Asked by Sigma

Question
The south poles of two bar magnets are 10 cm from each other. The poles are brought to 5 cm apart and then moved back to their original positions. How does the energy of the system change? (1 point)
Responses

The potential energy of the system first decreases and then increases.
The potential energy of the system first decreases and then increases.

Both the potential and kinetic energy of the system decrease.
Both the potential and kinetic energy of the system decrease.

The kinetic energy of the system decreases because some of it is transferred to thermal energy.
The kinetic energy of the system decreases because some of it is transferred to thermal energy.

The total change in the energy of the system is zero.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The total change in the energy of the system is zero.

Reason: Like poles repel, so bringing them from 10 cm to 5 cm increases the magnetic potential energy (work must be done). Moving them back to 10 cm returns that energy. If the process is carried out without dissipation (quasi‑static, no eddy currents or friction) the work done in each leg cancels and the net energy change is zero. (If dissipative losses occur, some energy would be converted to heat.)