INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI BANDUNG

FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL SCIENCES

UNDERGRADUATE STUDY PROGRAM OF PHYSICS
Jl. Ganesha No 10 Bandung 40132 Indonesia

MODULE 1: ELEMENTARY PHYSICS IIA (FI-1201)

Summer Camp 2023-2024
TOPIC: Force and Electric Field (Coulomb’s Law and Gauss’s Law)

1. An electrically neutral object acquires a net electric charge. Which one of the following statements concerning
the mass of the object is true? (a) The mass does not change. (b) The mass increases if the charge is positive
and decreases if it is negative. (c) The mass increases if the charge is negative and decreases if it is positive.

2. A proton and an electron are held stationary on the 𝑥 −axis, with the proton at 𝑥 = −𝑑 and the electron at
𝑥 = +𝑑 . They are released simultaneously, and the only significant force affecting their motion is the
electrostatic force of attraction between them. Which particle reaches the origin first?

3. A negative point charge is in an electric field created by a positive point charge. Which of the following
statements is true? (a) The field points toward the positive charge, and the force on the negative charge is in
the same direction as the field. (b) The field points toward the positive charge, and the force on the negative
charge is in the opposite direction to the field. (c) The field points away from the positive charge, and the force
on the negative charge is in the same direction as the field. (d) The field points away from the positive charge,
and the force on the negative charge is in the opposite direction to the field.

4. The picture on the side shows electric field lines due to a point charge. What can you say
about the electric field at point 1 compared to the field at point 2? (a) The field at point 2 is
larger because point 2 is on a field line. (b) The field at point 1 is larger because point 1 is
not on a field line. (c) The field at point 1 is zero because point 1 is not on a field line. (d)
The field at point 1 is larger because the field lines are closer together in that region.

5. (i) To be safe during a lightning storm, it is best to be: (a) in the middle of a grassy meadow. (b) inside a
metal car. (c) next to a tall tree in a forest. (d) inside a wooden building. (e) on a metal observation tower.
(ii) Which are the worst places to be during a lightning storm, based on the options in Question (i)?

6. Consider three identical metal spheres: A, B, and C. Sphere A has a charge of +5𝑞, sphere B has a charge of
−𝑞, and sphere C is initially uncharged. The following sequence of events occurs: Sphere A and sphere B are
touched together and then separated. Next, sphere C is touched to sphere A and then separated. Finally, sphere
C is touched to sphere B and then separated. (a) What is the final charge on sphere C? (b) What is the total
charge on the three spheres before any touching occurs? (c) What is the total charge on the three spheres after
they have all been touched?

7. A particle with a charge of +12 𝜇C and a mass of 3,8 × 10−5 kg is released from rest in a region where there
is a constant electric field of +480 N/C. What is the displacement of the particle after a time of 1,6 × 10−2 s?

8. Two small nonconducting spheres have a combined charge of 90,0 𝜇C. (a) When placed 28,0 cm apart, they
exert a repulsive force of 12,0 N on each other. What are the individual charges on each sphere? (b) How
would the charges change if the force were attractive instead?

9. A small ball with a mass of 0,012 kg and a charge of −18 𝜇C needs to be suspended in the air. What electric
field, in terms of both magnitude and direction, is required to achieve this?

10. Two point charges of equal magnitude but opposite signs are fixed at the ends of the
base of an isosceles triangle, as illustrated in the diagram. The electric field at the
midpoint 𝑀 between the charges has a magnitude 𝐸𝑀 . The field directly above the
midpoint at point 𝑃 has a magnitude 𝐸𝑃 . Given that the ratio of these field magnitudes
is 𝐸𝑀 /𝐸𝑃 = 9, determine the angle 𝛼 in the diagram.

11. Three charges are placed at the corners of a rectangle with dimensions length = 2𝑑 and height = 𝑑: +𝑞1 at
the upper left corner, +𝑞2 at the lower right corner, and −𝑞 at the lower left corner. The net electric field at
the empty upper right corner is zero. Determine the magnitudes of 𝑞1 and 𝑞2 in terms of 𝑞.

12. An electron is released from rest at the negative plate of a parallel plate capacitor. The charge density on each
plate is 𝜎 = 1,8 × 10−7 C/m2, and the separation between the plates is 1,5 × 10−2 m. What is the velocity of
the electron just before it reaches the positive plate?

Summer Camp 2023-2024—AM---

13. A circular surface with a radius of 0,057 m is subjected to a uniform external electric field with a magnitude
of 1,4 × 104 N/C. The electric flux through the surface is 78 N⋅m2/C. What is the angle (less than 90°)
between the direction of the electric field and the normal to the surface?

14. A charge 𝑄 is located inside a rectangular box. The electric flux through each of the six surfaces of the box is
as follows: Φ1 = +1500 N⋅m2/C, Φ2 = +2200 N⋅m2/C, Φ3 = +4600 N⋅m2/C, Φ4 = −1800 N⋅m2/C,
Φ5 = −3500 N⋅m2/C, and Φ6 = −5400 N⋅m2/C. What is 𝑄?

15. A point charge 𝑄 is positioned at the center of an uncharged thin spherical conducting
shell (see figure). Determine the electric field 𝐸 as a function of 𝑟 for the following
regions: (a) inside the sphere, where 𝑟 is less than the inner radius of the shell; (b) within
the shell; and (c) outside the shell. (d) How does the presence of the shell influence the
electric field due to the charge 𝑄 alone? Additionally, how does the charge 𝑄 affect the
shell?

16. A solid nonconducting sphere has a positive charge 𝑞 uniformly distributed throughout its volume. The charge
𝑞
density, or charge per unit volume, is therefore 4 3. Use Gauss's law to demonstrate that the electric field at
𝜋𝑅
3
𝑞𝑟
a distance 𝑟 from the center of the sphere (where 𝑟 is less than 𝑅) has a magnitude of . (Hint: Choose a
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑅3
spherical Gaussian surface of radius 𝑟 centered within the solid sphere of radius 𝑅. Remember that the net
charge uniformly distributed within any volume is the charge density times the volume of that region.)

17. Two large plates, one with a total charge of +𝑄 and the other with −2𝑄, are placed parallel to the 𝑦𝑧-plane.
The plate with a total charge of +𝑄 is located at 𝑥 = 0, and the other plate is at 𝑥 = 𝑑. Determine the electric
field as a function of 𝑥 (𝐸(𝑥)).

18. A hollow conducting sphere with charge 𝑄 has a radius 𝑅. Determine the electric field at a distance 𝑟 from
the center of the sphere for the following cases: (a) 𝑟 > 𝑅, (b) 𝑟 = 𝑅, (c) 𝑟 < 𝑅. Additionally, (d) plot the
electric field as a function of 𝑟.

19. Two spherical shells share a common center. A charge of −1,6 × 10−6 C is uniformly distributed over the
inner shell, which has a radius of 0,050 m. A charge of +5,1 × 10−6 C is uniformly distributed over the outer
shell, which has a radius of 0,15 m. Determine the magnitude and direction of the electric field at distances of
(a) 0,20 m, (b) 0,10 m, and (c) 0,025 m from the common center.

20. A long, straight wire carries a fixed negative charge with a linear charge density of magnitude 3,6 nC/m. This
wire is enclosed by a coaxial, thin-walled, nonconducting cylindrical shell with a radius of 1,5 cm. The shell's
outside surface is to have a positive charge with a surface charge density 𝜎 such that the net external electric
field is zero. Calculate 𝜎.

Summer Camp 2023-2024—AM---