Question

A freely suspended magnet always aligns in:

• A. E-W direction
• B. N-S direction
• C. N-W direction
• D. Any of these direction

Answer 1

The correct option is B

N-S direction

A freely suspended magnet always points in the North-South direction even in the absence of any other magnet. This is due to the Earth's magnetic field. The shape of the Earth's magnetic field resembles that of a bar magnet of length one-fifth of the Earth's diameter buried at its centre.