UNIT I ELECTROSTATICS

1 MARK QUESTIONS

1) Can a body have charge 1.5e, where e is the electronic charge?

2) Why two electric field lines can never intersect each other at any point?
3) A point charge q is placed at the origin. How does the electric filed due to the charge vary with distance
r from the origin?
4) Give the SI unit of electric dipole moment. Is it a vector or a scalar quantity? If vector what is its
direction?
5) Give SI unit and dimensional formula torque.
6) When will torque acting on a dipole be maximum? Give equation to support your answer.
7) Does the strength of electric field due to an infinite long line charge depend upon the distance of the
observation point from the line charge?
8) What is the net electric flux of the uniform electric fields through a cube of side 20cm oriented, so that
its faces are parallel to the coordinate planes?
9) Can Gauss lass in electrostatics tell us exactly where the charge is located within the Gaussian surface?
10) What is meant by Electric charge is additive in nature?
11) How much work is done in moving a 500 C charge between two points on an equipotential surface?

2 MARK QUESTIONS

1) Can a charged body attract another uncharged body?

2) What is the angle between the directions of electric field at any
a) axial point and
b) equatorial point due to an electric dipole?
3) What is the force between two small charged spheres having charges of 2 * 10-7 C and 3* 10-7 C placed
30 cm apart in air?
4) Give properties of electric field lines. Draw the diagram to indicate electric field lines due to an isolated
positive charge.
5) Define equipotential surface. Draw two equipotential due to a point charge.

3 MARK QUESTIONS

1) Define Coulombs law. Give its expression in vector form and prove that it agrees with Newtons third
law.
2) A polythene piece of rubbed with wool is found to have a negative charge of 3 * 10-7 C.
a) Estimate the number of electrons transferred from which to which?
b) Is there transfer of mass from wool to polythene?
3) Describe some of the differences between charging by induction and by charging by contact.
4) Three point charges of +2 C , -3 C and -3 C are kept at the vertices A, Band C respectively of an
equatorial triangle of side 20cm. What should be the sign and magnitude of the charge to be placed at
the midpoint (M) of the side BC so that the charge at A remains in equilibrium?
 5 MARK QUESTIONS

1) State Gausss theorem. Find the electric field intensity at a point due to thin uniformly charged sheet
having charge density using Gauss theorem. What is the direction of E if the charge distributed on the
sheet is negative charge?
2) Using Gauss law, deduce the expression for the electric field due to a uniformly charged spherical
conductor shell of radius R at a point (i) outside and (ii) inside the shell. Plot a graph showing variation
of electric field as a function of r > R and r < R. (r being the distance from the centre of the shell.
3) Draw a neat diagram and derive the equation for electric field at a point on the equatorial line. Also
derive its relation with electric at a point on the axial line.

4) Briefly explain the principle of a capacitor. Derive an expression for the capacitance of a parallel plate
capacitor, whose plates are separated by a dielectric medium.

5) Four capacitors are connected as shown in the fig . calculate the capacitance between points A and B.
Where Y = 2 F, X= 3 F, Z=5 F, ,N = 10 F,

VALUE BASED QUESTIONS (4 MARKS)

1) One day Reenu was going to the market with her father .Suddenly the climate changed and there was
heavy lightning and thunder. She woke up to the situation and asked her father to stio the car and
remain there inside.
a) What are the qualities shown by Reenu ?
b) Explain Faradays cage or electrostatic shielding?
2) Balloons were sold. A child was seen troubling his parent and crying for something. On seeing this,
Ram went to the child and said that he would perform a trick with balloons. Ram took two balloons
and Shyam helped him to inflate and tie. When the balloons were rubbed with the sweater he was
wearing, they were attracted. When taken nearer to wall, the balloons got stuck. The child enjoyed and
stopped crying.
a) Give two values of Ram and Shyam.
b) How did the balloons get attracted? Will they repel also?

3) A & B are two students in a class who have been assigned to organize a Republic Day function.
They have also been instructed to invite personally more than 60 members from all the nearby cultural
organizations and VIPs in their area. While student A arranged invitations using a photocopier/fax,
student B arranges invitations by writing to them individually.
a) Which students method would you adopt and why? AND
b) State the principle behind the source used by student A.
(ANS: Student A because, he is aware of the latest technology and its applications; b)
electrostatic force)
 ANSWER KEY
1 MARK QUESTIONS

1) No, a body cannot have1.5e. It is because the physically existing charge is always an integral multiple of
e, i.e. 1.6 * 10 -19 C.

2) Electric field lines can never intersect because if they cross, there will be two directions of electric field
at the point of intersection; which is impossible.

3) The electric field varies inversely as the square of the distance from the point charge.
4) SI unit of electric dipole moment is coulomb- metre (C-m). It is a vector quantity and its direction is
always from negative charge to positive charge.
5) SI unit newton - metre (N-m) , dimensional formula [ML2T-2]
6) When = 90 , the torque acting on a dipole will be maximum. As Torque = pE sin (sin 90 = 1)
7) Yes, the electric field due to an infinitely long line charge depend upon the distance of the observation
to an infinite long line charge depend upon the distance of the observation point from the line charge.
8) As we know that the number of field lines entering in the cube is the same as that the number of field
lines leaving the cube. So, no flux is remained on the cube and hence the net flux over the cube is zero.
9) No, it tells us only about the magnitude of charge enclosed by the Gaussian surface.
10) The entire electric charge is equal to the algebraic sum of electric charges located in the system. Thus
can be added up like real numbers using proper sign while adding the charges.

11) Work done = q(VB VA) = q(VA-VA)=0

2 MARK QUESTIONS

6) Yes, because when a charged body is brought near to uncharged body, opposite kind of induced charge
is produced on an uncharged body. Therefore, the charged body attracts the uncharged body.
7) At axial point, field is along the axis and at an equatorial point, field is perpendicular to equatorial line.
So, angle between a) and b) is 180.
8) Formula and substitution (1)
F = 6 * 10-3 N. This is repulsive force since the spheres have same charges. (1)
9) Any two properties. (1)
Correct diagram (1)
10) The surface having same potential at all its points is called an equipotential surface.

3 MARK QUESTIONS
1) Definition (1)
Expression (1)
Derivation (1)

2) a) Using formula ( = ) and substitution . (1)
12
n = 1.875 * 10 (1/2)
b) Yes, there is transfer of mass from wool to polythene piece. (1/2)
Mass transferred from wool to polythene, m = n * me (me = 9 * 10-31 kg)
m = 1.687 * 10-18 kg (1)
3) Explain Charging by induction with necessary diagram. (1 + )
Explain Charging by contact with necessary diagram. (1 + )
4) Formula. (1/2)
Finding F = 2.32 N (1 + )
Charge q = 3.9 C (1)

5 MARK QUESTIONS

1) Defining Gauss theorem statement. (1)

Correct diagram, labelling and Drawing Gaussian surface. (1 + )
Deriving equation E = /2 . (2)
E at any point is directed towards the sheet in case of negative charge distribution. (1/2)

2) Correct diagram, labelling and Drawing Gaussian surface. (1)

Deriving expression for E outside the shell along with diagram. (1+ )
Deriving expression for E inside the shell. (1+ )
Drawing respective graph and labelling. (1)

3) Correct diagram, labelling and Drawing. (1)

Deriving equation step by step. (3)
Deriving relation between Eaxial and Eequatorial. (1)

4) Principle of a capacitor (1)

Parallel plate capacitor: Diagram ()
Introduction ()
Derivation of C = K 0A/d (3)
5) Equivalent Capacitance between A and B = 5 F (5)

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