Basics of Electrostatics
What elementary particle is responsible for creating charge on an object?
The electron
Electrical forces are a field force like what other commonly experienced force on our planet?
Gravity
What mathematical tool do we use to help visually represent electrical fields around a charged particle?
Vectors
What name is given to materials that promote the transfer of electric charge?
Conductors
As two like charges are pushed closer toward each other, their repellant force will increase, which also increases which physical quantity on each particle?
Potential energy
What name is given to the standard unit measuring the charge of a particle/object?
The Coulomb
What is the name of the law that describes the relationships between charges, distance, and electrical forces exhibited between two (or more) particles?
Coulomb's Law
What determines the direction of electrical force vectors on a particle?
How the particle would interact with a nearby POSITIVE charge
Give an example of a material that is an insulator.
Rubber, wood, glass, plastic
Electric potential is the ratio of which to quantities?
Electric potential energy per unit of charge
All charged particles create what type of physical phenomenon?
Electrical force
Complete the sentence: As the distance between two charged objects INCREASES, the net electrical force they exhibit on one another...
DECREASES
Draw an example of the electric field interactions between a POSITIVE and NEGATIVE charge.
Visual answer; Dan will check
Whenever you wipe your feet on a rug and then get shocked by touching a door handle, this is an example of what type of charging?
Charging by friction/contact
What is the standard unit for electric potential?
Volt
In what ways are electrical force similar to AND different from gravitational force?
Similar: both are field forces
Different: Electrical forces can attract or repel; gravitational force only attracts
Suppose two charged particles exert a force of 20N on each other when separated by a distance of 5cm. How much force will they exhibit upon each other if their distance is increased to 10cm?
5N; force is decreased by factor of four
What is the electric field strength of a particle exhibiting a force of 40N from a charge of +4C?
10 N/C
Suppose two neutrally charged spheres are placed near each other. A positively charged rod is placed near one of the spheres, causing negative charge to be attracted to that rod and positive charge to be repulsed to the other. The two spheres are then separated, leaving each one charged (one positive, one negative). This is an example of which type of charging?
Charging by induction
What name is given to a device that stores energy by building electric potential between two oppositely charged surfaces?
Capacitor
While protons and electrons have charges that are equal and magnitude, which particle has more mass?
Protons
Two charges q1 and q2, when separated by a distance of 10cm, exert a force of 100N on each other. If the charge on each object doubles, and the distance between them is quadrupled, what is the net charge acting on each particle?
25N
Explain why an object placed within a sphere made of conductive material carrying electrons on its surface will not experience an electrical force acting upon it.
Electrons will be uniformly repulsed across the surface of the sphere, causing their electrical forces to effectively cancel for anything placed inside the sphere.
Water molecules provide an atomic example of what type of charging?
Charge polarization
What is the net charge of a charged capacitor?
Zero. When the plates on a capacitor achieve equal and opposite charge, they effectively cancel.