Electrostatics Review Sheet AP Physics 1

Study Guide
For the test you should:
Know what electric charge is and how charges affect each other
Know the three ways that objects can become charged
Be able to explain electric forces between objects (charged or neutral) based on the charged particles that
compose the objects
Be able to use Coulomb’s law to calculate the size of the electrical force between two charged objects
Be able to calculate the net force on an object in any situation
Know how charges on conducting materials behave

Conceptual Review
1. How are charged objects fundamentally different from uncharged objects?
2. If all objects are composed of charged object (electrons and protons), why are we usually not aware
of this fact?
3. How do you pick up a negative charge by scuffing your sneakers on the carpet? What is happening
while you drag your feet across the floor?
4. You pick up a positively charge metal ball that is resting on an insulated surface and get shocked
when you touch it. What happens to create the shock? What is different about you after the shock?
5. While you are hiking in the mountains, a thundercloud with extra negative charges on its lower level
forms close to you. You feel your arm hairs start to stand up and run for cover. While ducking under a
ledge, you grab a metal handrail embedded in the ground. How are you charged after grabbing the rail?
Why?
6. How does the electric force compare to the gravitational force? How are they alike? How are they
different?

Calculations
1. While driving, your car picks up a net charge of –4 C. How many extra electrons does it have?

2. The proton and electron in a hydrogen atom are usually separated by a distance of 5.3 x 10-11 m.
a) How strong is the electric force between the two particles?
b) Calculate the acceleration of each particle under that force.
c) Challenge – if the electron orbits around the proton in a circle, how quickly does the electron have to
be moving to stay in an orbit that size?
3. The force between two identical charges, q, is F when they are a distance, d, apart. How big is the
force is one of the charges is doubled and they are moved three times as far apart?

4. A hamster in a hamster ball that is charged to 75 C is released in a room with charged obstacles. At
one point, the hamster is 90 cm south of a pillar that is charged to 400 C and 120 cm east of a pillar
that is charged with 700 C. What is the net force on the hamster ball?

5. In an electronic circuit, three ball that are mounted 2 cm apart in an equilateral triangle
(see picture), acquire a charge as the circuit operates. The northern ball builds up a
charge of +0.2 C. The eastern ball builds up a charge of –0.7 C and the western ball
builds up a charge of +0.5 C. What is the net electric force on the western ball?
6. A plasma cannon defending a colony on Mars is powered by two electrostatic generators, which are
built 30 apart along an east-west line. While the cannon is operating, the generators build up some
wicked charge – the eastern one reaches -40 mC and the western one builds up -55 mC. If a plane
carrying 2 mC of charge passes 20 meter above the eastern generator, what will the electric force on it
be?

7. A 10 m radius, copper sphere that carries a charge of +295 C is suspended by insulating wire at the
center of a hollow, aluminum shell (inner radius 22 m, outer radius 27 m). What is the charge on the
inner surface of the aluminum shell? What is the charge on the outer surface of the aluminum shell?