Red Seal Electrician Practice
TransformersQuestion 1079 of 1506

When a transformer core nears saturation, what happens to the magnetizing current waveform?

  1. It becomes a perfect sine wave
  2. It becomes distorted with large peaks
  3. It drops to zero
  4. It becomes much smaller
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Correct answer: It becomes distorted with large peaks

Much more mmf (current) is needed for each small rise in flux near saturation.

Source: Lessons in Electric Circuits II: AC (Kuphaldt), 10.1: Mutual Inductance and Basic Operation

Practice transformers

Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026