CH - 1 (ELECTRIC FIELD AND CHARGES) CLASS – XII SUBJECT - PHYSICS

Case study
1. A block of mass m carrying charge q is placed on a frictionless horizontal surface. The block is
connected to a rigid wall through an unstressed spring of spring constant k. A horizontal uniform
electric field parallel to the spring is switched on.

(i) What will the type of motion be?

(ii) Find the amplitude of the motion?
(iii) A small metal ball of mass m suspended from a thread of length l oscillates. Then it is
placed between the plates of the conductor having a uniform electric field in the
downward direction. How will the oscillation of this pendulum change?
(iv) What will happen in the above question if the direction of the electric field is
reversed?

CASE STUDY 2. Suppose a restaurant has the problem of buttering toast. They want to be very
modern and do toast buttering with a machine. The restaurant owner invents a Butter Gun,
with melted butter in the handle, which can be squirted out in straight lines of butter.

Here is a piece of toast, and the lines of butter go out and hit it all over.
Now instead of one toast, the butter lines might go on, and you can put the toast farther back,
at twice the distance. Two pieces of toast wide, and two toasts high.

All together, four pieces of toast to intercept the butter. The butter will be a quarter as

thick.

Extending the idea: At triple the distance, you can arrange 3 toasts by 3 toasts to fit within the

spray lines, for 9 total toasts, and youget 1/9, the thickness of butter, for "economy" treatment.

(i) Name the law involved?

(ii) The distance between the two electrons in contact is equal to 1Å. Determine the
Coulomb force between them.

(iii) Plot a graph showing the variation of coulomb force (F) versus (1/r2), where r is the

distance between the two charges of each pair of charges: (1μC, 2μC) and (2μC – 3μC).

Interpret the graphs obtained.

Assertion and Reason
1. Assertion : In a cavity within a conductor, the electric field is zero.
Reason : Charges in a conductor reside only at its surface.
2. Assertion : Consider two identical charges placed distance 2d apart,
along x-axis.

The equilibrium of a positive test charge placed at the point O

midway between them is stable for displacements along the x-axis.
Reason: Force on test charge is zero.
3. Assertion : On bringing a positively charged rod near the uncharged
conductor, the conductor gets attracted towards the rod.
Reason : The electric field lines of the charged rod are perpendicular
to the surface of conductor.

Answers

CASE STUDY 1:
(i) SHM
(ii) X= -(qE)/K
(iii) Decreases
(iv) Time period increases
CASE STUDY 2
(i) Inverse square law
(ii) 2.3 X 10 -8 N
(iii) graph
A-R

1. A
2. B If +ve charge is displaced along x-axis, then net force will always
act in a direction opposite to that of displacement and the test
charge will always come back to its original position.
3. B Though the net charge on the conductor is still zero but due to induction negatively
charged region is nearer to the rod as compared to the positively charged region. That is
why the conductor gets attracted towards the rod