TOPIC 3

ELECTRIC CHARGE
Objectives:
1. The students are able to read the passages regarding electric charge.
2. The students are able to answer the questions regarding electric charge based on the
passage given.
3. The students are able to write thank you note for the electrical equipment that they
have received from friends.

1. Electric Charge
Read the passage and answer the questions!
The presence of charge gives rise to an electrostatic force: charges exert
a force on each other, an effect that was known, though not understood, in
antiquity. A lightweight ball suspended from a string can be charged by touching it
with a glass rod that has itself been charged by rubbing with a cloth. If a similar ball is
charged by the same glass rod, it is found to repel the first: the charge acts to force the
two balls apart. Two balls that are charged with a rubbed amber rod also repel each
other. However, if one ball is charged by the glass rod, and the other by an amber rod,
the two balls are found to attract each other. These phenomena were investigated in
the late eighteenth century by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who deduced that
charge manifests itself in two opposing forms. This discovery led to the well-known
axiom: like-charged objects repel and opposite-charged objects attract.
The force acts on the charged particles themselves, hence charge has a
tendency to spread itself as evenly as possible over a conducting surface. The
magnitude of the electromagnetic force, whether attractive or repulsive, is given
by Coulomb's law, which relates the force to the product of the charges and has
an inverse-square relation to the distance between them. The electromagnetic force is
very strong, second only in strength to the strong interaction, but unlike that force it
operates over all distances. In comparison with the much weaker gravitational force,
the electromagnetic force pushing two electrons apart is 1042 times that of
the gravitational attraction pulling them together.
 Charge originates from certain types of subatomic particles, the most familiar
carriers of which are the electron and proton. Electric charge gives rise to and
interacts with the electromagnetic force, one of the four fundamental forces of nature.
Experiment has shown charge to be a conserved quantity, that is, the net charge within
an electrically isolated system will always remain constant regardless of any changes
taking place within that system. Within the system, charge may be transferred
between bodies, either by direct contact, or by passing along a conducting material,
such as a wire. The informal term static electricity refers to the net presence (or
'imbalance') of charge on a body, usually caused when dissimilar materials are rubbed
together, transferring charge from one to the other.
The charge on electrons and protons is opposite in sign, hence an amount of
charge may be expressed as being either negative or positive. By convention, the
charge carried by electrons is deemed negative, and that by protons positive, a custom
that originated with the work of Benjamin Franklin. The amount of charge is usually
given the symbol Q and expressed in coulombs; each electron carries the same charge
of approximately −1.6022×10−19 coulomb. The proton has a charge that is equal and
opposite, and thus +1.6022×10−19 coulomb. Charge is possessed not just by matter, but
also by antimatter, each antiparticle bearing an equal and opposite charge to its
corresponding particle.
Charge can be measured by a number of means, an early instrument being
the gold-leaf electroscope, which although still in use for classroom demonstrations,
has been superseded by the electronic electrometer.

QUESTIONS:
1) What does an electric charge create?
2) What can electric charges exert?

2. The Social Note

The social note is a short letter usually written for one of the following purposes: 1) to
extend an informal invitation; 2) to accept or decline an informal invitation; 3) to
thank someone for a gift or for entertaining you. The form of the social note is very
much like that of a friendly letter. The address and the date are either in the top right-
hand corner or the lower left-hand corner of the page. The salutation is simply dear...,
and the closing is usually sincerely yours or sincerely. The social note may be written
on regular note paper, on correspondence cards, or on personal note paper.

The Informal Invitation

Although the form and the content of an invitation are very similar to
those of a friendly letter, you do have to be careful to include the following
information: 1) your full address; 2) the date, time, and place; 3) any necessary
explanation regarding the kind of affair is to be.

2132 Elkton Place

Greenwich, Connecticut
June 20, 2019
Dear Joyce,
Dad, Mom, and I are getting ready for a trip to Garden City to visit my
Uncle Howard. We plan to arrive there in time to go to Coney Island on July 2.
Since you live right on our route, it would be very convenient for us to
pick you up and take you with us. Are you interested? We could really have a
lot of fun!
If you can go, have yourself and your suitcase ready shortly before noon
on July 2. You can tell your mother that you will come home before dark on
July 3.

Yours sincerely
Mary
Mary

Replying to the informal invitation

Any time that you receive a written invitation, good manners require that your
acceptance or refusal be written. No matter what your decision may be, you should
always show that you are glad you were invited. If you accept, show your pleasure. If
you decline, then refuse graciously, with regret and with courtesy. In every letter that
you write, politeness is important, and especially so when you accept or decline an
invitation.
 When you refuse an invitation, you should give a good reason for not
accepting. Do not be offensively vague with sentences such as Sorry I can’t make it
because I’ll be busy.

20 Main Street
Rye, New York
June 23, 2019
Dear Mary
It will be wonderful to go with you to Coney Island! As I count the days,
I can hardly wait for the time to get here. I’ll be ready when you arrive the
morning of July 2.

Affectionately
Joyce
Joyce
A Note of Acceptance
20 Main Street
Rye, New York
June 23, 2019
Dear Mary
I’m very sorry that I have to turn down your invitation. I’d give
anything if I could go with you to Coney Island, but Dad needs me at the store.
Since nearly all of his clerks are on vacation, I have to stay around to help out.
I hope that you and your family have a grand trip.

Sincerely
Joyce
Joyce

A Note of Refusal
Thank-You Note
 Never fail to acknowledge a gift. When someone thoughtfully remembers you
with a present, let him know that you appreciate it. Write a thank-you note within a
week after you receive the present, and be sure to mention what it is. If you say
merely: Thanks for the gift,” the sender may think that you have forgotten what he
sent or that you have no use for the gift. After you have been entertained at
somebody’s home, you should write a prompt thank-you letter; this note, often called
a “bread-and-butter” letter, is addressed to your hostess. You should thank her for her
hospitality and say what a good time you had. Show your appreciation of her
kindness; in your letter. You might mention some of the things that you liked
especially well during your visit.

321 Rose Street

Perl Mason Illinois
December 30, 2019

Dear Fred
Thanks a million for the belt; I really do like its unusual design and the
large, sturdy buckle. Did you and Dad by any chance get together? The belt
exactly matches the boots he got me for Christmas.
I’m about ready for school to start again. Aren’t you? It’ll be fun to
show off my new belt to all my friends.

Sincerely
Tom
Tom
A Thank-You Note

3865 Fairview Road

 New Orleans, USA
September 7, 2019

Dear Mrs. White

It was great to spend a whole week in the country with you and Don. I
surely did have fun. Riding white horse, helping Mr. White in the field, driving
over to marshal, seeing work miracles with your “Dutch oven” --- everything
was a real treat for me. Thank you for having me in your home.

Sincerely
Steve
Steve
A Bread-and-Butter Note

ASSIGNMENT:
1. Write an informal invitation to your friends asking them to come to your
birthday party.
2. Write a thank you note because you are given an electrical equipment.