The north and south poles of two magnets are attached to each other a student pulls the poles apart and hold them at a distance of 10 cm. how does the energy stored in the system change
the energy stored in the system decreases
the energy stored in the system increasing
the energy stored in the system first increases and then decreases
the energy stored in the system does not change
In this scenario, the energy stored in the system decreases.
When the north and south poles of two magnets are attached to each other, they are in a stable configuration with stored magnetic potential energy. As the student pulls the poles apart and holds them at a distance of 10 cm, work is done against the attractive force between the magnets. This work done is transferred to potential energy, and the value of the potential energy decreases as the distance between the magnets increases.
To understand this concept, you can consider the inverse relationship between the distance and the strength of the magnetic force. According to the inverse square law, the force between two magnets decreases as the square of the distance between them increases. Therefore, as the distance between the poles increases, the force decreases, and so does the energy stored in the system.
In conclusion, the energy stored in the system decreases as the student pulls the poles apart and holds them at a distance of 10 cm.