PHYSICS 120 : ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

GAUSS LAW
Question 43
A thin-walled metal sphere has a radius of 25.0 cm and carries a charge of 2.00 107 C.
Find E for a point (a) inside the sphere, (b) just outside the sphere, and (c) 3.00 m from the
centre of the sphere.
(a) Inside the shell there is no charge, so
=

QENC
=0
0

hence the field inside the shell is zero.

(b) To find the field just outside the shell, choose the Gaussian surface to be a sphere, with
surface area 4r2 , so using Gauss Law:
QENC
=
= E (4r2 )
0
1 QENC
E =
40 r2
2 107
= (9 109 )
6.25 102
= 2.88 104 N C1
(c) At a distance r = 3.00 m away:
1 QENC
40 r2
2 107
= (9 109 )
3.02
1
= 200 N C

E =

Question 44
Two charged concentric spheres have radii of 10.0 cm and 15.0 cm. The charge on the inner
sphere is 4.00108 C and that on the outer sphere 2.00108 C. Find E at (a) r = 12.0 cm
and (b) r = 20.0 cm.

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PHYS120 ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM: TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

(a) At a distance r = 12 cm, the field due to the outer sphere is zero, hence the enclosed
charge is the charge of the inner sphere: QENC = QI . The electric field is then

QENC
0 A
1
4 108
=
40 (12 102 )2
= 2.50 104 N C1

E =

(b) Let EI and EO be the fields due to the inner and outer spheres. The fields are

EI =

1 QI
40 r2

4 108
(20 102 )2
= 9.00 103 N C1 outwards
2 108
= (9 109 )
(20 102 )2
= 4.50 103 N C1 inwards

= (9 109 )
EO

By the principle of superposition, the resultant field is

E = EI + EO = 4.50 103 N C1 radially outwards

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PHYS120 ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM: TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

Question 45
A small sphere whose mass m is 1 mg carries a charge q of 0.02 C. It hangs from a silk thread
which makes an angle of 30 with a large, charged conducting sheet as shown. Calculate the
charge density for the sheet.

Since the system is in equilibrium, the forces are balanced as so Ty = W and Tx = F , where
T is the tension in the string, W is the weight of the sphere and F is the repulsive force
between the sphere and the sheet.
Since the electric field due to the sheet is
E=

20

where is the surface charge density. The force F is then given by

E=

F
=
q
20

The x- and y-components of the tension are

1
Tx = T sin 30 = T
2
3T
Ty = T cos 30 =
2

1
3T
and F = T
W =
2
2
2
2F = W
3
1
F = mg
3
The surface charge density is then
20 1
mg
q 3
(2) (8.85 1012 ) (1 106 ) (9.8)

=
3 (0.02 106 )
= 5.01 109 C m2

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PHYS120 ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM: TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

Question 46
Two uniformly charged planes with surface charge densities of 3.00109 C m2 and 1.00
109 C m2 lie parallel to each other a distance 8.00 cm apart in a vacuum. Draw the field
lines between the plates and behind each plate and find E everywhere. (Hint: use superposition.)

Assume infinite sheets (so, therefore, no edge effects) and use the result E = /(20 ) for a
plane surface with surface charge density .
For E1 , the electric field depends on the electric field EA due to sheet A and the electric
field EB due to B. The magnitude of E1 is
|E1 | = ||EA | |EB ||
1
=
||A | |B ||
20
1
=
((3 1) 109 )
12
8.85 10
= 113 N C1
2 1
||A | |B || in terms of the Coulomb constant ke
=
2 20
2
=
||A | |B ||
40


1
= (2)
||A | |B ||
40
= (2) (9 109 ) (2 109 )
= 36 N C1
Let E2 be the electric field between the plates A and B. In this region, the electric field EA
due to A points in the same direction as the electric field EB due to B. Therefore
|E2 | = ||EA | + |EB ||


1
||A | + |B ||
= (2)
40
= (2) (9 109 ) ((3 + 1) 109 )
= 72.0 N C1
Similarly, it can be shown that for E3
|E3 | = ||EA | + |EB || = |E1 |

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PHYS120 ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM: TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

Question 47
An infinite charged sheet has a charge density of 0.10 nC mm2 . How far apart are the
equipotential surfaces whose potential differ by 5.00 kV?
The field due to an infinite charged sheet is
E=

20

The electric potential is given by the field E and the separation d of the plates:
V = Ed
For equipotential surfaces whose potential differ by 5.00 kV
V = |V2 V1 | = 5.00 103 = d
Therefore the separation d is
20
(5.00 103 )

40
5.00 103
=

2
0.1 109 106
= 8.8 104 m

d =

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