What does polarity of voltage mean?

[musiliu]

Homework Statement

For part of my physics lab, I used an oscilloscope and approached a pickup coil with a bar magnet... and I saw that the line on the oscilloscope moved down when I removed the N pole of the magnet away from the coil, and the line moved up when I removed the S pole from the coil..

The questions ask:

What polarity is the induced voltage for the N pole and the pickup coil? and for S pole?

Homework Equations

Voltage can be positive or negative..

The Attempt at a Solution

I have no idea what polarity means...I researched and it seems to mean positive or negative..

So should the answer to the question be that the polarity of the induced voltage from the North pole of the magnet is negative, since the line on the oscilloscope moved down?

And for South pole, should i say the polarity is positive, since the line moved up?

p.s. the line is centered at the middle of the oscilloscope screen...

 

[amaresh92]

Homework Statement

For part of my physics lab, I used an oscilloscope and approached a pickup coil with a bar magnet... and I saw that the line on the oscilloscope moved down when I removed the N pole of the magnet away from the coil, and the line moved up when I removed the S pole from the coil..

The questions ask:

What polarity is the induced voltage for the N pole and the pickup coil? and for S pole?

Homework Equations

Voltage can be positive or negative..

The Attempt at a Solution

I have no idea what polarity means...I researched and it seems to mean positive or negative..

So should the answer to the question be that the polarity of the induced voltage from the North pole of the magnet is negative, since the line on the oscilloscope moved down?

And for South pole, should i say the polarity is positive, since the line moved up?

p.s. the line is centered at the middle of the oscilloscope screen...

change in polarity of voltage may signified the change in the direction of current