SESSION: - 2024-2025

Class:- 12
Subject:- PHYSICS

Topic:- Exploration of Earth's

Magnetic Field

SUBMITTED TO:-
SUBMITTED BY:-
Mr. Owez Shaikh Akash
singh
Roll No:-

INDEX

[Link]. CONTENT PAGE NO.

1 Certificate 1

2 Aim/Objective 2
3 Introduction 3-8

4 Experiment No 9-12
1 By compass
needle, bar
magnet

5 Experiment No 13-16
2 By tangent
galvanometer.
 CIRTIFICATE
This is to certify that AKASH SINGH of class 12 has
successfully completed the project work on PHYSICS,
titled as " Exploration of Earth's Magnetic Field ", for class
XII practical examination of the Central Board of
secondary education in the year 2024-2025. It is further
certified that this project is the individual work of the
candidate.

Principal: Subject
Teacher:

[Link] Muley Mr.

Owez Shaikh

Principal signature:

External's signature:

Internal's signature:

School stamp:
OBJECTIVE:

Exploration of Earth's Magnetic Field:

Investigate Earth's magnetic field using a
compass needle, bar magnet, and by
plotting magnetic field lines with a
tangent galvanometer
 INTRODUCTION

Earth's magnetic field, also known as the

geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that
extends from the Earth's interior to where it meets
the solar wind, a stream of charged particles
emanating from the Sun. Its magnitude at the
Earth's surface ranges from 25 to 65 microteslas
(0.25 to 0.65 gauss).Roughly speaking it is the field
of a magnetic dipole currently tilted at an angle of
about 10 degrees with respect to Earth's rotational
axis, as if there were a bar magnet placed at that
angle at the center of the Earth. Unlike a bar
magnet, however, Earth's magnetic field changes
over time because it is generated by a geodynamic
(in Earth's case, the motion of molten iron alloys in
its outer core).
The North and South magnetic poles wander
widely, but sufficiently slowly for ordinary
compasses to remain useful for navigation.
However, at irregular intervals averaging several
hundred thousand years, the Earth's field reverses
and the North and South Magnetic Poles relatively
abruptly switch places. These reversals of the
geomagnetic poles leave a record in rocks that are
of value to paleomagnetists in calculating
geomagnetic fields in the past. Such information in
turn is helpful in studying the motions of continents
and ocean floors in the process of plate tectonics.
The magnetosphere is the region above the
ionosphere and extends several tens of thousands
of kilometers into space, protecting the Earth from
the charged particles of the solar wind and cosmic
rays that would otherwise strip away the upper
atmosphere, including the ozone layer that
protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet
radiation.
Earth's magnetic field serves to deflect most of the
solar wind, whose charged particles would
otherwise strip away the ozone layer that protects
the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. One
stripping mechanism is for gas to be caught in
bubbles of magnetic field, which are ripped off by
solar winds.
 EARTH’S MEGNETIC FIELD

The intensity of the field is often measured in

gauss (G), but is generally reported innanoteslas
(nT), with 1 G = 100,000 nT. A nanotesla is also
referred to as a gamma (γ).The tesla is the SI unit
of the Magnetic field, B. The field ranges between
approximately 25,000 and 65,000 nT (0.25–0.65
G).
Near the surface of the Earth, its magnetic field
can be closely approximated by the field of a
magnetic dipole positioned at the center of the
Earth and tilted at an angle of about 10° with
respect to the rotational axis of the Earth. The
dipole is roughly equivalent
to a powerful bar magnet, with its South Pole
pointing towards the geomagnetic North Pole. The
north pole of a magnet is so defined because, if
allowed to rotate freely, it points roughly northward
(in the geographic sense). Since the north pole of a
magnet attracts the south poles of other magnets
and repels the north poles, it must be attracted to
the south pole
 EXPERIMENT NO 1
AIM-
Exploration of Earth's Magnetic Field:
Investigate Earth's magnetic field using a
compass needle, bar magnet

Apparatus-
Compass and bar magnet

Procedure-

1. Fix a white sheet of paper on a drawing board.

2. Place a small bar magnet over it and draw its outline
with a pencil.
3. Place a compass needle near a North pole(N) of the
magnet.
4. The north pole of the compass stays away from the
north pole of magnet because like poles repel each
other.
5. mark the position of the north pole of the compass
on the paper with a dot with a pencil.
6. Shift the compass needle so that its south
pole( white end of the needle) coincides with the dot
marked on the paper.
7. Again mark the position of the north pole of the
compass needle.
8. Repeat the process until the compass needle reaches
the south pole of the magnet.
9. Then join all these dots with a pencil and draw a
smooth curve.
10. The curve so obtained is called magnetic line
of force or magnetic field lines.
OBSERVATION-
Due to magnetic field of magnet the compass
needle deflect from its poles
RESULT-
Under the effect of Earth's magnetic field, the
needle always points toward the north magnetic
pole.
 EXPERIMENT NO 2

Aim-
To determine the reduction factor of a tangent
galvanometer.
To find the horizontal intensity of the Earth’s
magnetic field

Apparatus-
Accumulator, Rheostat, Ammeter, Commutator, Tangent
Galvanometer

Principle & Formulae-

The reduction factor of T.G is K=I/tanθ, where I is
the current flowing through the T.G which produces
the deflection θ.
The horizontal intensity of Earth’s magnetic field
at a place. Bh = μ0nK/2r, where n is the number of
turns of the coil, μ0 = 4π×10-7 NA-2 is the
permeability of free space, K is the reduction factor
of the T.G and r is the radius of the coil of the T.G
Procedure-
The circuit is made as shown in the diagram. The
plane of the coil is made vertical by adjusting the
leveling screws. The plane of the coil is made by
adjusting the leveling screws. The plane of the coil
is made parallel to (90-90) in the compass box. The
whole T.G is rotated to read (0-0) at the ends of the
aluminum pointer. Now the plane of the coil is in
the magnetic meridian.
The Commutator keys are put. The rheostat should
be adjusted for deflection in T.G between 10 and
60. For a current I, the deflections of the pointer θ1
& θ2 are noted. The Commutator is reversed. The
deflections of the pointer θ3 & θ4 are noted. The
average of the four readings is the deflection θ.
From the theory of the T.G, I=K tanθ.
By varying the current the experiment is repeated. Using a
string the circumference of the coil is measured. Hence its
radius r is found. Let n be the number of turns of the coil.
The horizontal intensity at the place is given by, Bh =
μ0nK/2r

[Link] Ammeter Deflection Mean K=I/tanθ

Reading in T.G
(A)
θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4
1 0.15 35 35 35 35 35 0.2142

2 0.20 49 47 60 64 53.6 0.1474

3 0.25 36 36 55 58 46.25 0.2389

4 0.30 50 50 65 68 58.2 0.1860

5 0.27 45 45 64 65 53.8 0.1976

OBSERVATION TABLE-

Mean K = 0.19682
The reduction factor of TH = 0.19682

Number of turns of the coil = 50

Circumference of the coil (S) = 2πr = 50.49 cm

Radius of the coil r = S/2π = 8.04 cm = 8.04×10 -2

cm
Horizontal Intensity at the place Bh = μ0nK/2r
= 2πnK×10-7/r
= 7.6867×10-8 T
For different values of current I, deflections are noted and
values are calculated. Knowing K, n and r the value of
horizontal intensity Bh can be calculated.
Result-
1. The reduction factor of T.G, K = 0.19682 A
2. Horizontal Intensity at the place, Bh =
7.6867×10-5 T

CONCLUSION-
Experiment in tangent galvanometer gives the
reduction factor of galvanometer and horizontal
intensity of Earth’s magnetic field
TANGENT GALVANOMETER