Oran wants to model the behavior of Earth's magnetic field when Earth's magnetic south is near Earth's geographic north using a ball, a bar magnet, and a compass. He designates the top of the ball as Earth's geographic north.
| Model | Where Oran should place the south pole of the bar magnet | Where the south pole of the compass points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | at the bottom of the ball | towards the magnetic south pole |
| 2 | at the top of the ball | towards the magnetic south pole |
| 3 | at the bottom of the ball | towards the magnetic north pole |
| 4 | at the top of the ball | towards the magnetic north pole |
Which model in the table would most likely represent Oran's model?
A. Model 1
B. Model 2
C. Model 3
D. Model 4
Answer (1)
Oran is trying to model the Earth's magnetic field. In this scenario, it's important to remember how Earth's magnetism works: the Earth's geographic north pole is near its magnetic South Pole, and vice versa.
When modeling the Earth's magnetic field:
A bar magnet's magnetic field lines exit from its North Pole and enter through its South Pole.
A compass needle is a small bar magnet itself, with its north end attracted to magnetic south poles.
Thus, to correctly model Earth's magnetic field where the magnetic south is near the geographic north:
Where Oran should place the south pole of the bar magnet : He should place the south pole of the bar magnet at the top of the ball, which represents Earth's geographic north. This replicates the real Earth where the magnetic south is near the geographic north.
Where the south pole of the compass points : The south pole of the compass needle will point toward the magnetic north pole (bottom of the ball where the north pole of the magnet is located).
Therefore, the correct choice to represent Oran's model accurately is Model 3 . This model has the magnetic south pole of the bar magnet at the bottom of the ball and the compass's south pole pointing towards the magnetic north pole, which is at the top of the ball.
Chosen option : C. Model 3
