Soft iron is utilized for making electromagnets since it possesses

Electromagnets are temporary magnets that need to be strongly magnetized when current flows through the coil and completely demagnetized when the current is switched off.

To ensure that the magnetism effectively drops to zero when the current is removed, the core material must have low retentivity.

Additionally, the material should be easily magnetized and demagnetized with minimal energy loss (low hysteresis loss), which requires a low coercive force.

Soft iron is utilized for making electromagnets because it possesses high magnetic permeability, low retentivity, and low coercive force.

Answer: low retentivity and low coercive force