AP2191 & AP2291

1. Electric Charge
Answers to Questions

Question 1.1
The figure shows five pairs of plates: A, B, and D are charged plastic plates
and C is an electrically neutral copper plate. The electrostatic forces
between the pairs of plates are shown for three of the pairs. For the
remaining two pairs, do the plates repel or attract each other?

Ans.
C and D attract.
B and D attract.

Question 1.2
The figure shows two protons (symbol p) and one electron
(symbol e) on an axis. What are the directions of (a) the
electrostatic force on the central proton due to the
electron, (b) the electrostatic force on the central proton
due to the other proton, and (c) the net electrostatic force
on the central proton?

Ans. Leftward for all three cases (a), (b) and (c)

Question 1.3
The figure here shows three arrangements of an electron e and two
protons p. (a) Rank the arrangements according to the magnitude of the
net electrostatic force on the electron due to the protons, largest first.
(b) In situation c, is the angle between the net force on the electron and
the line labelled d less than or more than 45?

Ans. (a) a, c, b; (b) less than

Question 1.4
Sparks are often observed (or heard) on a dry day when
clothes are removed in the dark. Explain.

Ans. Static charge is built up on the clothes as they rub

against the body. Electrical discharge occurs to ground
when the charge reaches a certain limit.

Question 1.5
A balloon is negatively charged by rubbing and then clings to the
wall. Does this mean that the wall is positively charged? Why
does the balloon eventually fall?
Ans. No. The balloon induces charge of opposite sign in the wall,
causing it to be attracted. The balloon eventually falls since its
charge slowly diminishes as it leaks to the ground. Some of the
charge could also be lost due to ions of opposite sign in the
surrounding atmosphere which could tend to neutralize the charge.

Question 1.6
A large metal sphere insulated from ground is charged
with an electrostatic generator; a person standing on an
insulating stool holds the sphere while it is being charged.
Why is it safe to do this? Why wouldnt it be safe for
another person standing on the floor to touch the sphere
after it has been charged?

Question 1.6 Answer

The insulating stool does not allow the
charge to flow to the ground, so there
is no current path. However, a person
standing on the floor could receive an
electrical shock if he is making good
electrical contact with the ground.

In order to prevent electrical shock, the charged sphere should be

grounded before the person holding the sphere leaves the stool.

Question 1.7
Initially, sphere A has a charge of -50e and sphere B has
a charge of +20e. The spheres are made of conducting
material and are identical in size. If the spheres then
touch, what is the resulting charge on sphere A ?
Ans. -15e (net charge of -30e is equally shared)

Miniproject 1.1 What

Causes this Sparking?
If you adapt your eyes to
darkness for about 15 minutes
and then have a friend chew a
Polo Mint, you will see a faint
flash of blue light from your
friend's mouth with each
chomp. (To avoid wear on the
teeth, you might crush the
candy with pliers, as in the
photograph.)

Demo 16-23, 16-24, 16-26

Question 1.8 Answer

One part of the fractured Polo Mint has excess
electrons while the other part has excess positive
ions. Electrons and ions jump across the gap of
the fracture and collide with nitrogen molecules in
the air and blue light is produced.