Question

In a plane perpendicular to the magnetic meridian, the dip needle will remain:

• A. vertical
• B. horizontal
• C. at $45°$ from horizontal
• D. at $60°$ from horizontal

Answer 1

The correct option is A

vertical

Explanation

Magnetic meridian

It is a line inside the earth joining the magnetic north pole and magnetic south pole.

Angle of dip

The angle made by the earth's total magnetic field with the horizontal direction in the magnetic meridian is called the angle of dip at any place.

Option A,

1. In the figure, the black line shows the magnetic meridian and the dotted line shows the original north and south pole through which the earth rotates.
2. The blue lines with arrows show the magnetic field lines of the earth.
3. From the figure, we can see that at the equator, the magnetic field lines are horizontal to the surface of the earth and at the poles, the magnetic field lines are perpendicular or vertical to the earth's surface.
4. So the dip needle in a plane perpendicular to the magnetic meridian will remain in the vertical direction.

Therefore, option A is correct