In the given arrangement, the current in the wire XY is increasing steadily. The direction of induced current in the metal rings 1 and 2 will be, respectively.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → clockwise, anticlockwise
By the right-hand thumb rule, the field of a straight wire circles the wire, so it points in opposite directions on its two sides. By Lenz's law, the current induced in each ring sets up a field that opposes the increase of flux through it.
The current flows from X to Y. Above the wire (ring 1) its field points out of the page; below the wire (ring 2) it points into the page. Both fields grow as the current increases.
Ring 1: the outward flux increases, so the induced current makes an inward field inside the ring, which is a clockwise current.
Ring 2: the inward flux increases, so the induced current makes an outward field inside the ring, which is an anticlockwise current.
NCERT (2026-27):
Lenz’s Law and Conservation of Energy – “In 1834, German physicist Heinrich Friedrich Lenz (1804-1865) deduced a rule, known as Lenz’s law which gives the polarity of the induced emf in a clear and concise fashion. The statement of the law is: The polarity of induced emf is such that it tends to produce a current which opposes the change in magnetic flux that produced it. The negative sign shown in Eq. (6.3) represents this effect.”