STATIC ELECTRICITY

PART 2

Short/Long Answer Questions

Question 1

What do you understand by electricity at rest?

Answer

Electricity at rest refers to electric charge that is not moving or flowing. When electricity is at rest, there is no
current flowing and no electrical energy is being transferred.

Question 2

Why does a plastic comb rubbed with dry hair attract bits of paper?

Answer

When a plastic comb is rubbed with dry hair it acquires an electric charge due to friction. As the comb is charged
it acquires the property to attract bits of paper.

Question 3

Who discovered the way of producing electricity by friction?

Answer

Greek philosopher Thales discovered the way of producing electricity by friction.

Question 4

Name two substances which can be charged by friction.

Answer

Glass, ebonite are the two substances which can be charged by friction.

Question 5

What are the two kinds of charges?

Answer
The two kinds of charges are positive charge and negative charge.

Question 6

A glass rod is rubbed with silk. State the kind of charge acquired by each.

Answer

When a glass rod is rubbed with silk, the glass rod acquires positive charge and the silk acquires negative charge.

Question 7

An ebonite rod is rubbed with fur. State the kind of charge acquired by each.

Answer

When an ebonite rod is rubbed with fur, the rod acquires negative charge and the fur acquires positive charge.

Question 8

Describe an experiment to demonstrate that there are two kinds of charges.

Answer

The following experiment demonstrates that there are two kinds of charges:

1. Take a glass rod A1. Rub it with silk and suspend it with a thread. Take another glass rod B1 . Rub it with
silk and bring it near one end of the suspended rod A1. It is observed that the suspended glass rod A1 gets
repelled.
2. Take an ebonite rod A2. Rub it with fur and suspend it with thread. Take another ebonite rod B2. Rub it
with fur and bring it near one end of the suspended rod A2. It is observed that the suspended ebonite rod
A2 gets repelled.
3. Suspend glass rod A1 rubbed with silk and bring ebonite rod B2 near one end of the suspended rod A1. It
is observed that rod A1 gets attracted towards rod B2.

In all the above steps, if the rods have not been rubbed with silk or fur, no repulsion or attraction between the
rods would have been observed.

Conclusion — From this experiment we conclude that:

1. There are two kind of charges.

2. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other.

Question 9

How will you show that like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other?

Answer
The following experiment demonstrates that like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other:

1. Take a glass rod A1. Rub it with silk and suspend it with a thread. Take another glass rod B1. Rub it with
silk and bring it near one end of the suspended rod A1. It is observed that the suspended glass rod A1 gets
repelled.
2. Take an ebonite rod A2. Rub it with fur and suspend it with thread. Take another ebonite rod B2. Rub it
with fur and bring it near one end of the suspended rod A2. It is observed that the suspended ebonite rod
A2 gets repelled.
3. Suspend glass rod A1 rubbed with silk and bring ebonite rod B2 near one end of the suspended rod A1. It
is observed that rod A1 gets attracted towards rod B2.

In step 1, both the rods A1 and B1 were rubbed with silk, so, they must have similar kind of charges. Similarly, in
step 2 also rods A2 and B2 must have similar kind of charges. As A1 and A2 got repelled by B1 and B2, respectively
hence, we conclude that like charges repel each other. In step 3, A1 got attracted to B2 hence, we conclude that
A1 and B2 are oppositely charged and unlike charges attract each other.

Question 10

A glass rod rubbed with silk is suspended near an ebonite rod rubbed with fur. What will be your ob servation?
Give a reason to your answer.

Answer

When a glass rod rubbed with silk is suspended near an ebonite rod rubbed with fur, both the rods attract each
other. The glass rod when rubbed with silk acquires positive charge as free electrons move from glass to silk.
Similarly when an ebonite rod is rubbed with fur, it acquires negative charge as free electrons move from fur to
rod. As the charges on the rods are opposite, hence they attract each other.

Question 11

An ebonite rod rubbed with fur is suspended near another ebonite rod rubbed with fur. State your observation
and give a reason to support your answer.

Answer

When an ebonite rod rubbed with fur is suspended near another ebonite rod rubbed with fur, they will repel each
other. Ebonite rod acquires a negative charge when rubbed with fur as free electrons move from fur to rod. As
the charges on both the rods are the same, hence they repel each other.

Question 12

What do you mean by conservation of charges?

Answer

When two objects are rubbed together, both are charged equally, but the charges on them are of the opposite
kinds. Thus the total charge of the objects before and after rubbing remains same. This is called conservation of
charges.
Question 13

An ebonite rod is rubbed with fur. Compare the charges acquired by them.

Answer

When an ebonite rod is rubbed with fur, the free electrons move from fur to the ebonite rod, the fur loses some
electrons and it becomes positively charged and the ebonite rod gains the same number of electrons and it
becomes negatively charged by the same amount.

Question 14

Name three constituents of an atom and state the kind of charge on each of them.

Answer

The three constituents of an atom are electrons, protons and neutrons. The electrons are negatively charged,
protons are positively charged and neutrons have no charge (i.e., they are neutral).

Question 15

What is the net charge on an atom?

Answer

The net charge on an atom is zero i.e. it is electrically neutral as the number of protons is equal to the number of
electrons.

Question 16

Briefly describe the structure of an atom.

Answer

An atom has protons (positively charged) and neutrons (no charge) inside its nucleus at the centre around which
the electrons (negatively charged) revolve in different orbits. The nucleus is positively charged. The number of
electrons in an atom is equal to the number of protons. Hence, the atom is electrically neutral.

Question 17

What are free electrons?

Answer

The electrons in the orbits which are far from the nucleus are free to move and can easily leave their atoms.
These electrons are called free electrons.
Question 18

What causes the charging of two objects when they are rubbed together?

Answer

When two objects are rubbed together the free electrons are transferred from one object to other. The object
which gains free electrons becomes negatively charged, while the object which loses free electrons, becomes
positively charged.

Question 19

In each of the following cases, state which body loses electrons:

(a) A glass rod when rubbed with silk.

(b) An ebonite rod when rubbed with fur.

Answer

(a) Glass rod loses electrons.

(b) Fur loses electrons.

Question 20

A glass rod is rubbed with silk. Explain the charging of the glass rod and the silk on the basis of ele ctron
movement.

Answer

When a glass rod is rubbed with silk, the free electrons from the glass rod are transferred to the silk. The glass rod
loses some electrons and it becomes positively charged. The silk gains the same number of electrons and it
becomes negatively charged by an equal amount.

Question 21

An ebonite rod is rubbed with fur. Explain the charging of the ebonite rod and the fur on the basis of electron
movement.

Answer

When an ebonite rod is rubbed with fur, the free electrons from the fur are transferred to the ebonite rod. The
fur loses some electrons and it becomes positively charged. The ebonite rod gains the same number of electrons
and it becomes negatively charged by an equal amount.
Question 22

Distinguish between conductors and insulators of electricity.

Answer

Conductors Insulators

Substances which have large number of Substances which have very less number of free
free electrons are called conductors. electrons or no free electrons are called insulators.

They allow the electricity to flow through They do not allow the electricity to flow through
them. them.

They cannot be charged by rubbing. They can be charged by rubbing.

Metals like silver, copper, aluminium etc. Substances like wood, paper, glass, rubber etc. are
are conductors. insulators.

Question 23

Give one example each of a conductor and an insulator of electricity.

Answer

Copper is an example of conductor and wood is an example of insulator of electricity.

Question 24

State two ways of charging a conductor.

Answer

The two ways of charging a conductor are:

1. By Conduction
2. By Induction.

Question 25

Name the way of charging a conductor in which the charge is shared.

Answer

In charging by conduction, the charge is shared.

Question 26

Describe the method of charging a conductor by conduction.

Answer

In charging by conduction method, the conductor to be charged is touched or brought in contact with a charged
body. The conductor gets charged by the similar kind of charge as on the charging body.

Method of charging

Suppose we want to charge a metal rod A with a positive charge.

1. Take the metal rod A and place it on an insulating

stand.
2. Take a positively charged glass rod B provided with an
insulating handle and touch it with the metal rod A as shown in
the figure below. Some positive charge of the glass rod B is shared by the
metal rod A.
3. Remove the glass rod B.
4. The rod A gets positively charged.

Question 27

A metal rod A is to be charged positively by using another charged rod B. What should be the kind of charge on
the rod B if charging is to be done by conduction?

Answer

Rod B should be positively charged.

Question 28

Explain the charging by conduction in terms of movement of electrons.

Answer

Suppose we want to positively charge a metal rod A. Place it on an insulating stand and touch it with a positively
charged glass rod B. The rod A gets positively charged.

Explanation in terms of movement of electrons — The glass rod B is positively charged so it has a deficiency of
electrons. When it is touched with the metal rod A, the free electrons of the rod A move to the glass rod B. Due to
loss of electrons in the rod A, it becomes positively charged.

Question 29

Describe the method of charging a conductor by induction.

Answer
Suppose we want to charge a metal rod A negatively, proceed as follows:

1. Place the rod A on insulating stand.

2. Take a positively charged glass rod B provided with an
insulating handle.
3. Bring it near the rod A.
4. The near end P of the metal rod A will acquire negative charge while the far
end Q acquires positive charge as shown in below figure.
5. Now touch the end Q of rod A by hand. Then remove hand and glass rod B
simultaneously.
6. The rod A becomes negatively charged.

Question 30

Explain the charging by induction in terms of movement of electrons.

Answer

Suppose we want to charge a metal rod A negatively by induction. Bring a positively charged glass rod B near one
end of rod A.

The near end P of the rod A acquires negative charge and the far end Q acquires positive charge. The positively
charged glass rod B attracts the free electrons from the end Q towards the end P of rod A. Thus, end P becomes
negatively charged as it gains the electrons and end Q becomes positively charged as it loses the electrons.

Now touch the end Q of rod A by hand and then remove hand and rod B simultaneously. The rod A becomes
negatively charged.

On touching the end Q of rod A, the free electrons move from earth to neutralize the positive charge at end Q. On
removal of glass rod B and hand simultaneously, the negative charge at the end P gets distributed throughout the
rod A making it negatively charged.

Question 31

Figure below shows a metal rod AB placed on an insulating stand. In Fig.(a), a negatively charged ebonite rod C is
touched with the metal rod AB, while in Fig.(b), the negatively charged ebonite rod C is held near the rod AB.
State the kind of charges at the ends A and B of the rod, in each case.

Answer
In Fig.(a), rod AB gets charged by conduction. There is negative
charge at both ends A and B of the metal rod AB.

In Fig.(b), rod AB gets charged by induction. It's end A which is

near to the rod C becomes positively charged and the end B which
is far from the rod C becomes negatively charged.
Question 32

Can you charge an insulator by the method of conduction?

Answer

No, an insulator cannot be charged by the method of conduction.

Reason — An insulator does not contain any free electrons so it does not allow free electrons from the charged
body to flow towards itself.

Question 33

What is an electroscope? Name the two types of electroscopes.

Answer

An electroscope is a device which is used to detect the presence and nature of charge on a body. It detects
whether the body is charged or uncharged and if the body is charged whether it is positively charged or
negatively charged.

The two types of electroscopes are:

1. Pith ball electroscope.

2. Gold leaf electroscope.

Question 34

Describe a pith ball electroscope. How can you use it to test whether a body is charged or uncharged?

Answer

Pith ball electroscope consists of a small pith ball suspended by a dry silk thread from
an insulating stand.

To test whether a body is charged or uncharged, bring the body near the pith ball
without touching. If the pith ball moves towards the body, the body is charged. But if
the pith ball remains stationary the body is uncharged.

Question 35

How will you use a pith ball electroscope to find out whether the charge on a charged body is positive or
negative?

Answer

Using Pith ball electroscope, we can determine the type of charge on the body by following the below steps:.

1. Take a charged pith ball electroscope. Let it be positively charged.

 2. Bring the charged body near the pith ball without touching it.
3. If the pith ball moves away, the body has positive charge.
4. If the pith ball moves towards the body, the body has negative charge.

Question 36

Draw a labelled diagram of a gold leaf electroscope and describe its construction.

Answer

Construction of gold leaf electroscope:

1. A gold leaf electroscope consists of two gold or aluminium leaves hanging from
a brass rod, having a brass disc at its upper end.
2. The rod passes through an ebonite cork fitted in the mouth of a glass bottle.
3. The glass bottle has tin foils on its sides near its bottom which are earthed.

Figure of gold leaf electroscope:

Question 37

A positively charged glass rod is touched with the disc of an uncharged gold leaf electroscope. What will be your
observation?

Answer

When the positively charged glass rod is touched with the disc of an uncharged gold leaf electroscope, the leaves
diverges. The leaves acquires positive charge due to conduction and as like charges repel, they diverge.

Question 38

How will you use a gold leaf electroscope to find out whether a body is charged or uncharged?

Answer

Bring the body and touch it with the brass disc of the gold leaf electroscope. If
the leaves diverge, the body is charged. But if the leaves do not diverge, the
body is uncharged.
Question 39

How will you use a gold leaf electroscope to find out whether the charge on a charged body is positive or
negative?

Answer

Gold leaf electroscope is used to detect the type of charge present in a charged body by the following method:

1. Take a charged gold leaf electroscope (Suppose the electroscope is positively charged).
2. Bring the charged body to be tested in contact with the brass disc of the electroscope.
3. If divergence of leaves increases, the body has positive charge.
4. If divergence of leaves decreases, the body has negative charge.

For the case when electroscope is negatively charged, if divergence of leaves increases, then body is negatively
charged and if it decreases then body is positively charged.

Question 40

A negatively charged ebonite rod is touched with the disc of a negatively charged gold leaf electroscope. What
will be your observation?

Answer

The divergence of leaves will increase.

Question 41

When a charged rod is touched with the disc of a positively charged gold leaf electroscope, it is observed that the
divergence of leaves decreases. What is the kind of charge on the rod?

Answer

The rod is negatively charged.

Question 42

Describe Franklin's experiment. What did he conclude from his experiment?

Answer

Franklin's experiment:

1. Benjamin Franklin took a kite made of silk.

2. At the top corner of the kite, he fixed a metal wire about 30 cm long.
3. The other end of the wire was joined to a string.
4. At the lower end of the string, he tied a metal key and then a silk strip. The silk strip acts as an insulating
handle. He flew the kite in thunderstorm.
Observation — He obtained a number of sparks between his knuckle and key when the string got wet.

Conclusion — He concluded that during thunderstorm the clouds acquire an electric charge. Hence, with his kite
experiment, he proved that lightning is a form of electricity.

Question 43

What causes lightning?

Answer

During a thunderstorm, when a charged cloud passes over the earth (or over the other cloud), it acquires an
opposite charge by induction. A spark may occur between the two oppositely charged clouds (or a charged cloud
and the earth). This spark is called lightning.

Question 44

What are the effects of lightning?

Answer

The effect of lightning on objects is very dangerous and serious. It can kill humans and animals. It can cause a fire
and destroy buildings.

Question 45

What is a lightning conductor? How does it work?

Answer

A lightning conductor is a device which is used to protect buildings from being damaged due to lightning.

The lightning conductor works on the principle of induction.

When a charged cloud passes over the tall building, an opposite charge is induced on the spikes of lightning
conductor. This charge passes to the earth through the copper rod. Thus, the lightning spark is prevented and the
building is protected from being damaged.

Question 46

How is a tall building protected from damage due to lightning?

Answer

A lightning conductor is used to protect buildings from being damaged due to lightning. It consists of a long
copper rod with sharp points or spikes projecting above the top of the building. The lower end of the rod is
connected to a copper plate buried deep into the ground. When a charged cloud passes over the tall building, the
spikes of lightning conductor get oppositely charged. This charge passes to the earth through the copper rod.
Thus, the lightning spark is prevented and the building is protected from being damaged.

Question 47

State three safety measures that you will observe in a thunderstorm.

Answer

The three safety measures that are observed during thunderstorm are:

1. Do not stand under a tree or near a tall building.

2. Do not carry an umbrella over your head particularly if walking in an open ground.
3. Take out the plugs of TV sets, computers, etc. Do not use the wired phone.