12th Physics Chapter 1 Electrostatics

Textual Evaluation Multiple Choice Questions

1. Two identical point charges of magnitude -q are fixed as shown in the figure below. A third
charge +q is placed midway between the two charges at the point P. Suppose this charge +q is
displaced a small distance from the point P in the directions indicated by the arrows, in which
direction(s) will +q be stable with respect to the displacement?

(a) A1 and A2` (b) B1 and B2 (c) both directions (d) No stable

2. Which charge configuration produces a uniform electric field?

(a) point charge (b) the infinite uniform line charge
(c) uniformly charged infinite plane (d) uniformly charged spherical shell

3. What is the ratio of the charges ∣∣q1q2∣∣ for the following electric field line pattern?

(a) 15 (b) 2511 (c) 5 (d) 1225

4. An electric dipole is placed at an alignment angle of 30° with an electric field of 2 x 10 5 N C-1. It
experiences a torque equal to 8 N m. The charge on the dipole if the dipole length is 1 cm is-
(a) 4 Mc (b) 8 mC (c) 5 mC (d) 1 mC

5. Four Gaussian surfaces are given below with charges inside each Gaussian surface. Rank the
electric flux through each Gaussian surface in increasing order-

(a) D < C < B < A (b) A < B = C < D (c) C < A = B < D (d)D > C > B > A
 6. The total electric flux for the following closed surface which is kept inside water-

(a) 80qε0 (b) q40ε0 (c) q80ε0 (d) q40ε0

7. Two identical conducting balls having positive charges q1 and q2 are separated by a center to center
distance r. If they are made to touch each other and then separated to the same distance, the force between
them will be (a) less than before (b) same as before (c) more than before (d) zero

8. Rank the electrostatic potential energies for the given system of charges in increasing order

(a) 1 = 4 < 2 < 3 (b) 2 = 4 < 3 < 1 (c) 2 = 3 < 1 < 4 (d) 3 < 1 < 2 < 4

9. An electric field E⃗ = 10xi^ exists in a certain region of space. Then the potential difference
V = V0 – VA, Where V0 is the potential at the origin and VA is the potential at x = 2 m is-
(a) 10 J (b) -20 J (c) + 20 J (d) – 10 J

10. A thin conducting spherical shell of radius R has a charge Q which is uniformly distributed on its
surface. The correct plot for electrostatic potential due to this spherical shell is-

11. Two points A and B are maintained at a potential of 7 V and -4 V respectively. The work done in
moving 50 electrons from A to B is-
(a) 8.80 x 10-17 J (b) -8.80 x 10-17 J (c) 4.40 x 10-17 J (d) 5.80 x 10-17 J

12. If voltage applied on a capacitor is increased from V to 2V, choose the correct conclusion.
(a) Q remains the same, C is doubled (b) Q is doubled, C doubled (c) C remains same, Q doubled
(d) Both Q and C remain same

13. A parallel plate capacitor stores a charge Q at a voltage V. Suppose the area of the parallel plate
capacitor and the distance between the plates are each doubled then which is the quantity that will
change?
(a) Capacitance (b) Charge (c) Voltage (d) Energy density

14. Three capacitors are connected in a triangle as shown in the figure. The equivalent capacitance
between points A and C is

(a) 1 μF (b) 2 μF (c) 3 μF (d) 14 μF

15. Two metallic spheres of radii 1 cm and 3 cm are given charges of -1 x 10 -2 C and 5 x 10-2 C
respectively. If these are connected by a conducting wire, the final charge on the bigger sphere is
(a) 3 x 10-2 C (b) 4 x 10-2 C (c) 1 x 10-2 C (d) 2 x 10-2 C

Short Answer Questions

1. What is meant by quantisation of charges?
2. Write down Coulomb’s law in vector form and mention what each term represents.
3. What are the differences between the Coulomb force and the gravitational force?
4. Write a short note on the superposition principle.
5. Define ‘Electric field’.
6. What is mean by ‘Electric field lines’?
7. The electric field lines never intersect. Justify.
8. Define ‘Electric dipole’
9. What is the general definition of electric dipole moment?
10. Define “electrostatic potential”.
11. What is an equipotential surface?
12. What are the properties of an equipotential surface?
13. Give the relation between electric field and electric potential.
14. Define electrostatic potential energy?
15. Define ‘electric flux’.
16. What is meant by electrostatic energy density?
17. Write a short note on ‘electrostatic shielding’.
18. What is Polarisation?
19. What is dielectric strength?
20. Define ‘capacitance’. Give its unit.
21. What is corona discharge?

Long Answer Questions

1. Discuss the basic properties of electric charges.
2. Explain in detail Coulomb’s law and its various aspects.
3. Define ‘Electric field’ and discuss its various aspects.
4. How do we determine the electric field due to a continuous charge distribution? Explain. Electric field
due to continuous charge distribution.
5. Calculate the electric field due to a dipole on its axial line and the equatorial plane.
6. Derive an expression for the torque experienced by a dipole due to a uniform electric field.
7. Derive an expression for electrostatic potential due to a point charge.
8. Derive an expression for electrostatic potential due to an electric dipole.
9. Obtain an expression for potential energy due to a collection of three-point charges which are separated
by finite distances.
10. Derive an expression for the electrostatic potential energy of the dipole in a uniform electric field.
another angle θ against the torque exerted by the electric field, an equal and opposite external torque must
be applied on the dipole.
11. Obtain Gauss law from Coulomb’s law.
12. Obtain the expression for electric field due to an infinitely long charged wire.
13. Obtain the expression for the electric field due to a charged infinite plane sheet.
14. Obtain the expression for the electric field due to a uniformly charged spherical shell.
15. Discuss the various properties of conductors in electrostatic equilibrium.
16. Explain the process of electrostatic induction.
17. Explain dielectrics in detail and how an electric field is induced inside a dielectric.
18. Obtain the expression for capacitance for a parallel plate capacitor.
19. Obtain the expression for energy stored in the parallel plate capacitor.
20. Explain in detail the effect of a dielectric placed in a parallel plate capacitor.
21. Derive the expression for resultant capacitance, when capacitors are connected in series and in
parallel.
22. Explain in detail how charges are distributed in a conductor, and the principle behind the lightning
23. Explain in detail the construction and working of a Van de Graaff generator.

Numerical Problems
1. When two objects are rubbed with each other, approximately a charge of 50 nC can be produced in
each object. Calculate the number of electrons that must be transferred to produce this charge.
2. The total number of electrons in the human body is typically in the order of 10 28. Suppose, due to some
reason, you and your friend lost 1% of this number of electrons. Calculate the electrostatic force between
you and your friend separated at a distance of 1 m. Compare this with your weight. Assume the mass of
each person is 60 kg and use point charge approximation.
3. Five identical charges Q are placed equidistant on a semicircle as shown in the figure. Another point
charge q is kept at the center of the circle of radius R. Calculate the electrostatic force experienced by the
charge q.

4. Suppose a charge +q on Earth’s surface and another +q charge is placed on the surface of the Moon, (a)
Calculate the value of q required to balance the gravitational attraction between Earth and Moon (b)
Suppose the distance between the Moon and Earth is halved, would the charge q change? (Take mE = 5.9
x 1024 kg, mM = 7.348 x 1022 kg)
5. Draw the free body diagram for the following charges as shown in figure (a), (b) and (c).
6. Consider an electron travelling with a speed VΦ and entering into a uniform electric field E⃗ which is
perpendicular to V0−→ as shown in the Figure. Ignoring gravity, obtain the electron’s acceleration,
velocity and position as functions of time.

7. A closed triangular box is kept in an electric field of magnitude E = 2 × 10 3 N C-1 as shown in the
figure.

Calculate the electric flux through the (a) vertical rectangular surface
(b) slanted surface and (c) entire surface.

8. The electrostatic potential is given as a function of x in figure (a) and (b). Calculate the corresponding
electric fields in regions A, B, C and D. Plot the electric field as a function of x for the figure (b).

9. A spark plug in a bike or a car is used to ignite the air-fuel mixture in the engine. It consists of two
electrodes separated by a gap of around 0.6 mm gap as shown in the figure.

To create the spark, an electric field of magnitude 3 x 106Vm-1 is required, (a) What potential difference
must be applied to produce the spark? (b) If the gap is increased, does the potential difference increase,
decrease or remains the same? (c) find the potential difference if the gap is 1 mm.
10. A point charge of +10 μC is placed at a distance of 20 cm from another identical point charge of +10
μC. A point charge of -2 μC is moved from point a to b as shown in the figure. Calculate the
change in potential energy of the system? Interpret your result.

q1 = 10μC = 10 x 10-6 C
q2 = 2μC = -2 x 10-6 C
distance, r = 5cm = 5 x 10-2 m

11. Calculate the resultant capacitances for each of the following combinations of capacitors.

12. An electron and a proton are allowed to fall through the separation between the plates of a parallel
plate capacitor of voltage 5 V and separation distance h = 1 mm as shown in the figure.
(a) Calculate the time of flight for both electron and proton
(b) Suppose if a neutron is allowed to fall, what is the time of flight?
(c) Among the three, which one will reach the bottom first?
(Take mp = 1.6 x 10-27 kg, me= 9.1 x 10-31 kg and g = 10 m s-2)

13. During a thunderstorm, the movement of water molecules within the clouds creates friction, partially
causing the bottom part of the clouds to become negatively charged. This implies that the bottom of the
cloud and the ground act as a parallel plate capacitor. If the electric field between the cloud and ground
exceeds the dielectric breakdown of the air (3 x 106 Vm-1 ), lightning will occur.

(a) If the bottom part of the cloud is 1000 m above the ground, determine the electric potential difference
that exists between the cloud and ground.
(b) In a typical lightning phenomenon, around 25C of electrons are transferred from cloud to ground.
How much electrostatic potential energy is transferred to the ground?

14. For the given capacitor configuration

(a) Find the charges on each capacitor (b) potential difference across them
(c) energy stored in each capacitor.
15. Capacitors P and Q have identical cross-sectional areas A and separation d. The space between the
capacitors is filled with a dielectric of dielectric constant as shown in the figure. Calculate the capacitance
of capacitors P and Q.

Additional Questions
I. Multiple Choice Questions
1. When a solid body is negatively charged by friction, it means that the body has
(a) acquired excess of electrons (b) lost some, problems
(c) acquired some electrons and lost a lesser number of protons (d) lost some positive ions

2. A force of 0.01 N is exerted on a charge of 1.2 x 10-5 G at a certain point. The electric field at that point
is (a) 5.3 x 104 NC-1 (b) 8.3 x 10-4 NC-1 (c) 5.3 x 102 NC-1 (d) 8.3 x 104 NC-1

3.The electric field intensity at a point 20 cm away from a charge of 2 x 10 5 C is

(a) 4.5 x 106 NC-1 (b) 3.5 x 105 NC-1 (c) 3.5 x 106 NC-1 (d) 4.5 x 105 NC-1

4. How many electrons will have a charge of one coulomb?

(a) 6.25 x 1018 (b) 6.25 x 1019 (c) 1.6 x 1018 (d) 1.6 x 1019

5. The ratio of the force between two charges in air and that in a medium of dielectric constant K is
(a) K : 1 (b) 1 : K (c) K2 : 1 (d) 1 : K2

6. The work done in moving a positive charge on an equipotential surface is

(a) finite and positive (b) infinite (c) finite and negative (d) zero

7. If a charge is moved against the Coulomb force of an electric field.

(a) work is done by the electric field b) energy is used from some outside source
(c) the strength of the field is decreased (d) the energy of the system is decreased

8. No current flows between two charged bodies when connected

(a) if they have the same capacitance (b) if they have the same quantity of charge
(c) if they have the same potential (d) if they have the same charge density

9. Electric field lines about a negative point charge are

(a) circular, anticlockwise (b) circular, clockwise (c) radial, inwards (d) radial, outwards

10. Two plates are 1 cm apart and the potential difference between them is 10 V. The electric field
between the plates is
(a) 10 NC-1 (b) 250 NC-1 (c) 500 N-1 (d) 1000 NC-1

11. At a large distance (r), the electric field due to a dipole varies as
(a) 1r (b) 1r2 (c) 1r3 (d) 1r4

12. Two thin infinite parallel plates have uniform charge densities +c and -σ. The electric field in the
space between then is
(a) σ2ε0 (b) σε0 (c) 2σ2ε0 (d) Zero
13. Two isolated, charged conducting spheres of radii R1, and R2 produce the same electric field near their
surfaces. The ratio of electric potentials on their surfaces is-
(a) R1R2 (b) R2R1 (c) R21R22 (d) R22R21

14. A 100 μF capacitor is to have an energy content of 50 J in order to operator a flash lamp. The voltage
required to charge the capacitor is
(a) 500 V (b) 1000 V (c) 1500 V (d) 2000 V

15.A 1 μF capacitor is placed in parallel with a 2 μF capacitor across a 100 V supply. The total charge on
the system is (a) 1003 Μc (b) 100 μC (c) 150 μC
(d) 300 μC

16. A parallel plate capacitor of capacitance 100 μF is charged to 500 V. The plate separation is then
reduced to half its original value. Then the potential on the capacitor becomes
(a) 250 V (b) 500 V (c) 1000V (d) 2000 V

17. A point charge q is placed at the midpoint of a cube of side L. The electric flux emerging from the
cube is ‘ (a) qε0 (b) q6Lε0 (c) 6Lqε0 (d) zero

18. The capacitor C of a spherical conductor of radius R is proportional to

(a) R2 (b) R (c) R-1 (d) R0

19. Energy of a capacitor of capacitance C, when subjected to a potential V, is given by

(a) 12 CV2 (b) 12 C2V (c) 12 CV (d) 12 CV

20. The electric field due to a dipole at a distance r from its centre is proportional to
(a) 1r3/2 (b) 1r3 (c) 1r (d) 1r3

21. A point charge q is rotating around a charge Q in a circle of radius r. The work done on it by the
Coulomb force is (a) 2πrq (b) 2πQq (c) Q2ε0r (d) zero

22. The workdone in rotating an electric dipole of moment P in an electric field E through an angle 0 from
the direction of the field is
(a) pE (1 – cos θ) (b) 2pE (c) zero (d) -pE cos θ

23. The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor can be increased by

(a) increasing the distance between the plates (b) increasing the thickness of the plates
(c) decreasing the thickness of the plates (d) decreasing the distance between the plates

24. Two charges are placed in vacuum at a distance d apart. The force between them is F. If a medium of
dielectric constant 2 is introduced between them, the force will now be
(a) 4F (b) 2F (c) F/2 (d) F/4

25. An electric charge is placed at the centre of a cube of side a. The electric flux through one of its faces
will be (a) q6ε0 (b) qε0a2 (c) q4πε0a2 (a) qε0

26. The electric field in the region between two concentric charged spherical shells- (a) is zero
(b) increases with distance from centre (c) is constant (d) decreases with distance from centre

27. A hollow metal sphere of radius 10 cm is charged such that the potential on its surface is 80V. The
potential at the centre of the sphere is-
(a) 800 V (b) zero (c) 8 V (d) 80 V
28. A 4 μF capacitor is charged to 400 V and then its plates are joined through a resistance of 1 K Ω. The
heat produced in the resistance is-
(a) 0.16 J (b) 0.32 J
(c) 0.64 J (d) 1.28 J

29. The work done in carrying a charge Q, once round a circle of radius R with a charge Q 2 at the centre
is- (a) Q1Q24πε0R2 (b) zero (c) Q1Q24πε0R (d) infinite

30. Two plates are 2 cm apart. If a potential difference of 10 V is applied between them. The electric field
between the plates will be
(a) 20 NC-1 (b) 500 NC-1 (c) 5 NC-1 (d) 250 NC-1

31. The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor does not depend on a) area of the plates
(b) metal of the plates (c) medium between the plates (d) distance between the plates

32. A capacitor of 50 μF is charged to 10 volts. Its energy in joules is

(a) 2.5 x 10-3 (b) 5 x 10-3 (c) 10 x 10-4 (d) 2.5 x 10-4

33. A cube of side b has a charge q at each of its vertices. The electric field due to this charge distribution
at the centre of the cube is
(a) qb2 (b) q2b2 (c) 32qb2 (d) zero

34. Total electric fulx coming out of a unit positive charge put in air is
(a) ε0 (b) ε−10 (c) (4πε0)-1 (d) 4πε0

35. Electron volt (eV) is a unit of

(a) energy (b) potential (c) current (d) charge

36. A point Q lies on the perpendicular bisector of an electric dipole of dipole moment P. If the distance
of Q from the dipole is r, then the electric field at Q is proportional to-
(a) p-1 and r-2 (b) p and r-2 (c) p and r-3 (d) p2 and r-3

37. A hollow insulated conducting sphere is given a positive charge of 10 μC. What will be the electric
field at the centre of the sphere is its radius is 2 metres?
(a) zero (b) 8 μCm-2 (c) 20 μCm-2 (d) 5 μCm-2

38. A particle of charge q is placed at rest in a uniform electric field E and then released. The kinetic
energy attained by the particle after moving a distance y is-
(a) qE2y (b) q2Ey (c) qEy2 (d) qEy

39. Dielectric constant of metals is-

(a) 1 (b) greater then 1 (c) zero (d) infinite

40. When a positively charged conductor is earth connected

(a) protons flow from the conductor to the earth (b) electrons flow from the earth to the conductor
(c) electrons flow from the conductor to the earth (d) no charge flow occurs

41. The SI unit of electric flux is

(a) volt metre2 (b) newton per coulomb (c) volt metre (d) joule per coulomb

42. Twenty seven water drops of the same size are charged to the same potential. If they are combined to
form a big drop, the ratio of the potential of the big drop to that of a small drop is-
(a) 3 (b) 6 (c) 9 (d) 27
43. A point charge +q is placed at the midpoint of a cube of side l. The electric flux emerging ’ from the
cube is-
(a) qε0 (b) 6ql2ε0 (c) q6l2ε0 (d) C2V22

44. The energy stored in a capacitor of capacitance C, having a potential difference V between the plates,
is-
(a) (b) (c) (d)

45. The electric potential at the centre of a charged conductor is-

(a) zero (b) twice that on the surface (c) half that on the surface (d) same as that on the surface

46. The energy stored in a capacitor is given by

(a) qV (b) 12qV (c) 12 CV (d) q2C

47. The unit of permitivity of free space so is

(a) coulomb/newton-metre (b) newton-metre2/coulomb2
2 2
(c) coulomb /newton-metre (d) coulomb/(newton-metre)2

48. An electric dipole has the magnitude of its charge as q and its dipole moment is p. It is placed in a
uniform electric field E. If its dipole moment is along the direction of the field, the force on it and its
potential energy are, respectively.
(a) 2qE and minimum (b) qE and pE (c) zero and minimum (d) qE and maximum

49. An electric dipole of moment P⃗ is lying along a uniform electric field E⃗ . The workdone in rotating
the dipole by 90° is
(a) pE2 (b) 2pE (c) pE (d) √2pE

50. A parallel plate air capacitor is charged to a potential difference of V volts. After disconnecting the
charging battery the distance between the plates of the capacitor is increased using an insulating handle.
As a result the potential difference between the plates
(a) does not charge (b) becomes zero (c) increases (d) decreases

51. When air is replaced by a dielectric medium of constant K, the maximum force of attraction between
two charges separated by a distance
(a) increases K times (b) increases K-1 times (c) decreases K times (d) remains constant

52. A comb runs through one’s dry hair attracts small bits of paper. This is due to the fact that
(a) comb is a good conductor (b) paper is a good conductor (c) the atoms in the paper get polarised
by the charged comb (d) the comb posseses magnetic properties

53. Which of the following is not a property of equipotential surfaces?

(a) they do not cross each other (b) they are concentric spheres for uniform electric field
(c) the rate of change of potential with distance on them is zero (d) they can be imaginary spheres.

54. A charge Q is enclosed by a Gaussian spherical surface of radius R. If the radius is doubled, then the
outward electric flux will be (a) reduced to half (b) doubled (c) becomes 4 times
(d) remains the same

55. If the electric field in a region is given by E⃗ = 5j^ + 4j^ + 9k^ , then the electric flux through a
surface of area 20 units lying in the y-z plane will be-
(a) 20 units (b) 80 units (c) 100 units (d) 180 units
56. A, B and C are three points in a uniform electric field. The electric potential is-

(a) maximum at A (b) maximum at B (c) maximum at B (d) same at all the three points A, B, and C

57. A conducting sphere of radius R is give a charge Q. The electric potential and the electric field at the
centre of the sphere are, respectively- (a) zero, Q4πε0R2 (b) Q4πε0R
(c) Q4πε0R, zero (d) zero, zero

Short Answer Questions

1. What is meant by triboelectric charging?
2. What is meant by the conservation of total charges?
3. State Gauss’s Law?
4. What is meant by electrostatic shielding?
5. What is meant by dielectric?
6. What are non-polar molecules? Give examples.
7. What are polar molecules? Give examples.
8. What is a capacitor?