PHYSICS 12

Unit 5 ~ Learning Guide Name: ______________________________

Instructions:
Using a pencil, complete the following notes as you work through the related lessons. Show ALL
work as is explained in the lessons. You are required to have this package completed BEFORE
you write your unit test. Do your best and ask questions if you don’t understand anything!

Electrostatics

1. Neutrons have ___________ charge, while protons are __________, and electrons are
_________.

2. Within an atom, the ___________ are able to move significantly, while the ___________ and
__________ can’t.

3. Electrons are attracted to ______________ charges.

4. Electrons are repelled by _______________ charges.

5. An object has no net charge (ie. is neutral) if the number of ___________ and ___________ are
equal.

6. When an object is negatively charged, it's due to excessive ______________.

7. When an object is positively charged, it's due to missing _______________.

8. Electrons are ( repelled by / attracted to) the positive pole on a battery (circle one).

9. Electrons are ( repelled by / attracted to) the negative pole on a battery (circle one).

10. An ___________________ can detect a charge, but can’t determine if it’s positive or negative.

11. An electrical charge can build up when a bunch of ________________ are built-up on an object
(negative charge) OR if the object loses a bunch of _________________ (positive charge).

12. If a built-up charge isn’t moving, we call it __________________ electricity (due to the lack of any
movement).

13. When a charged object is discharged to the Earth, whether through a water pipe or wire or the
ground itself, we call it ________________.

14. When you are charged your hair stands up because like charges _____________ causing each
strand of hair to try to get away from other hairs and your head.

15. Charging involving rubbing is called “charging by _________”, charging by contact is called
“charging by ______________”, and charging without any touch is called “charging by
_______________.

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16. Consider the following items. Each positive represents billions of protons, while each negative
represents billions of electrons.

Rod-A Rod-B Balloon-A Balloon-B Balloon-C

neutral
electrons protons electrons protons electrons < protons electrons protons electrons protons

a) Complete the bottom two rows of the table above. (positive, negative, or neutral in the first
row) and (<, >, or =) in the second.

b) If Rod-A touches Balloon-B, describe (in pictures or steps) what would happen?

c) If Balloon-C is brought close to Balloon-B, describe (in pictures or steps) what would happen?

d) If Rod-B touches Balloon-A, describe (in pictures or steps) what would happen?

e) Describe how you could use Rod-A, along with two Balloon-B’s to make two charged balloons
without actually touching (conduction) Rod-A to either balloon. Note: the balloons are allowed
to touch if they need to.

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17. Describe how a Van de Graph generator works. Show as labelled diagram, describing its charging
process.

18. Prior to a lightning strike, describe where and how the charges build up.

19. Many electronic devices produce a static charge because of the electricity they use. With this in
mind, explain why the screen of your TV tends to be much dustier than most other pieces of
furniture in your home.

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Coulomb’s Law:

1. What is the smallest unit of charge (in Coulombs)? Where does it exist (in positive and negative)
form?

2. Explain how Coulomb’s law provides a quantitative (numerical) understanding to the

electrostatic forces involved between the charged balloons that were discussed earlier. (In
other words, explain how this equation shows us how the force varies with separation distance,
and how the force depends on the size of the charges involved)

3. We know that two positive charges repel each other. Determine the electrostatic force
between two charges which are both +1C and separated by 1m.

4. Why do we normally measure charge in μC instead of Coulombs?

5. Determine the electrostatic force between two charges (2.5 μC and -4.3 μC) which are
separated by 4 cm.

6. Compare the general magnitude of the force of gravity and the electrostatic force. Consider the
constants in each equation to explain the difference (use the equation for the universal force of
gravity). Why do we often think of gravity as being bigger?

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7. Find the electrostatic force of attraction between objects of 4.0 μC and -5.0 μC when they are
0.20 m apart. How does this change when the distance is doubled?

8. A small sphere of mass 0.050 kg is seen to accelerate away from a fixed charge of 16 μC at a rate
of 1150 m/s2 when placed 10 cm apart.
a) What is the charge on the small sphere?

b) Describe the motion of the small sphere as it moves away from the 16 μC charge. In
particular, discuss how the sphere accelerates as they separate. Whenever possible, back up
your reasoning with an equation.

9. Use Coulomb's Law to help explain why charged objects are attracted to neutral objects. Draw a
picture to show why the attracting force between the opposite charges is always bigger that the
repelling force from the like charges.

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10. Demonstrate (show work) with Coulomb’s Law what happens to the magnitude of the force
between two charges Q1and Q2 separated by a distance R if:

(a) one of the charges is doubled?

(b) both charges are doubled?

(c) separation distance is doubled?

(d) separation distance is tripled?

(e) both charges are doubled and separation distance is doubled?

(f) both charges are doubled and separation distance is halved?

11. Two small spheres are located 0.50 m apart. Both have the same charge on them. If the
repulsive force is 5.0 N, what charge is on the spheres, in µC?

12. One electron has a mass of 9.1 x 10-31 kg. How many coulombs of charge would there be in 1 kg
of electrons? How much force would this charge exert on another 1 kg of electrons 1.0 km
away? (This is strictly an imaginary situation.)

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13. Let’s compare this electrical force to the force of gravity. Imagine you could place 1g of
electrons 1.0 m away from another 1g of electrons. Calculate:

(a) the gravitational force of attraction between them.

(b) the electrostatic force of repulsion between the two charge collections.

(c) the ratio of the electrostatic force to the gravitational force. .

(d) Discuss whether you think gravity would play a major part in holding atoms together. Refer
to your results above.

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Coulombs Law in 2D:

1. Electrostatic Force is a vector. Three charged objects are located at the 'corners' of an
equilateral triangle with sides 1.0 m long. Two of the objects carry a charge of 5.0 µC each. The
third object carries a charge of –5.0 µC. Assume all three objects are very small.
a. Draw the three charges below. Draw the electrostatic forces acting on the –5.0 µC charge.

b. Using your diagram above draw the vector diagram showing how you would arrive at the
direction of the Net Electrostatic Force acting on the –5.0 µC charge. Determine the angles
inside your vector diagram and label them directly onto the sketch.

c. What is the resultant electrostatic force acting on the –5.0 µC object?

2. A 4.0 μC charge is 20 cm from a 6.0 μC charge. At 90° to this, a -9.0 μC charge is fixed 25 cm
above the 6.0 μC charge. What net electrostatic force is experienced by the 6.0 μC charge?

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3. Consider two large spheres, each of mass m and positive

charge q, hanging from light threads of lengths l.

a. On the diagram draw and label all forces on sphere I. Label

the distance, r, that you would use to determine the
magnitude of the electric force acting between both
spheres.

b. Determine the mass, m, for the charges, q if q = 400µC , l =

2m, and ɵ = 30°.

Electric Fields:
1. E = kQ/R2 is the equation for the electric field surrounding point charges.
a) What is the relationship between E and the distance away from the charge, R? Explain with an
example.

b) Sketch electric field lines around each charge and pass one through the three points, then draw
a vector showing the resulting field at each point (ie. Ea, Eb, and Ec).

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2. Calculate the electric field strength 1.2 m away from a 7.5 μC charge.

3. A charge experiences a force of -2.0x10-2 N in an electric field of strength 45000 N/C. Calculate the
size of the charge. Is it created by a surplus or shortage of electrons? How many electrons involved?

4. Find the net electric field at point P in the diagram below.

5. An electron carries a charge of − 1.6 x 10-19 C. If a force of 3.2 x 10-17 N causes the electron to
move upward, what is the magnitude and direction of the electric field.

6. Calculate the net electric field strength at point P in the diagram below.

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7. Consider the diagram.

a. Sketch the electric field vectors from

each charge at location A. Be sure to
sketch them roughly to scale. Show the
direction of the Net Electric Field. Lightly
sketch in the field lines onto the diagram
above.

b. Determine the angles of the vectors

above and label them on the diagram
above.

c. What is the resultant electric field strength E at point A? Give both the magnitude and the
direction.

d. If an electron were to be placed at location A what would be its acceleration? Give both
magnitude and direction.

e. Discuss the similarities and differences between Electric Force as opposed to Electric Field.

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8. Sketch two oppositely charged parallel plates. Draw in the electric field lines being sure to adhere
to the rules regarding their direction and relative strength. Discuss how the field between the
plates near the positive plate compares to the field near the negative plate.

9. For the above set of plates why can’t we use the formula E=kQ/r2 to determine the value of the
electric field between the plates? What formula should we use?

Electric Potential Energy:

1. Recall that electric/gravitational fields and forces are vector quantities (with direction). Potential
Energy, though, is a scalar quantity.
a. Compare the formula to determine the gravitational potential energy between two planets with
the formula to determine the electrical potential energy between two charges. Why do we say
these equations are "relative to infinity"?

b. Change in Potential energy is negative if the mass/charge moves in the same direction as the
gravitational/electrical ________________ (decreasing the stored energy).
c. Change in Potential energy is positive if the mass/charge moves in the opposite direction as the
gravitational/electrical force ( ____________ the stored energy).
d. Change in Gravitational potential energy is always ______________ as two masses move away
from each other and ________________ as they move closer.
e. Change in Electrical potential energy is _______________ if two oppositely charged objects
move away from each other.
f. Change in Electrical potential energy is ______________ if two similarly charged objects move
away from each other.
g. Change in Electrical potential energy is _______________ if two oppositely charged objects
move towards each other.
h. Change in Electrical potential energy is ______________ if two similarly charged objects move
towards each other.

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2. Find the potential energy of two protons which are 10-10 m apart.

3. A 50 μC charged sphere of mass 0.050 kg is stationary and 2.0 m away from a fixed -30 μC charged
sphere. The 50 μC charged sphere released and allowed to accelerate towards the fixed charge.
When it is 1.2 m away, what is the speed of this sphere?

4. How much work is needed to bring a + 5.0 µC point charge from infinity to a point 2.0 m away from
a + 25 µC charge? (you may assume that it is moved at a constant, controlled velocity so that there
is no change in kinetic energy)

5. How much potential energy would an electron in a hydrogen atom lose if it fell toward the nucleus
from a distance of 7.5 x 10-11 m to a distance of 5.0 x 10-11 m?

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6. A 50 μC charged sphere of mass 0.050 kg is 1.2 m away from a -30 μC charged sphere. The 50 μC
charged sphere is moved at a steady speed to a point 2.0 m away. What is the change in potential
energy of this sphere?

Voltage:
1. When working with electricity, we often use the term potential interchangeably with voltage. This
is NOT the same thing as potential energy (though pretty close). Describe the difference between
potential (or voltage) and potential energy. What are all the different ways to say "voltage" or
"change in voltage"?

2. An electron-volt, eV, is a unit of measure. What quantity does the electron volt measure? What is
the conversion between eV and the standard unit for this quantity?

3. An electron is accelerated by a voltage of 2500 V between plates a and b, as shown. You may
assume the plate b is at a higher potential than plate a. What is the electron's change in energy
when reaching plate b if it starts from rest? What is the electron's speed when reaching plate b?

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4. A proton moving at 3.0 x 104 m/s is accelerated through a potential difference of -200V, what is its
final velocity?

5. A proton is moving at a speed of 2x106 m/s towards a series of charged parallel plates as shown
below. What is the final velocity of the proton upon striking the -40000V plate on the right?

6. A proton is moving at a speed of 2x106 m/s towards a series of charged parallel plates as shown
below. In what section (A, B, or C) will the proton stop?

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7. A proton is travelling at a speed of 4 x 105 m/s moves into a series of charged parallel plates as
shown below.
a. What is the impact speed on the third plate?

b. The same proton is fired again at the same speed towards a very large, fixed nucleus (parallel
plates removed) and comes to rest 0.15 nm away from the atom. What is the charge of the
atom?

c. What might this nucleus be? (use the periodic table)

d. Why can you not use high-school kinematics to get the answer above for this situation?

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8. What is the voltage at a point 5.0 cm away from the center of a 1.0 cm diameter metal sphere that
has a −3.0 nC static charge? (remember, nano = x 10-9)

9. In nuclear fission, a nucleus splits roughly in half. What is the potential 2.0 × 10−10 m from a
fragment that has 50 protons in it?

10. A Van de Graaff generator has a 25 cm diameter metal sphere that produces a voltage of 100. kV
near its surface. What excess charge resides on the sphere?

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11. The following equipotential lines are created by three point charges represented with three circles
on the outside as shown below.

a) Label each of the three point charges (circles) as + or -.

b) Draw arrows to indicate the direction of the electric field at each point.
c) At which point is the E the greatest in magnitude? How do you know?

d) What is the potential difference going from point C to E?

e) What is the potential difference going from point F to A?

f) Use the scale to approximate the magnitude of the electric field at point B.

g) What work would be required to move an electron from C to E?

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CRTs:
1. In a television set, electrons are first accelerated from rest through a potential difference in an
electron gun. They then pass through deflecting plates before striking the screen.
a. Determine the potential difference through which the electrons must be accelerated in the
electron gun in order to have a speed of 6.0 x 107 m/s when they enter the deflecting plates.

The pair of horizontal plates shown is used to deflect electrons up or down in the television set by
placing a potential difference across them. The plates have length 0.04 m and separation 0.012
m, and the right edge of the plates is 0.50 m from
the screen. A potential difference of 200 V is
applied across the plates, and the electrons are
deflected toward the top of the screen. Assume
that the electrons enter horizontally midway
between the plates with a speed of 6.0 x 107 m/s
and that fringing effects at the edges of the plates
and gravity are negligible.

b. Which plate in the pair must be at the higher potential (positive) for the electrons to be
deflected upward? Justify your answer.

c. Considering only an electron's motion as it moves through the space between the plates,
compute the time required for the electron to move through the plates.

d. What is the force on the electrons while between the plates?

e. What is the vertical displacement of an electron while it is between the plates?

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f. Determine the force of gravity on the electron and compare it with the electrical force. Is it is a
reasonable assumption to neglect gravity in this question?

g. Compare the path of the electron between the plates (hint: it may be considered as a Type 1
projectile, but you will need to compute the electron's huge acceleration)

h. What adjustment(s) could be made to increase the overall deflection of the electron?

i. What adjustment could be made to cause the electron to deflect downwards?

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2. A simple Cathode Ray tube is depicted below. Describe the function of each labelled part (i.e. how
it affects the electron’s motion).

Part: Function:
filament

Accelerating anode (Va applied here)

Y plates (Vdy)

X Plates (Vdx)

Fluorescent screen

3. For the simple CRT depicted below, describe how each suggested change in Va or Vd would affect
the final deflection position of the electron beam.

Change in Voltage Effect on deflection, D

Vd is halved

Va is tripled

Vd is increased by 1.5x and its polarity is

reversed
Va is quadrupled, Vd is doubled

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4. In a CRT, the deflection on the screen is 2.4 cm when the accelerating voltage is 480 V and the
deflecting voltage is 36 V. What deflection will you see in the screen if the accelerating voltage is
960 V and the deflecting voltage is 18 V?

General Questions:

1. A conducting sphere receives a charge of -75μC. For good conductors the charge will reside on
the outside surface only with no charge inside. Explain why this is so.

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. The net electric field inside the conductor is zero and the field lines arrive or leave at directions
perpendicular to the outer surface of the conductor. Draw the field lines both inside and
outside the shapes below:

A conducting sphere of charge -75μC The positively charged conductor shown

below.

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3. Choose a couple of points inside the conducting sphere to prove (visually) that the vector sum
of the electric field adds to zero.

Show that the electric field at the center adds Show that the electric field at the location
to zero. below adds to zero.

Explain diagram: Explain Diagram:

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4. Current will flow from high potential to low potential. Below are a series of conducting spheres
connected together with a thin conducting wire. Determine which way the current will flow for
each scenario and back up your decision with the necessary calculations below each.

Q1 = 50μC, Q2 = -50μC, r1 = r2 = 0.10m Current will flow (circle)

LEFT/RIGHT/NO CURRENT

Proof:

Q1 = Q2 = 25μC, r1 = r2=0.05m Current will flow (circle)

LEFT/RIGHT/NO CURRENT

Proof:

Q1 = Q2 = 25μC, r1 = 0.10m, r2=0.05m Current will flow (circle)

LEFT/RIGHT/NO CURRENT

Proof:

Q1 = 40μC, Q2 = 25μC, r1 = 0.10m, r2=0.05m Current will flow (circle)

LEFT/RIGHT/NO CURRENT

Proof:

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5. Brain Buster:
Two conducting spheres with charges Q1 = 40.0μC and Q2 = 30.0μC and respective radii r1 =
0.10m, r2=0.050m are conducted together with a thin, light conducting wire with a switch in the
middle as shown below. The spheres are positioned 2.0m apart (measured from center to
center as shown).

a. Determine the tension in the wire immediately after the switch is first closed.

b. Determine the tension in the wire after the switch has been closed for a LONG time. (hint:
overall or total charge of the system must be conserved. After a long time equilibrium will be
reached when current stops flowing)

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Answers:

Electrostatics:

1)no, pos, neg 3)pos 5)elect,prot 7)elect 9)repelled 11)elect,elect 13)grounded

15)friction,conduction,induction 16)a)+,-,+, ,-,<,>,<,=,> b)-e) ask if unsure 17-19)description
and/or photo

Coulomb’s Law:

1) 1.6x10-19C, electron, proton 2) magnitude of attraction/repulsion 3) 9x109N 5) 60N 7) -4.5N,

quarter 8) 4.0x10-6C 10) a) 2F b) 4F c) F/ 4 d) F/ 9 e) F f) 16F 11) 12µC 12) -1.8 x 1011 C, 2.8 x
1026 N 13) a) 6.7 x 10-17N b) 2.8x1026N c) 4.2 x 1042 : 1

Coulomb’s Law in 2D:

1) c) 0.39 N [down, or between the pos charges] 2) 9.5N at 35° E of N 3) b) 64 kg

Electric Fields:

1) a) inverse-square b) tangents at points 2) 4.7 x 104 N/C 3) -4.4 x 10-7 C, 2.8 x 1012 electrons 4)
2.9 x 106 N/C [left] 5) 2.0x102N/C[down] 6) 1.9 x 104 N/C @ 48° N of E 7)b) 30o c) 2.6x105N/C[11o
WofN] d) 4.57x1016 m/s2[opposite direction] 8) uniform 9) not point charges (more like infinite
point charges) E=V/d

Electrical Potential Energy:

1) b) force c) increasing d) positive, negative e) positive f) negative g) negative h) positive 2)

2.3x10-18 J 3) 13 m/s 4) 0.56 J 5) - 1.5 x 10-18 J or - 10 eV 6) 4.5J

Voltage:

2) 1.6x10-19J 3) -4.0 x 10-16 J, 3.0 x 107 m/s 4) 2.0 x 105 m/s

5) 3.4x106 m/s 6) B as ΔV = 21000V
7) a) 6.7 x 105 m/s, b) 1.42 x 10-17 C, c) Ra d) force varies with d
8) -540V 9) 360V 10) 1.4μC
11) c) F d) -30V e) 60V f) 500V/m g) 4.8x10-18J

CRTs:

1) a) 10200V b) top c) 6.7x10-10s d) 2.7x10-15 N e) 6.7x10-4m h) increase voltage i) switch polarity 2)

research 3) a) D/2 b) D/3 c) 1.5D on opposite side (bottom) d) D/2 4) 0.60cm

General Questions:

2) 4) Right, No Current, Left, Left 5) a) 2.7N, b) 2.5N

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