Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Electromagnetic waves carry energy from one place to another.
Reason (R): Electromagnetic waves need a material medium to travel.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (A) is correct but (R) is not correct.
Assertion (A) Electromagnetic waves carry energy from one place to another. — True. Radio and TV signals carry energy. Sunlight brings energy from the sun to the earth.
Reason (R) Electromagnetic waves need a material medium to travel. — False. In an electromagnetic wave, the electric and magnetic fields keep producing each other. No material medium is needed for this. Sunlight reaches the earth through the vacuum of space.
NCERT (2026-27):
Nature of electromagnetic waves – “The great technological importance of electromagnetic waves stems from their capability to carry energy from one place to another. The radio and TV signals from broadcasting stations carry energy. …”
Nature of electromagnetic waves – “… They are self-sustaining oscillations of electric and magnetic fields in free space, or vacuum. They differ from all the other waves we have studied so far, in respect that no material medium is involved in the vibrations of the electric and magnetic fields.”