A copper wire is held between the poles of a magnet:

The current in the wire can be reversed. The pole of the magnet can also be changed over. In how many of the four directions shown can the force act on the wire
(2)
By Fleming's left hand rule, we know that the force on the wire is perpendicular to the current in the wire and the magnetic field.
That it, there are only two possibilities for the direction of force i.e., upward or downward.