ID Resources: Topic 8– Magnetic Fields of

Moving Charges
1. A current in a long, straight wire produces a 4. The current in a wire is coming straight out of the
magnetic field. The magnetic field lines _____. page in the figure below. Which of the diagrams
represent the magnetic field that the current
A. go out from the wire to infinity generates.
B. come in from infinity to the wire
C. form circles that pass through the wire
√ D. form circles that go around the wire
form the same pattern as around a bar √ A.
E.
magnet

2. A long straight wire carries a current I. Which of

the following is a correct representation of the
B.
magnetic field lines due to the current in the wire?

√ A. C.

B. D.

5. What is the magnitude and direction of the

C. magnetic field at point P due to the current in the
wire?

D.

3. The Biot-Savart Law in its differential form is _____.

µ0 𝐼(𝑑𝑙 × 𝑟̂ )
√ A. ⃗ =
𝑑𝐵
4𝜋 𝑟2 A. 3.8 × 10−7 𝑇; into the page

B. ⃗ =
µ0 𝐼(𝑑𝑙 × 𝑟̂ ) B. 3.8 × 10−7 𝑇; out of the page
𝑑𝐵
4𝜋 𝑟
C. 2.2 × 10−6 𝑇; into the page
µ0 𝐵(𝑑𝐵⃗ × 𝑟̂ )
C. 𝑑𝐼 =
4𝜋 𝑟2 √ D. 1.0 × 10−5 𝑇; into the page
⃗ × 𝑟̂ )
µ0 𝐵(𝑑𝐵
D. 𝑑𝐼 =
4𝜋 𝑟

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6. The current in a long wire creates a magnetic field Questions 8 to 10
in the region around the wire. How is the strength Two long, parallel wires carry equal currents in the
of the field at distance 𝑟 from the wire center related same directions as shown in the figure below.
to the magnitude of the field?

A. field directly proportional to 𝑟

√ B. field inversely proportional to 𝑟

C. field directly proportional to 𝑟 2

D. field inversely proportional to 𝑟 2

8. Which of the following statements is true regarding
7. Two long, straight wires hang vertically, close to the wires?
each other. The wires carry currents in opposite
directions as shown below. √ A. The wires attract each other
B. The wires repel each other
C. There is no force between the wires
Which diagram shows the magnetic field pattern D. Both the wires move to the right
around the wires?
9. Due to the magnetic interaction between the wires,
the lower wire experiences a magnetic force that is
A. _______.

√ A. upward
B. downward
√ B.
C. to the left
D. to the right

C. 10. The total magnetic field at the point P midway

between the wires is ______.

√ A. zero
D. B. directed into the page
C. directed out of the page
D. directed to the left

Page 2 of 8
11. The figure below shows two long wires carrying 14. Which of the following Amperian loops results in
equal currents I flowing in opposite directions. the greatest value of ∮ 𝐵 ∙ 𝑑𝑙 for the current carrying
Point P is located close to and equal distance d from wires?
each wire. Which of the arrows labeled A through D
correctly represents the direction of the magnetic A. A
field, if any, due to the two wires at point P?
B. B
A. A C. C
B. B D. D
C. C √ E. E
√ D. D

15. The sketch below shows three wires carrying

currents 𝐼1 , 𝐼2 and 𝐼3 , with an Ampèrian loop drawn
around 𝐼1 and 𝐼2 . The wires are all perpendicular to
⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑠 = 𝜇0 𝑖, the integration
12. In Ampere's law, ∮ 𝐵 the plane of the paper.
must be over any ___.

A. path
B. surface
√ C. closed path
D. closed surface
Which currents produce the magnetic field at the
13. The figure below shows four closed paths a, b, c, point 𝑃 shown in the sketch?
and d. Rank the magnitude of ∮ 𝐵 ⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑠 for the paths a
through d from the least to the greatest. A. 𝐼3 only
B. 𝐼1 and 𝐼2 only
√ C. 𝐼1 , 𝐼2 and 𝐼3
It depends on the size and shape of the
D.
Amperian loop

16. Which of the following could be true about the

magnetic field at a particular point in space if the line
⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑠 is equivalent to zero?
integral ∮ 𝐵

A. 𝑎<𝑏<𝑑<𝑐 I. The net current enclosed in the Amperian

loop is zero
B. 𝑏<𝑎< 𝑑<𝑐 II. The magnetic field is normal to the selected
√ C. 𝑏< 𝑑< 𝑎<𝑐 path at any point. That is, the angle between
⃗ and 𝑑𝑠 is 90°
𝐵
D. 𝑐< 𝑎<𝑑< 𝑏 ⃗ =0
III. The magnetic field 𝐵

A. I only
B. II only
C. III only
√ D. I, II ad III

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Questions 17 to 19 Questions 20 and 21
A cylindrical wire of radius 𝑅 carries a steady current The diagram shows the magnetic field pattern of a
uniformly distributed through the cross section of the current in a solenoid.
wire as shown below.

17. What is the magnetic field at a point 𝑟 from the

axis of the wire where, 𝑟 < 𝑅?

µ0 𝐼
A.
2𝜋𝑟
µ0 𝐼
B.
2𝜋𝑅 20. When the current in the solenoid is increased,
𝜇0 𝐼 where is an increase in the magnetic field strength?
√ C. ( )𝑟
2𝜋𝑅2
A. M only
𝜇0 𝐼
D. ( )𝑅 B. L only
2𝜋𝑟 2
C. L and M only
18. What is the magnetic field at a point 𝑟 from the √ E. K, L and M
axis of the wire where, 𝑟 > 𝑅?
21. Where is the magnetic field uniform?
µ0 𝐼
√ A.
2𝜋𝑟 √ A. M only
µ0 𝐼 B. L only
B.
2𝜋𝑅 C. L and M only
𝜇0 𝐼 D. K and L only
C. ( )𝑟
2𝜋𝑅2
22. A current in a solenoid coil creates a magnetic
𝜇0 𝐼
D. ( )𝑅 field inside that coil. The field strength is directly
2𝜋𝑟 2 proportional to the ____.
I. coil area
19. Which of the following graphs describe how the II. current
magnetic field of the wire varies from the center of III. number of turns in the coil
the wire out.
A. I only
B. II only
√ A.
C. III only
√ D. II and III only
B.
23. What is the field inside a 4.0 𝑚 long solenoid that
has 4000 loops and carries a 800 𝐴 current?
C.
√ A. 1.0 𝑇
B. 2.0 𝑇
D. C. 4.0 𝑇
D. 6.0 𝑇

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24. A 0.8 m long solenoid carries a current of 0.3 A.
The magnetic field inside the solenoid is 6.0 ×
10−3 𝑇. How many turns of wire are there in the
solenoid?
25. The magnetic field inside a very long solenoid of
length L, number of turns N and current I, is B. What
will be the new magnetic field if the current is
doubled, keeping the other quantities constant?

A. 𝐵/2
B. 𝐵/4
√ C. 2𝐵
D. 4𝐵

A. 2 250 turns
B. 6 680 turns
C. 11 140 turns
√ D. 12 732 turns

Free Response:

1. True or false.

a. For two parallel current-carrying wires, the magnitudes of the magnetic forces are the same
between the wires, 𝐹1 = −𝐹2 . (True)

b. Two parallel wires carrying currents in the same direction repel each other, and those carrying
currents in opposite directions attract each other. (False)

c. Ampere’s law relates the magnitude of the magnetic field to the current enclosed by a closed
imaginary path called an Amperian loop. (True)

d. Ampere’s Law for magnetism is analogous to Gauss’s Law for electrostatics. (True)

⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑠 = 0, if the magnetic field is perpendicular to the selected path at any

e. The line integral ∮ 𝐵
point on the Amperian loop. (True)

f. All currents inside and outside the Amperian loop are taken into account and have the
contribution to the magnetic field. (False)

g. For a wire carrying steady current, the graph of magnetic field versus distance r from the wire
shows that the field is proportional to 𝑟 inside the wire and varies as 1/𝑟 outside the wire. (True)

h. The magnetic field at the center of a long solenoid carrying a steady current is uniform. (True)

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2. A straight wire carrying a current out of the page is as shown below.

a. In the space provided, draw four magnetic field lines around the current-carrying wire, indicating
the strength and direction of the field.

b. The current in the wire is now increased. Explain what happens to the magnetic field strength
around the current-carrying wire?
The magnetic field strength around the wire would increase.

c. If the direction of the original current in the wire is now reversed, explain what happens to the
direction of the magnetic field around the wire?
The direction of the magnetic field would be reversed.

3. A wire carries a current of 20 𝐴 and is placed 50 𝑐𝑚 from a point 𝑃 as shown in the figure below.

a. Calculate the magnitude of the magnetic field strength at point P, due to the current in the wire.
𝜇0 𝐼
𝐵=
2𝜋𝑟
(4𝜋 × 10−7 𝐻/𝑚)(20 𝐴)
𝐵= = 8.0 × 10−6 𝑇
2𝜋(0.50 𝑚)

b. What is the direction of the magnetic field at the point P?

Into the page

c. What is the magnitude of the magnetic field at a point P’ which is at a distance four times that of P
from the wire?
1
𝐵∝
𝑟
Therefore,
𝐵 8.0 × 10−6 𝑇
𝐵′ = = = 2.0 × 10−6 𝑇
4 4

Page 6 of 8
4. Two wires A and B carry currents I and 4I in the same directions as shown below.

a. Find the expression for the force per unit length between the wires.
µ0 𝐼1 𝐼2 𝐿 𝐹 µ0 𝐼1 𝐼2
𝐹= ⇒ =
2𝜋𝑑 𝐿 2𝜋𝑑
𝐹 µ0 (𝐼)(4𝐼) 4µ0 𝐼 2
= =
𝐿 2𝜋𝑑 2𝜋𝑑

b. What is the direction of the force on the wires?

The force is attractive between the wires and so the wires will move towards each other.

c. What is the force per unit length between the wires if their separation is increased to 4𝑑?
𝐹 1
∝
𝐿 𝑑
Therefore, increasing the distance to 4d will decrease 𝐹/𝐿 by 4 times.
𝐹 (𝐹/𝐿) µ0 𝐼 2
( ) = =
𝐿 𝑛𝑒𝑤 4 2𝜋𝑑

5. Wires 1 to 5 in the figure below carry current either into or out of the figure. What is the magnitude of
the current enclosed by the Amperian path indicated?
⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑙 = µ0 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑
∮𝐵

⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑙 = µ0 (2𝐼 + 2𝐼 − 𝐼)
∮𝐵

⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑙 = 3µ0 𝐼
∮𝐵

⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑙 of the magnetic field along

6. The current in a wire is 5.0 𝐴. What is the value of the closed integral ∮ 𝐵
a closed path around the wire?

⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑙 = µ0 𝐼
∮𝐵

⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑙 = (4𝜋 × 10−7 𝐻/𝑚)(5.0 𝐴)

∮𝐵

⃗ ∙ 𝑑𝑙 = 6.3 × 10−6 𝑇𝑚
∮𝐵

7. A long solenoid with 2500 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 uniformly distributed over a length of 0.300 𝑚 produces a magnetic
field of magnitude 50.0 𝑇 at its center. Calculate the current in the solenoid.

µ𝑁𝐼
𝐵 = µ𝑛𝐼 =
𝐿
(4𝜋 × 10−7 𝐻/𝑚)(2500)(𝐼)
50.0 × 10−6 𝑇 =
0.300 𝑚
𝐼 = 4.77 × 10−3 𝐴

Page 7 of 8
8. A cylindrical wire of radius 𝑅 carries a steady current 𝐼 directed out of the page and is uniformly
distributed through the cross section of the wire. According to Ampere’s law, the current creates magnetic
field both within the wire and outside the wire.

a. Derive an expression for the magnetic field at a point, which is at a position 𝑟 > 𝑅 from the axis of
the wire.
Consider the Amperian loop as shown by the dotted circle in the figure.

∮ 𝐵 ∙ 𝑑𝑠 = µ0 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑
𝐵(2𝜋𝑟) = µ0 𝐼
µ0 𝐼
𝐵=
2𝜋𝑟

b. Now consider the circular loop within the wire as shown below.

i. What is the current enclosed in the circular loop that is centered on the wire’s axis and has
a radius 𝑟 < 𝑅?
Consider the Amperian loop as shown by the dotted circle in the figure.
𝐴𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 = 𝜋𝑟 2
𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝜋𝑟 2
=
𝐼 𝜋𝑅2
𝑟2
𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 = 𝐼 2
𝑅

ii. What is the magnetic field at a point, which is at a position 𝑟 < 𝑅 from the axis of the wire?
∮ 𝐵. 𝑑𝑠 = 𝜇0 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑
𝐵(2𝜋𝑟) = 𝜇0 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑
𝜇0 𝐼𝑟 2
𝐵= ( )
2𝜋𝑟 𝑅2
𝜇0 𝐼
𝐵=( )𝑟
2𝜋𝑅2

iii. Sketch a graph below to show how the magnetic field of the long straight current carrying
wire varies from the center of the wire out.

Page 8 of 8