Practice Questions Chs 21-24 1
Practice Questions Chs 21-24 1
Practice Questions Chs 21-24 1
Spring 2010
Practice Questions for Chapters 21-24
A) The positive charges stay uniformly distributed on the surface of the middle sphere.
B) There are more positive charges near the top and bottom of the sphere compared to
the sides next to the two other spheres.
C) There are more positive charges near the sides of the spheres that are next to the other
two spheres compared to the other regions of the sphere.
D) There are more positive charges near the front and back of the sphere compared to the
sides next to the two other spheres.
E) None of these is correct.
2. Two small spheres, each with mass m = 5.0 g and charge q, are suspended from a point
by threads of length L = 0.30 m. What is the charge on each sphere if the threads
make an angle θ = 20° with the vertical?
A) 7.9 × 10–7 C
B) 2.9 × 10–7 C
C) 7.5 × 10–2 C
D) 6.3 × 10–13 C
E) 1.8 × 10–7 C
4. Two positive charges (+8.0 mC and +2.0 mC) are separated by 300 m. A third charge
is placed at distance r from the +8.0 mC charge in such a way that the resultant
electric force on the third charge due to the other two charges is zero. The distance
r is
A) 0.25 km
B) 0.20 km
C) 0.15 km
D) 0.13 km
E) 0.10 km
5. Point charges of 4.0 × 10–8 C and –2.0 × 10–8 C are placed 12 cm apart. A third point
charge of 3.0 × 10–8 C halfway between the first two point charges experiences a
force of magnitude
A) 4.5 × 10–3 N
B) 2.0 × 10–3 N
C) 1.5 × 10–3 N
D) zero
E) 5.0 × 10–3 N
A) x < 0
B) 0 < x < a
C) x > a
D) x < 0 or 0 < x < a
E) 0 < x < a or x > a
A) 22.8 N
B) 10.2 N
C) 26.0 N
D) 187 N
E) none of the above
8. Three charges are located at 100-m intervals along a horizontal line: a charge of –3.0
C on the left, 2.0 C in the middle, and 1.0 C on the right. What is the electric field
on the horizontal line halfway between the –3.0 C and 2.0 C charges?
A) 2.2 × 107 N/C to the left
B) 1.8 × 107 N/C to the right
C) 1.8 × 107 N/C to the left
D) 3.2 × 106 N/C to the right
E) 4.0 × 106 N/C to the left
10. Three charges, each of Q = 3.2 × 10–19 C, are arranged at three of the corners of a
20-nm square as shown. The magnitude of the electric field at D, the fourth corner
of the square, is approximately
A) +32 µC
B) –32 µC
C) The field cannot be zero at A for any value of Q1.
D) +16 µC
E) –16 µC
12. Charges Q1 = –q and Q2 = +4q are placed as shown. Of the five positions indicated
by the numbered dots, the one at which the electric field is zero is
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5
13. Two charges Q1 and Q2 are a distance d apart. If the electric field is zero at a distance
of 3d/4 from Q1 (towards Q2), then what is the relation between Q1 and Q2?
A) Q1 = Q2 /9
B) Q1 = 9Q2
C) Q1 = Q2 /3
D) Q1 = 3Q2
E) Q1 = 4Q2 /3
15. The point P is on the axis of a ring of charge, and all vectors shown lie in the yz
plane. The negatively charged ring lies in the xz plane. The vector that correctly
represents the direction of the electric field at this point is
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
A) zero
B) 5.4 m/s2
C) 6.8 cm/s2
D) 4.5 m/s2
E) 7.5 cm/s2
17. An electron is released from rest in a uniform electric field. If the electric field is
3.65 kN/C, at the end of 15 ns the electron's velocity will be approximately
A) 9.6 × 106 m/s
B) 3.9 × 103 m/s
C) 3.1 × 108 m/s
D) 5.5 × 103 m/s
E) 7.4 × 106 m/s
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) None of these is correct.
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) None of these is correct.
A) positive x direction.
B) negative x direction.
C) positive y direction.
D) negative y direction.
E) positive z direction.
23. A disk of radius 10 cm carries a uniform surface charge density of 6.0 µC/m2. The
electric field on the axis of the disk at a distance of 0.10 cm is approximately
A) 0.34 MN/C
B) 68 kN/C
C) 99 kN/C
D) 0.54 MN/C
E) 18 kN/C
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) none of the diagrams
25. An infinite plane lies in the yz–plane and it has a uniform surface charge density. The
electric field at a distance x from the plane
A) decreases linearly with x.
B) decreases as 1/x2.
C) is constant and does not depend on x.
D) increases linearly with x.
E) is undetermined.
26. A uniform line charge of linear charge density λ = 5.00 nC/m extends from x = 0 to
x = 10 m. The magnitude of the electric field at the point y = 12 m on the
perpendicular bisector of the finite line of charge is
A) 18.8 N/C
B) 15.3 N/C
C) 9.65 N/C
D) 4.27 N/C
E) 2.88 N/C
27. A uniform circular ring has charge Q and radius r. A uniformly charged disk also has
charge Q and radius r. Calculate the ratio of the electric field at a distance of r
along the axis of the ring to the electric field at a distance of r along the axis of the
disk.
A) 1.0
B) 0.60
C) 1.7
D) 0.50
E) 0.85
29. An electric field is = (400 N/C) for x > 0 and = (–400 N/C) for x < 0. A
cylinder of length 30 cm and radius 10 cm has its center at the origin and its axis
along the x axis such that one end is at x = +15 cm and the other is at x = –15 cm.
What is the flux through the curved surface of the cylinder?
A) zero
B) 1.3 kN · m2/C
C) 0.25 kN · m2/C
D) 1.3 N · m2/C
E) 0.13 MN · m2/C
30. An electric field is = (400 N/C) for x > 0 and = (–400 N/C) for x < 0. A
cylinder of length 30 cm and radius 10 cm has its center at the origin and its axis
along the x axis such that one end is at x = +15 cm and the other is at x = –15 cm.
What is the net charge inside the cylinder?
A) zero
B) 22 nC
C) 0.22 nC
D) 4.5 nC
E) 2.2 µC
31. A cube of side 3.56 cm has a charge of 9.11 µC placed at its center. Calculate the
electric flux through one side of the cube.
A) 1.03 × 106 N.m2/C
B) 2.58 × 105 N.m2/C
C) 8.13 × 108 N.m2/C
D) 1.72 × 105 N.m2/C
E) 1.35 × 108 N.m2/C
33. A rod of infinite length has a charge per unit length of λ (= q/l). Gauss's law makes it
easy to determine that the electric field strength at a perpendicular distance r from
the rod is, in terms of k = (4πε0)–1,
A) kλ/r2
B) kλ/r
C) 4πkλ/r
D) 2kλ/r
E) zero
34. A hollow metal sphere has a total charge of 100 µC. If the radius of the sphere is 50
cm, the electric field intensity at a distance of 3.0 m from the surface of the sphere
is approximately
A) 3.0 × 105 N/C
B) 2.6 × 105 N/C
C) 1.0 × 105 N/C
D) 7.4 × 104 N/C
E) 3.6 × 106 N/C
36. An infinitely long cylinder of radius 4.0 cm carries a uniform volume charge density
ρ = 200 nC/m3. What is the electric field at r = 3.9 cm?
A) zero
B) 0.44 kN/C
C) 57 N/C
D) 0.11 kN/C
E) 0.23 kN/C
37. An infinitely long cylinder of radius 4.0 cm carries a uniform volume charge density
ρ = 200 nC/m3. What is the electric field at r = 4.1 cm?
A) zero
B) 0.11 kN/C
C) 57 N/C
D) 0.44 kN/C
E) 0.23 kN/C
39. A spherical shell of radius 9.0 cm carries a uniform surface charge density σ = 9.0
nC/m2. The electric field at r = 4.0 cm is approximately
A) 0.13 kN/C
B) 1.0 kN/C
C) 0.32 kN/C
D) 0.75 kN/C
E) zero
40. A spherical shell of radius 9.0 cm carries a uniform surface charge density σ = 9.0
nC/m2. The electric field at r = 16 cm is approximately
A) 0.32 kN/C
B) 1.0 kN/C
C) zero
D) 0.13 kN/C
E) 0.53 kN/C
An infinite slab of thickness 2d lies in the xz–plane. The slab has a uniform volume
charge density ρ.
42. Which diagram best represents the electric field along the y–axis?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) none of the diagrams
44. The electric field for an infinite plane of charge is discontinuous by the amount
_____ at a point where there is a surface charge density σ.
A) ε0/σ
B) σ/ε0
C) ε0/σ2
D) ε02/σ2
E) σ2/ε0
45. The voltage between the cathode and the screen of a television set is 22 kV. If we
assume a speed of zero for an electron as it leaves the cathode, what is its speed
just before it hits the screen?
A) 8.8 × 107 m/s
B) 2.8 × 106 m/s
C) 6.2 × 107 m/s
D) 7.7 × 1015 m/s
E) 5.3 × 107 m/s
46. The electric field in a region is given by where the units are in V/m.
What is the potential from the origin to (x, y) = (2, 0) m?
A) 8 V
B) –8 V
C) –16/3 V
D) –24/3 V
E) 11 V
48. A charge of 2.0 mC is located in a uniform electric field of intensity 4.0 × 105 N/C.
How much work is required to move this charge 20 cm along a path making an
angle of 60° with the electric field?
A) 0.14 J
B) 0.34 J
C) 80 mJ
D) 14 J
E) 8.0 J
49. Two parallel horizontal plates are spaced 0.40 cm apart in air. You introduce an oil
droplet of mass 4.9 × 10–17 kg between the plates. If the droplet carries two
electronic charges and if there were no air buoyancy, you could hold the droplet
motionless between the plates if you kept the potential difference between them at
A) 60 V
B) 12 V
C) 3.0 V
D) 0.12 kV
E) 6.0 V
51. A uniform electric field exists between two parallel plates separated by 1.2 cm. The
intensity of the field is 23 kN/C. What is the potential difference between the
plates?
A) 7.5 MV
B) 3.0 MV
C) 15 kV
D) 0.30 kV
E) None of these is correct.
Two equal positive charges are placed x m apart. The equipotential lines are at 100 V
intervals.
53. The work required to move a third charge, q = –e, from the +100 V line to b is
A) –100 eV
B) +100 eV
C) –200 eV
D) +200 eV
E) zero
54. The potential a distance R from a unit positive point charge is found to be V. If the
distance between the charge and the point at which the potential is measured is
tripled and is now 3V, the potential becomes
A) V/3
B) 3V
C) V/9
D) 9V
E) 1/V2
56. The figure depicts a uniform electric field. The direction in which there is no change
in the electric potential is
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5
A) 2
B) 3
C) 4
D) 5
E) 6
61. The electric potential is known to be a function of x only; i.e., v = V(x). The electric
field at a position x1 is given by
A) V(x1)
B)
C)
D)
E)
62. The graph that best represents the electric potential of a uniformly charged spherical
shell as a function of the distance from the center of the shell is
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5
63. A ring of radius 5 cm is the yz plane with its center at the origin. The ring carries a
uniform charge of 10 nC. A small particle of mass m = 10 mg and charge q0 = 5
nC is placed at x = 12 cm and released. The speed of the particle when it is a great
distance from the ring is
A) 1.36 cm/s
B) 1.94 cm/s
C) 2.63 cm/s
D) 3.43 cm/s
E) None of these is correct.
64. The graph that represents the electric potential near an infinite plane of charge is
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) 5
66. If you were to double the amplitude and halve the frequency of a harmonic
(sinusoidal) wave on a string while keeping the wave speed constant, the rate at
which energy is delivered by the wave would
A) double.
B) quadruple.
C) be reduced to 50% of its previous value.
D) be reduced to 25% of its previous value.
E) be unchanged.
67. A charge of 100 nC resides on the surface of a spherical shell of radius 20 cm. The
electric potential at a distance of 50 cm from the center of the spherical shell is
A) 18 V
B) 180 V
C) 1800 V
D) 18,000 V
E) None of these is correct.
68. The potential of a spherical shell carrying 6.0 µC of charge is 540 kV. What is the
radius of the shell?
A) 1.0 × 101 m
B) 1.0 × 102 m
C) 3.2 × 10–1 m
D) 1.0 × 10–1 m
E) none of the above
70. The figure shows portions of four equipotential surfaces whose potentials are related
as follows: V1 > V2 > V3 > V4. The lines represent four paths (A → A', B → B',
C → C', D→ D') along which equal test charges are moved. The work involved
can be said to be
72. The potential on the surface of a solid conducting sphere of radius r = 20 cm is 100
V. The potential at r = 10 cm is
A) 100 V
B) 50 V
C) 25 V
D) zero
E) cannot be determined
73. A solid spherical conductor of radius 15 cm has a charge Q = 6.5 nC on it. A second,
initially uncharged, spherical conductor of radius 10 cm is moved toward the first
until they touch and is then moved far away from it. How much charge is there on
the second sphere after the two spheres have been separated?
A) 2.6 nC
B) 2.2 nC
C) 3.2 nC
D) 3.9 nC
E) 4.3 nC
B)
C)
D)
E) zero
75. A metal ball of charge +Q is lowered into an insulated, uncharged metal shell and
allowed to rest on the bottom of the shell. When the charges reach equilibrium,
A) the outside of the shell has a charge of –Q and the ball has a charge of +Q.
B) the outside of the shell has a charge of +Q and the ball has a charge of +Q.
C) the outside of the shell has a charge of zero and the ball has a charge of +Q.
D) the outside of the shell has a charge of +Q and the ball has zero charge.
E) the ouside of the shell has a charge of +Q and the ball has a charge of –Q.
76. Dielectric breakdown occurs in the air at an electric field strength of Emax = 3.0 × 106
V/m. If the maximum charge that can be placed on a spherical conductor is 2.0 ×
10–3 C before breakdown, calculate the diameter of the sphere.
A) 6.0 m
B) 4.9 m
C) 1.2 m
D) 2.5 m
E) 3.0 m
78. Three charges are brought from infinity and placed at the corner of an equilateral
triangle. Which of the following statements is true?
A) The work required to assemble the charges is always positive.
B) The electrostatic potential energy of the system is always positive.
C) The electrostatic potential energy does not depend on the order the charges are placed
at the corners.
D) The work required to assemble the charges depends on which charge is placed at
which corner.
E) The electrostatic potential energy depends on which charge is placed at which corner.
79. Calculate the change in electrostatic potential energy of a charge, Q = 1 µC, when it
is moved from a distance x = 4 m to 2 m from an infinite plane of uniform surface
charge density σ = 10 µC/m2.
A) 1.13 J
B) 0.565 J
C) 1.69 J
D) 2.82 J
E) zero
80. A capacitor of capacitance C holds a charge Q when the potential difference across
the plates is V. If the charge Q on the plates is doubled to 2Q,
A) the capacitance becomes (1/2)V.
B) the capacitance becomes 2C.
C) the potential changes to (1/2)V.
D) the potential changes to 2V.
E) the potential does not change.
82. If the area of the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor is doubled, the capacitance is
A) not changed.
B) doubled.
C) halved.
D) increased by a factor of 4.
E) decreased by a factor of 1/4.
83. You want to store 1010 excess electrons on the negative plate of a capacitor at 9.0 V.
How large a capacitance must you use?
A) 0.014 µF
B) 0.18 µF
C) 0.18 nF
D) 14 pF
E) 5.6 pF
84. A coaxial cable consists of a wire of radius 0.30 mm and an outer conducting shell of
radius 1.0 mm. Its capacitance per unit length is approximately
A) 17 nF/m
B) 0.11 nF/m
C) 92 pF/m
D) 23 pF/m
E) 46 pF/m
85. You make a homemade capacitor out of two flat circular metal plates, each of radius
5 cm, and hold them a distance of 1 cm apart. You then connect each plate to the
terminals of a 6-V battery. What would be the capacitance of your capacitor?
A) 7.0 × 10–12 F
B) 2.2 × 10–11 F
C) 2.2 × 10–12 F
D) 2.2 × 10–10 F
E) 7.0 × 10–10 F
B)
C)
D)
89. A 2.0-µF capacitor has a potential difference of 5000 V. The work done in charging
it was
A) 2.5 J
B) 5.0 J
C) 25 J
D) 5.0 mJ
E) 0.50 kJ
91. If the area of the plates of a parallel plate capacitor is halved and the separation
between the plates tripled, while the charge on the capacitor remains constant, then
by what factor does the energy stored in the capacitor change?
A) increase by a factor of 2
B) decrease by a factor of 2/3
C) increase by a factor of 6
D) increase by a factor of 3/2
E) decrease by a factor of 1/6
92. A coaxial cable has the inner wire of radius a = 1 mm and the outside shield of radius
b = 8 mm. The electric field strength between the wire and the shield is given by
. The electrostatic energy per meter of the cable is
A) 0.328 nJ
B) 6.69 µJ
C) 3.34 µJ
D) 14.5 µJ
E) zero
93. You connect three capacitors as shown in the diagram below. The effective
capacitance of this combination when C1 = 5.0 µF, C2 = 4.0 µF, and C3 = 3.0 µF is
approximately
A) 0.44 µF
B) 2.3 µF
C) 3.5 µF
D) 5.2 µF
E) 12 µF
94. You connect three capacitors as shown in the diagram. C1 = 5.0 µF, C2 = 4.0 µF, and
C3 = 3.0 µF. If you apply 12 V between points A and B, the energy stored in C3
will be approximately
A) 0.16 mJ
B) 41 µJ
C) 0.12 mJ
D) 0.41 mJ
E) 16 mF
97. If C1 < C2 < C3 < C4 for the combination of capacitors shown, the equivalent
capacitance
98. If C1 < C2 < C3 < C4 for the combination of capacitors shown, the equivalent
capacitance
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4
E) None of these is correct.
100. Three capacitors 2 µF, 4 µF and 8 µF are connected in parallel across a 120-V
source. The charge on the 4 µF capacitor is
A) 2.4 × 10–4 C
B) 9.6 × 10–4 C
C) 2.1 × 103 C
D) 1.7 × 10–3 C
E) 4.8 × 10–4 C
101. If all the four capacitors have equal values of 50 µF then calculate the equivalent
capacitance of the circuit shown.
A) 50 µF
B) 30 µF
C) 75 µF
D) 100 µF
E) 83 µF
103. A capacitor is made with two strips of metal foil, each 2.5 cm wide by 50 cm long,
with a 0.70-µm thick strip of paper (κ = 3.7) sandwiched between them. The
capacitor is rolled up to save space. What is the capacitance of this device? (The
permittivity of free space ε 0 = 8.85 × 10–12 F/m.)
A) 43 nF
B) 0.16 µF
C) 0.58 µF
D) 2.0 µF
E) 7.3 µF
104. When you insert a piece of paper (κ = 3.7) into the air between the plates of a
capacitor, the capacitance
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) does not change.
D) could increase, decrease, or not change depending on the dielectric constant of the
paper.
E) does none of these.
106. The capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor is 24 µF when the plates are separated
by a material of dielectric constant 2.0. If this material is removed, leaving air
between the plates, and the separation between the plates is tripled, the capacitance
is
A) unchanged
B) 16 µF
C) 36 µF
D) 0.14 mF
E) 4.0 µF
107. Two identical capacitors A and B are connected across a battery, as shown. If mica
(κ = 5.4) is inserted in B,
109. The space between the inner wire of radius a = 1 mm of a co-axial cable and the
conducting shield of radius b = 8 mm is made of nylon (κ = 4.2). A potential
difference of 20 V is maintained between the wire and the shield. The energy
stored per meter of the cable is
A) 1.12 nJ/m
B) 22.5 nJ/m
C) 44.9 nJ/m
D) 5.36 nJ/m
E) 2.68 nJ/m
110. A 1.0-µF capacitor and a 2.0-µF capacitor are connected in series across a 1200-V
source. The charge on each capacitor is
A) 0.40 mC
B) 0.80 mC
C) 1.2 mC
D) 1.8 mC
E) 3.6 mC
1. C
2. B
3. A
4. B
5. A
6. C
7. C
8. C
9. D
10. A
11. A
12. A
13. B
14. A
15. A
16. B
17. A
18. D
19. B
20. D
21. A
22. D
23. A
24. C
25. C
26. E
27. B
28. B
29. A
30. C
31. D
32. A
33. D
34. D
35. B
36. B
37. D
38. C
39. E
40. A
41. A
42. D
43. B
44. B