AP PHYSICS 2 CLASS 4: ELECTROSTATICS, PART 2

For all multiple-choice questions, please answer them directly on the Classkick interface by clicking on the
selection box. The printed copy is for reference only.

1. Paper is considered an insulator. How does a positively charged piece of tape pick up a neutral paper bit?
(A) The tape makes the protons flow to the opposite end of the paper, causing an attraction between the electrons
left behind and the tape.
(B) The tape polarizes the paper atoms, attracting the electrons to the side of the atoms closest to the tape.
(C) The tape forces electrons at the opposite end of the paper to flow through the paper toward the tape.
(D) The tape polarizes the paper atoms, moving the protons within the atoms to the side of the atom farthest
from the tape.
(E) It is not possible for a charged object to attract a neutral object.

2. A pith ball is a tiny piece of Styrofoam that is covered with a conductive paint. One pith ball initially has a
charge of 6.4 × 10−8 C, and it touches an identical, neutral pith ball. After the pith balls are separated, what is
the charge on the pith ball that had the initial charge?
(A) 6.4 × 10−8 C
(B) 3.2 × 10−8 C
(C) 0C
(D) −3.2 × 10−8 C
(E) −6.4 × 10−8 C

3. Glass becomes positively charged when it is rubbed with silk. Which of the following is the best description of
what’s happening?
(A) Electrons are rubbed off the glass onto the silk.
(B) Electrons are rubbed off the silk onto the glass.
(C) Protons are rubbed off the glass onto the silk.
(D) Protons are rubbed off the silk onto the glass.
(E) Neutrons in the glass have an affinity for positive charge.

4. Consider an isolated, neutral system consisting of wool fabric and a rubber rod. If the rubber rod is rubbed with
wool to become negatively charged, what can be said about the wool fabric?
(A) It becomes equally negatively charged.
(B) It becomes equally positively charged.
(C) It becomes negatively charged but not equally.
(D) It becomes positively charged but not equally.
(E) In a neutral system, neither object can become charged.

5. A negatively charged object is placed near, but not touching, a neutral conductor. As a result, the two objects
are attracted to each other. Which of the following is true?
(A) The neutral object gains positive charges to become positively charged.
(B) The neutral object loses negative charges to become positively charged.
(C) The neutral object loses positive charges to become negatively charged.
(D) The neutral object gains negative charges to become negatively charged.
(E) Negative charges of the neutral object move to the side opposite the negatively charged object.
 +𝑞 −𝑞

−𝑞 +𝑞

6. Four charges are arranged at the corners of a square of side 𝑎 as shown above. Which of the following is true of
the electric field and the electric potential at the centre of the square?
Electric Field Electric Potential
(A) zero zero
𝑘𝑄
(B) √ zero
𝑎 2
𝑘𝑄 2 𝑘𝑄
(C)
2𝑎 2 2𝑎
𝑘𝑄
(D) zero √
2𝑎
𝑘𝑄 2 𝑘𝑄
(E) √
2𝑎 𝑎 2
 For all free-response (problem-solving) questions, we recommend that you do all your work on a separate
piece of paper, and upload them onto Classkick as an image or PDF file. The printed copy (downloaded from
the school website) is for reference only.

7. An electron starts at the position shown in the figure below with an initial velocity of 𝑉0 = 5.0 × 106 m/s at an
angle of 30◦ to the 𝑥-axis. The electric field is in the positive 𝑦-direction and has a magnitude of 3.5 × 103 N/C.
The electron carries the elementary charge of 𝑒 = −1.6 × 10−19 C and has a mass of 𝑚 𝑒 = 9.1 × 10−31 kg.

10 cm

𝑦 𝐸® 3.0 cm

𝑉®0
30◦
𝑥 𝑒−

(a) Which plate has a positive charge?

(b) What is the electric potential difference across the plates?
(c) What is the acceleration (both magnitude and direction) of the electron? Assume that gravitational effects
can be neglected.
(d) On which plate and at what location will the electron strike? (Hint: think projectile motion, but acceleration
is not due to gravity.)
8. The figure above shows the equipotential lines around spherical charges 1 and 2. Points A, B, C, and D represent
locations on the equipotential lines.
(a) Sketch electric field vectors at points A and C. The vectors should be drawn so their relative strengths are
reflected in the drawing.

(b) What are the signs of the two charges, and how do their relative magnitudes compare? Explain how the
equipotential lines help you determine this.

(c) The spheres have masses in the same ratio as the magnitude of their charges. Will the equipotential lines
for gravity have a similar shape as the lines shown? Explain.

(d) A proton is released from point C and moves through an electric potential difference of magnitude 40 V.
i. On which equipotential line will the proton end up?

ii. The proton will have kinetic energy when it arrives at this new equipotential line. Where does this
kinetic energy come from? Explain your answer in terms of the system that includes the two charges
and the proton.
(e) An electron at point A is moved to point B. Has the electric potential energy of the electron–charges system
increased or decreased? Justify your answer with an equation.

(f) The distance between points C and D is 𝑑. Derive a symbolic expression for the magnitude of the average
electric field between the two points. Also, indicate the direction of the electric field.

(g) A particle with positive charge of 𝑄 is released from point C and gains kinetic energy on its path to point
D. Derive a symbolic equation for the amount of work done by the electric field and the final kinetic energy
of the proton.
9. The dots in the figure above represent two identical spheres, 𝑋 and 𝑌 , that are fixed in place with their centers
in the plane of the page. Both spheres are charged, and the charge on sphere 𝑌 is positive. The lines are
equipotential lines, also in the plane of the page, with a potential difference of 10 V between each set of adjacent
lines. The absolute value of the electric potential of the outermost line is 50 V.
(a) Indicate the values of the potentials, including the signs, at the labeled points A and B.

Potential at point A Potential at point B

(b) How do the magnitudes and the signs of the charges of the spheres compare? Explain your answer in terms
of the equipotential lines shown.

(c) The spheres at points 𝑋 and 𝑌 have masses in the same ratio as the magnitudes of their charges. The
equipotential lines for gravity for the spheres have shapes similar to those of the equipotential lines shown.
Explain why the two sets of lines have similar shapes.

Let the potentials at the three labeled points be 𝑉 𝐴, 𝑉𝐵 , and 𝑉𝐶 . A proton with charge +𝑞 and mass 𝑚 is released
from rest at point 𝐵.
(d) Based on your answer to part (b), briefly describe one similarity and one difference between the electric and
gravitational forces exerted on the proton by the system of the two spheres. The similarity and difference
you describe must not be ones that generally apply to all forces.
At some time after being released from rest at point 𝐵, the proton has moved through a potential difference of
magnitude 20 V.
(e) Determine the change in electric potential energy of the proton-spheres system when the proton has moved
through the 20 V potential difference. Express your answer symbolically in terms of 𝑞, 𝑉 𝐴, 𝑉𝐵 , 𝑉𝐶 , and
physical constants, as appropriate.

(f) As it moved through the 20 V potential difference, the proton was displaced a distance 𝑑 by the electric
force. Determine a symbolic expression for the total work done on the proton by the electric field in terms
of the average magnitude 𝐸 avg of the electric field over that distance.

(g) Two students are discussing how and why the kinetic energy of the proton would change after it is released.
• Student 1 says that if the system is defined as the proton and the spheres, the increase in the proton’s
kinetic energy is due to a change in the system’s potential energy as the proton moves through the 20 V
potential difference.
• Student 2 says that if the system is defined as only the proton, the kinetic energy of the proton increases
because positive work is done on the proton by the electric field as the proton moves through the 20 V
potential difference.
Discuss each student’s claims, explaining why each is correct or incorrect.
10. A parallel plate capacitor with a capacitance of 𝐶 is shown in the figure. The area of one plate is 𝐴, and the
distance between the plates is 𝑑.

(a) If the area of both capacitor plates as well as the distance between them were doubled, what would be the
effect on the capacitance of the capacitor? Explain.

(b) The capacitor is connected to a battery of potential difference Δ𝑉. If the potential difference of the battery
is doubled, what happens to the charge stored on the plates and the capacitance of the capacitor? Justify
your answer.

(c) In an experiment, the area 𝐴 of the capacitor plates is changed to investigate the effect on the capacitance
𝐶 of the capacitor. Sketch the graph of the lab data you expect to see from this experiment.

𝐴
(d) In another experiment, the distance between the plates (𝑑) is changed to investigate the effect on the
capacitance (𝐶) of the capacitor. Sketch the graph of the lab data you expect to see from this experiment.

(e) You are going to use a capacitor to power a light bulb. You need the bulb to shine for a long time. Describe
the geometry of the capacitor you would choose to power the bulb. Explain your answer.