NCERT Class 12 Physics Chapter 5 - Additional Questions
1.(a) Answer the following questions regarding earth's magnetism: A vector needs three quantities for its specification. Name the three independent quantities conventionally used to specify the earth's magnetic field.
Answer:
The three independent quantities used to specify the earth's magnetic field are:
(f) The horizontal component of Earth's magnetic field ( ).
(ii) The magnetic declination (D): it is the angle between the geographic north and the magnetic north at a place.
(iii)The magnetic dip (1): It is the angle between the horizontal plane and the magnetic axis, as observed in the compass
1.(b) Answer the following questions regarding earth's magnetism. The angle of dip at a location in southern India is about . Would you expect a greater or smaller dip angle in Britain?
Answer:
We would expect a greater angle of dip in Britain. The angle of dip increases as the distance from equator increases.
(It is 0 at the equator and 90 degrees at the poles)
1.(c) Answer the following questions regarding earth's magnetism - If you made a map of magnetic field lines at Melbourne in Australia, would the lines seem to go into the ground or come out of the ground?
Answer:
The field lines go into the earth at the north magnetic pole and come out from the south magnetic pole and hence Australia being in the southern hemisphere. The magnetic field lines would come out of the ground at Melbourne.
1.(d) In which direction would a compass free to move in the vertical plane point to, if located right on the geomagnetic north or south pole?
Answer:
The magnetic field is perpendicular at the poles and the magnetic needle of the compass tends to align with the magnetic field. Therefore the compass will get aligned in the vertical direction if is held vertically at the north pole.
1.(e) The earth's field, it is claimed, roughly approximates the field due to a dipole of magnetic moment located at its centre. Check the order of magnitude of this number in some way
Answer:
Magnetic field
substituting the values
then
1.(f) Geologists claim that besides the main magnetic N-S poles, there are several local poles on the earth's surface oriented in different directions. How is such a thing possible at all?
Answer:
This may be possible due to the presence of minerals which are magnetic in nature.
2.(a) The Earth's magnetic field varies from point to point in space. Does it also change with time? If so, on what time scale does it change appreciably?
Answer:
Due to the constant but slow motion of the plates and change in the core, magnetic field due to Earth may change with time too. The time scale is in centuries for appreciable change.
2. (b) The earth's core is known to contain iron. Yet geologists do not regard this as a source of the earth's magnetism. Why?
Answer:
The iron present in the core of the Earth is in the molten form. Hence it loses its ferromagnetism and is not regarded by geologists as a source of earth's magnetism.
2. (c) The charged currents in the outer conducting regions of the earth's core are thought to be responsible for Earth's magnetism. What might be the 'battery' (i.e., the source of energy) to sustain these currents?
Answer:
The radioactive materials might be the battery to sustain such currents.
2. (d) The earth may have even reversed the direction of its field several times during its history of 4 to 5 billion years. How can geologists know about the earth's field in such a distant past?
Answer:
The direction of the earth's magnetic field was recorded in rocks during solidification. By studying them, geologists can tell if the direction of the field had reversed.
2. (e) The earth's field departs from its dipole shape substantially at large distances (greater than about ). What agencies may be responsible for this distortion?
Answer:
The earth's field departs from its dipole shape substantially at large distances (greater than about ) due to the presence of ions in the ionosphere. These ions in motion generate magnetic field and hence distort the shape of a magnetic dipole.
2. (f) Interstellar space has an extremely weak magnetic field of the order of . Can such a weak field be of any significant consequence? Explain.
Answer:
This weak magnetic field can affect the motion of a charged particle in a circular motion. And a small deviation from its path in the vast interstellar space may have huge consequences.
3. A circular coil of 16 turns and radius 10 cm carrying a current of 0.75 A rests with its plane normal to an external field of magnitude The coil is free to turn about an axis in its plane perpendicular to the field direction. When the coil is turned slightly and released, it oscillates about its stable equilibrium with a frequency of . What is the moment of inertia of the coil about its axis of rotation?
Answer:
Given,
Number of turns, N = 16
Radius of the coil, r = 10 cm = 0.1 m
Current in the coil, I = 0.75 A
Magnetic field strength, B = 5.0 x T
Frequency of oscillations of the coil, f = 2.0
Now, Cross-section of the coil, A = =
We know that magnetic moment, m = NIA
m= (16)(0.75 A)( )
m= 0.377
We know, the frequency of oscillation in a magnetic field is:
(I = Moment of Inertia of the coil)
The moment of inertia of the coil about its axis of rotation is .
4. A magnetic needle free to rotate in a vertical plane parallel to the magnetic meridian has its north tip pointing down at with the horizontal. The horizontal component of the earth’s magnetic field at the place is known to be . Determine the magnitude of the earth’s magnetic field at the place.
Answer:
Given,
The horizontal component of earth’s magnetic field, = 0.35 G
Angle made by the needle with the horizontal plane at the place = Angle of dip = =
We know, = B cos , where B is earth's magnetic field
B = /cos = 0.35/(cos ) = 0.377 G
The earth’s magnetic field strength at the place is 0.377 G.
5. At a certain location in Africa, a compass points west of the geographic north. The north tip of the magnetic needle of a dip circle placed in the plane of magnetic meridian points above the horizontal. The horizontal component of the earth’s field is measured to be 0.16 G. Specify the direction and magnitude of the earth’s field at the location.
Answer:
Given,
The horizontal component of earth’s magnetic field, B H = 0.16 G
The angle of declination, =
The angle of dip, =
We know, = B cos , where B is Earth's magnetic field
B = /cos = 0.16/(cos ) = 0.32 G
Earth’s magnetic field is 0.32 G in magnitude lying in the vertical plane, west of the geographic meridian and above the horizontal.
6. A short bar magnet placed in a horizontal plane has its axis aligned along the magnetic north-south direction. Null points are found on the axis of the magnet at 14 cm from the centre of the magnet. The earth’s magnetic field at the place is 0.36 G and the angle of dip is zero. What is the total magnetic field on the normal bisector of the magnet at the same distance as the null–point (i.e., 14 cm) from the centre of the magnet? (At null points, field due to a magnet is equal and opposite to the horizontal component of earth’s magnetic field.)
Answer:
Earth’s magnetic field at the given place, B = 0.36 G
The magnetic field at a distance d from the centre of the magnet on its axis is:
And the magnetic field at a distance d' from the centre of the magnet on the normal bisector is:
= B/
( since d' = d, i.e same distance of null points.)
Hence the total magnetic field is B + B' = B + B/2 = (0.36 + 0.18) G = 0.54 G
Therefore, the magnetic field in the direction of earth’s magnetic field is 0.54 G.