Which of the following options is correct for a paramagnetic material?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Paramagnetic materials are weakly attracted when placed in an external magnetic field.
A paramagnetic material has atoms with permanent magnetic dipole moments that point randomly when no field is applied. An external field partly lines them up against thermal agitation, so the material acquires only a small magnetisation in the direction of the field (small positive susceptibility), so it is pulled only weakly towards the stronger part of a field.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (1) Paramagnetic materials are weakly repelled when placed in an external magnetic field. — Incorrect. Weak repulsion is the behaviour of a diamagnetic material, whose induced magnetisation is opposite to the field.
Option (3) Paramagnetic materials are strongly repelled when placed in an external magnetic field. — Incorrect. Even diamagnetic materials are repelled only weakly.
Option (4) Paramagnetic materials are strongly attracted when placed in an external magnetic field. — Incorrect. Strong attraction is the behaviour of a ferromagnetic material such as iron, whose domains line up almost completely with the field.
NCERT (2026-27):
Paramagnetism – “Paramagnetic substances are those which get weakly magnetised when placed in an external magnetic field. They have tendency to move from a region of weak magnetic field to strong magnetic field, i.e., they get weakly attracted to a magnet.”