5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)

PHY110ASPRING2013
Lab 15 (Electricity)

Signed in as Ellie Kam ens

Help

Close

Resources

Lab 15 (Electricity)
Due: 11:59pm on Friday, May 3, 2013
Note: To understand how points are awarded, read your instructor's Grading Policy.

Electrostatics Tutorial
Work through the tutorial by clicking the image or link below, then answer the questions below.
Electrostatics

Part A
What causes an atom to become positively charged?

Hint 1. Electrons
Electrons are negatively charged.
ANSWER:
Protons were added.
Electrons were removed.
Either protons were added, or electrons were removed.
Electrons were added.

Correct
Removing an electron causes the atom to have more protons, which have a positive charge, than electrons, which have a negative charge.

Part B
If the atoms of one object (initially neutral) have electrons rubbed off through friction with a second object, the first object becomes ________.

Hint 1. What is a neutral atom?

A neutral atom has an equal number of negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons.
ANSWER:
positively charged
neutral in charge
negatively charged
Its impossible to say.

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

1/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)

Correct
Since electrons are negatively charged, removing electrons from at atom causes the atom to become positively charged.

Part C
The basic reason why things become electrically charged is that the atoms (or molecules) of some materials hold on to their _______ better than
those of other materials.

Hint 1. What happens when materials are rubbed together?

Which type of particle is transferred from one material to another when the materials are rubbed together?
ANSWER:
protons
neutrons
electrons

Correct
The outer electrons of atoms of certain materials are very weakly bonded, so they can easily be ripped off and transferred to other materials.

Part D
If the distance between two charged objects is doubled, the resulting electric force on each object __________.

Hint 1. The electric force between two particles

The electric force between two particles is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between the particles.
ANSWER:
increases by a factor of 2
decreases by a factor of 4
decreases by a factor of 2
increases by a factor of 4

Correct
Just like gravity, the electric force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the particles.

Part E
In what direction is the electric field at the location depicted by the red cross in the figure?

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

2/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)

Hint 1. Finding the total electric field

The electric field due to each of the charges is directed directly away from the charge. The total electric field is the sum of the two individual
electric fields.
ANSWER:
to the left
downward
to the right
upward

Correct
The horizontal components of the electric fields due to each of the two charges exactly cancel out (since the cross is directly above the
midpoint), so only the vertical components add up.

Part F
Object A is attracted to object B and repelled by object C. All three objects are charged. What would happen if object B and object C were brought
together?

Hint 1. Do object B and object C have the same charge?

Can object B and object C both be positively charged or negatively charged? Think about how they respond to object A.
ANSWER:
They would be attracted to each other.
They would be neither repelled nor attracted to each other.
They would be repelled by each other.

Correct
Since one object is attracted to object A and one object is repelled by object A, either object B is positively charged and object C is negatively
charged, or visa versa.

Part G
Object A and object B are both hanging by a string, as shown in the figure. Which statement must be true?

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

3/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)

Hint 1. Is the force repulsive or attractive?

Are the objects repelled by each other or attracted to each other? How does the type of charge affect the nature of the force?
ANSWER:
Object A and object B must have opposite charges.
Both objects must be positively charged.
Object A and object B must have the same net charge.
Both objects must be charged, either both negatively or both positively.
More than one of the above statements are true.

Correct
Like charges are repelled by each other; it is impossible to determine whether both objects are negatively charged or positively charged based
on the information given.

Part H
What is the main difference between a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as plastic?

Hint 1. What is current due to?

Current flowing through a conductor is due to the drift of electrons through the material.
ANSWER:
Some electrons in conductors are weakly attached to the atoms, and all electrons in insulators are strongly attached to the atoms.
Conductors are charged, and insulators are neutral.
Conductors have more excess electrons than insulators.

Correct
A small electric field within the conductor causes the electrons to drift through the material, conducting electricity.

Interactive Figure: Electrical Repulsion and Attraction

Explore the Interactive Figure to help you with the following set of questions. If you need more help, click on "How To Use" for more information.
Instructions: Use the sliders to change the charge on the left or right pith balls. You can change the mass of the pith balls by using the
slider at the bottom.

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

4/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)

Part A
What would happen to the two balls if one of them were kept positively charged and the charge on the other ball were slowly increased, making it
more and more positive?

Hint 1. Forces between balls and how they hang

Like charges repel, and unlike charges attract. What kind of force, attractive or repulsive, would the balls experience if they were both
positive? How would they hang in response to this force?
ANSWER:
The balls would begin to move closer together.
The balls would begin to move farther apart.
The balls would not move relative to each other.

Correct

Part B
What would happen to the two balls if one of them were kept positively charged and the charge on the other ball were slowly made increasingly
negative?

Hint 1. Forces between balls and how they hang

Like charges repel, and unlike charges attract. What kind of force, attractive or repulsive, would the balls experience if one were positive and
the other were negative? How would they hang in response to this force?
ANSWER:
The balls would not move relative to each other.
The balls would begin to move farther apart.
The balls would begin to move closer together.

Correct

Part C
What would happen to the two balls if both of them had a non-neutral charge and you slowly increased the mass of the balls?

Hint 1. Effect of force of gravity on angle the balls

How would the downward force due to gravity be affected if you increased the mass of the balls? How would that change the direction of the
net force acting on the balls? How would that change the angle of the balls with respect to the vertical?

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

5/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)
ANSWER:
The angle of the balls with respect to the vertical would decrease.
The angle of the balls with respect to the vertical would not change.
The angle of the balls with respect to the vertical would increase.

Correct

Electric Force of Three Collinear Points Ranking Task

In the diagram below, there are three collinear point charges:
You will be asked to rank the Coulomb force on

due to

, and

and

. The distance between

and

is the same as that between

and

Part A
Rank the six combinations of electric charges on the basis of the electric force acting on

. Define forces pointing to the right as positive and

forces pointing to the left as negative. Rank positive forces as larger than negative forces.
Rank from largest to smallest, placing the largest on the left and the smallest on the right. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.

Hint 1. Definition of electric force

The electric force between a pair of charges is proportional to the product of the charge magnitudes (

and

) and inversely proportional to

the square of the distance ( ) between them. This result is summarized mathematically by Coulombs law:
.
The direction of the force is such that opposite charges attract and like charges repel each other.

Hint 2. Determine the net force for one combination of charges

For combination of charges (

), what is the direction of the net electric force on

due to the other

charges?

Hint 1. Find the direction of the force on

For combination of charges (

due to
,

), what is the direction of the electric force on

due to

Remember that like charges repel each other and opposite charges attract each other.
ANSWER:
to the right
to the left
There is no force in any direction.

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

6/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)

Hint 2. Determine the direction of the force on charge

For combination of charges (

due to

), what is the direction of the electric force on

due to

ANSWER:
to the right.
to the left
There is no force.

Hint 3. Find the magnitude of the net force on

In combination of charges (

), which of the two forces on

, that from

or that from

, is larger

in magnitude?
ANSWER:
the force from
the force from
Neither; they are equal in magnitude.

ANSWER:
to the right
to the left
There is no net force.

Correct

ANSWER:

Correct

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

7/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)

Video: Electric Potential

Watch the video, and then answer the following questions.

Part A
What is the flow of current proportional to?

Hint 1. Voltage and current

What is the relationship between voltage and current?
ANSWER:
voltage difference between the two ends of the wire
voltage at one end of the wire
voltages at both ends of the wire

Correct

Part B
A pipe is filled with water, and there is a piston at each end. If you apply unequal pressures at the two pistons, which way will the water flow in the
pipe?

Hint 1. Water reacts the same way as a solid object.

Water reacts the same way an object would react if unequal and opposite forces were acting on it.
ANSWER:
Water will flow from the piston with the higher pressure to the piston with the lower pressure.
Water will flow from the piston with the lower pressure to the piston with the higher pressure.
Water will not flow in either direction.

Correct

Part C
session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

8/9

5/4/13

Lab 15 (Electricity)
What happens to a lamp when you take both ends of the wire connected to it and hold them to the same side of the 12-volt terminal of battery, and
why?

Hint 1. Voltage difference

Current flows when a voltage difference is present between the two ends of the wire.
ANSWER:
The lamp does not light up because there is no voltage difference applied across it.
The lamp lights up because a voltage difference is applied to it.
The lamp does not light up, because there is no voltage applied to it.
The lamp lights up because voltage is applied to it.

Correct

Part D
What happens when you have a voltage difference between the two ends of the lamp, and why?

Hint 1. Voltage difference

Current flows when there is a difference in voltage between the two ends of the wires connected to the light bulb.
ANSWER:
The lamp lights up because there is a voltage difference applied to it.
The lamp lights up because voltage is applied to it.
The lamp does not light up, because there is no voltage applied to it.

Correct
Score Summary:
Your score on this assignment is 93.0%.
You received 3.72 out of a possible total of 4 points.

session.masteringphysics.com/myct/assignmentPrintView?assignmentID=2296238

9/9