❓ Question

Given below are two statements:

(A): Magnetic monopoles do not exist.
(R): Magnetic field lines are continuous and form closed loops.

🖼️ Question Image

Statement (A): Says that magnetic monopoles do not exist, meaning you can’t isolate a north pole or a south pole alone in nature.
Statement (R): Explains that magnetic field lines form closed loops, which means the magnetic field never starts or ends anywhere — it continues through the magnet and outside it.

This directly supports statement (A), since closed field lines imply no isolated magnetic poles exist.

In a bar magnet, the field lines:

Emerge from the north pole.
Enter the south pole outside the magnet.
Continue through the magnet from south to north inside, forming closed continuous loops.

If a magnetic monopole existed, field lines would start or end at that single point — which is never observed.

Hence, the magnetic field has zero divergence everywhere.

Maxwell’s equation for magnetism:

\nabla \cdot B = 0

This means the net magnetic flux through any closed surface is zero, confirming that no magnetic charge (monopole) exists.

In contrast, for electric fields:

\nabla \cdot E = \frac{ρ}{ε_{0​}}

Here, ρ represents electric charge density, showing electric monopoles do exist — but magnetic ones don’t.

✅ Final Answer:

\boxed{\text{Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).}}

Concept Recap:

Magnetic monopoles have never been detected experimentally.
Magnetic field lines are continuous closed loops, so they never originate or terminate on a single pole.
Therefore, (R) correctly explains (A).