric circles on planes perpendicular to the direction of current.


The direction of magnetic field due to straight current carrying wire can be obtained by 'Right Hand Thumb Rule'.

Right-hand thumb rule :

Imagine yourself grasping a current-carrying conductor with your right-hand, so that the thumb lies along the conductor in the direction of the current, then the fingers of your hand will be encircling the conductor in the direction of the magnetic field lines caused by the current.

Magnetic Field due to a Current through a Circular Loop

The magnetic field lines around a circular current carrying coil are as shown in the figure below. Every point on the wire carrying current would give rise to the magnetic field appearing as straight lines at the center of the loop.

Magnetic Field due to a Current in a Solenoid

(a) A solenoid is a long cylindrical coil containing a large number of closely spaced turns of insulated copper wire.
(b) The magnetic field produced by a current carrying solenoid is similar to the magnetic field produced by a bar magnet.

Electromagnet

If a core of ferromagnetic material, such as soft iron, is placed inside a solenoid, the magnetic field strength inside the solenoid is greatly increased. Because of the permeability of the iron, the field lines within the solenoid crowd into the iron core. This has two effects. First, the crowding concentrates the field lines due the solenoid; the closer together the field lines, stronger is the field. Second, the field lines from the solenoid induce a magnetism inside the iron core, so that the ferromagnetic material becomes a magnet whose field supplements the field of the solenoid. Electromagnets are widely used as components of electrical devices such as motors, generator, electric bell etc.

Force on a Current-Carrying Conductor in a Magnetic Field

When a current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a force. This is the principle behind electric motors and many other electromagnetic devices.

Fleming's left hand rule

If the forefinger, the second finger and the thumb of the left hand are stretched at right angles to each other, with the forefinger pointing in the direction of the field and the second finger in the direction of the current then the thumb indicates the direction of the force. It is called Fleming's left hand rule.

Domestic Electric Circuits

A domestic electric circuit is the wiring system used in homes to supply electricity to various appliances. It connects electrical devices like fans, lights, refrigerators, and TVs to the main power supply safely and efficiently.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What does Chapter 12 of Class 10 Science depict?
A:

 Ncert notes for Class 10 Science chapter 12, is about magnets and their many qualities. Magnetic field, magnetic field created by a straight wire, magnetic field produced by a circular loop, magnetic field produced by a solenoid are some of the subtopics discussed in this chapter. Electromagnets, Kicking wire experiments, Fleming's right-hand rule, Lenz's law, AC generators, Earthing, and other devices can vary the strength of a magnetic field.

Class 10 Science chapter 12 notes pdf download also offers a definition of the magnet, which states that a magnet is an object that can attract other objects made of iron, cobalt, or nickel. Lodestone is a type of magnet that occurs naturally. Magnets can be found in a variety of electronic products, including refrigerators, radios, and stereo speakers, as well as children's toys, computers, and electric wire.

Q: What is a magnet?
A:

According to, Class 10 Science chapter 12 notes a magnet is any material that can generate a magnetic field that can attract or repel other magnetically comparable materials.

The Lodestone is one such naturally occurring magnet. This has the ability to attract metals like iron and nickel.

Q: What is magnetic effect of electric current?
A:

In when an electric current is allowed to flow through a current-carrying conductor, it can generate a magnetic field. The experiment with a magnetic needle that can show deflection can help to understand this. The deflection will be bigger as the current flow increases. When the direction of this current changes, so does the direction of the deflection.

These topics can also be downloaded from Magnetic Effects of Electric Current Class 10 notes pdf download.

Q: State the properties of the Magnet.
A:

Each magnet has two poles: north and south.

Poles that are opposite each other attract each other, while poles that are the same repel each other.

A magnet that is free to move will align itself in a north-south direction.

Q: What are magnetic field lines?
A:

In Magnetic Effects of Electric Current Class 10 notes The field lines, or field lines of a magnet, are imaginary lines that show the magnetic field of a certain magnet. When we let iron fillings settle around bar magnets, they automatically form a pattern that resembles the magnet's field lines. A compass can also be used to determine the field lines of magnets. It's a vector quantity, which means that it has both magnitude and direction.

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