Acme Study Point (c) in Fig. ii) is same as Fig.

iii) but is
smaller than Fig. iv)
NCERT-Exemplar Problems
(d) is the same for all the figures.
CH#1-Electric Charge & Field Ans. d
1. In Fig. two positive charges and 4. Five charges , and are
fixed along the axis, exert a net electric fixed at their positions as shown in Fig..
force in the direction on a charge is a Gaussian surface. The Gauss's
fixed along the axis. If a positive law is given by
charge O is added at ( ), the force on

Which of the following statements is

correct?

(a) shall increase along the positive -axis.

(b) shall decrease along the positive -axis.
(c) shall point along the negative -axis. (a) on the LHS of the above equation will
(d) shall increase but the direction changes have a contribution from and
because of the intersection of with while on the RHS will have a
and . contribution from and only.
Ans. a (b) on the LHS of the above equation will
2. A point positive charge is brought near have a contribution from all charges
an isolated conducting sphere (Fig.). while on the RHS will have a
The electric field is best given by contribution from and only.
Gaussian Surface
(c) on the LHS of the above equation will
have a contribution from all charges
while on the RHS will have a
contribution from and only.
(d) Both on the LHS and on the RHS will
have contributions from and only.
Ans. b
(a) Fig i) (b) Fig ii) 5. Figure shows electric field lines in which
(c) Fig iii) (d) iv) an electric dipole is placed as shown.
Ans. a Which of the following statements is
3. The Electric flux through the surface correct?

(a) The dipole will not experience any force.

(a) in Fig. iv) is the largest. (b) The dipole will experience a force
(b) in Fig. iii) is the least. towards right.
(c) The dipole will experience a force 10. If there were only one type of charge in
towards left. the universe, then
(d) The dipole will experience a force (a) on any surface.
upwards.
Ans. c (b) if the charge is outside the
6. A point charge , is placed at a surface.
distance from an isolated conducting (c) could not be defined.
plane. The field at a point on the other
side of the plane is (d) if charges of magnitude
(a) directed perpendicular to the plane and were inside the surface.
away from the plane. Ans. b,d
(b) directed perpendicular to the plane but 11. Consider a region inside which there are
towards the plane. various types of charges but the total
(c) directed radially away from the point charge is zero. At points outside the
charge. region
(d) directed radially towards the point (a) the electric field is necessarily zero.
charge. (b) the electric field is due to the dipole
Ans. a moment of the charge distribution only.
7. A hemisphere is uniformely charged (c) the dominant electric field is , for
positively. The electric field at a point on
large , where is the distance from a
a diameter away from the centre is
origin in this region.
directed
(d) the work done to move a charged particle
(a) perpendicular to the diameter
along a closed path, away from the
(b) parallel to the diameter region, will be zero.
(c) at an angle tilted towards the diameter Ans. c,d
(d) at an angle tilted away from the diameter. 12. Refer to the arrangement of charges in
Ans. a Fig. and a Gaussian surface of radius
8. If over a surface, then with at the centre. Then
(a) the electric field inside the surface and on
it is zero.
(b) the electric field inside the surface is
necessarily uniform.
(c) the number of flux lines entering the
surface must be equal to the number of
flux lines leaving it.
(d) all charges must necessarily be outside
the surface. (a) total flux through the surface of the
Ans. c,d sphere is .
9. The Electric field at a point is
(a) always continuous. (b) field on the surface of the sphere is .
(b) continuous if there is no charge at that (c) flux through the surface of sphere due to
point. is zero.
(c) discontinuous only if there is a negative (d) field on the surface of sphere due to
charge at that point. is same everywhere.
(d) discontinuous if there is a charge at Ans. a,c
thatpoint.. 13. A positive charge is uniformly
Ans. b,d distributed along a circular ring of radius
 . A small test charge is placed at the electric field everywhere on the surface is
centre of the ring (Fig.). Then zero? Conversely, if the electric field
everywhere on a surface is zero, does it
imply that net charge inside is zero.
Exp: No, the field may be normal. However, the
converse is true.

(a) If and is displaced away from the

centre in the plane of the ring, it will be
pushed back towards the centre.
(b) If and is displaced away from the
centre in the plane of the ring, it will 18. Sketch the electric field lines for a
never return to the centre and will uniformly charged hollow cylinder
continue moving till it hits the ring. shown in Fig.
(c) If , it will perform SHM for small
displacement along the axis.
(d) at the centre of the ring is in an
unstable equilibrium within the plane of
the ring for .
Ans. a,b,c,d
14. An arbitrary surface encloses a dipole.
What is the electric flux through this Ans.
surface?
Ans. 0 Exp: 0
15. A metallic spherical shell has an inner
radius and outer radius . A charge
is placed at the centre of the spherical
cavity. What will be surface charge
density on (i) the inner surface, and (ii)
the outer surface?
19. What will be the total flux through the
Ans. i) ii) Exp: i) (ii) faces of the cube (Fig.) with side of
16. The dimensions of an atom are of the length if a charge is placed at
order of an Angstrom. Thus there must
be large electric fields between the
protons and electrons. Why, then is the
electrostatic field inside a conductor
zero?
Ans. There can be no excess charge on the inter
surface of an isolated conductor
Exp: The electric fields bind the atoms to
neutral entity. Fields are caused by excess (a) A: a corner of the cube.
charges. There can be no excess charge on the (b) B: mid-point of an edge of the
inter surface of an isolated conductor cube.
17. If the total charge enclosed by a (c) C : centre of a face of the cube.
surface is zero, does it imply that the (d) D: mid-point of B and C.
 Ans. i) ii) iii) iv) . i)
20. A paisa coin is made up of Al-Mg alloy
and weighs 0.75 g . It has a square shape ii)
and its diagonal measures 17 mm . It is
electrically neutral and contains equal
amounts of positive and negative iii)
charges.Treating the paisa coins made
up of only Al, find the magnitude of equal .
number of positive and negative charges. Conclusion: When separated as point charges
these charges exert an enormous force. It is not
What conclusion do you draw from this
easy to disturb electrical neutrality
magnitude?
22. Fig. represents a crystal unit of
Ans. of charge
caesium chloride, CsCl . The caesium
Exp: Molar mass of Al has
atoms, represented by open circles are
atoms.
situated at the corners of a cube of side
mass of Al paisa coin has 0.40 nm , whereas a Cl atom is situated at
atoms the centre of the cube. The Cs atoms are
Now, deficient in one electron while the Cl atom
Hence atoms carries an excess electron.
(i) What is the net electric field on the Cl
atom due to eight Cs atoms?
(ii) Suppose that the Cs atom at the corner
A is missing. What is the net force now on
the Cl atom due to seven remaining Cs
atoms?
of charge
21. A paisa coin is made up of Al-Mg alloy
and weighs 0.75 g . It has a square shape
and its diagonal measures 17 mm . It is
electrically neutral and contains equal
amounts of positive and negative charges.
Treating the paisa coins made up of only
Al. It is electrically neutral and contains
Ans. 0, , , directed from
equal amounts of positive and negative
charge of magnitude 34.8 kC . Suppose A to
that these equal charges were Exp: (i) Zero, from symmetry.
concentrated in two point charges (ii) Removing a +ve Cs ion is equivalent to
adding singly charged -ve Cs ion at that
separated by (i) 1 cm ( diagonal of
location.
the one paisa coin , (ii) 100 m ( length Net force then is
of a long building), and (iii) (radius
of the earth). Find the force on each such
point charge in each of the three cases.
where distance between the Cl ion and a Cs
What do you conclude from these results?
Ans. When separated as point charges these charges
ion.
exert an enormous force. It is not easy to disturb
electrical neutrality
Exp: This is an enormous amount of charge. Hence,
Thus we see that ordinary neutral matter
contains enormous amount of charges.
 , directed
from A to
23. Two charges and are placed fixed
on -axis separated by distance ' '.
Where should a third charge be placed
such that it will not experience any force?
Ans. to the left of
Exp: At P: on , Force due to is to the left
and that due to is to the right. a) (i) What will be the electric field at O ,
the centre of the pentagon?
ii) What will be the electric field at O if the
charge from one of the corners (say A) is
removed?
iii) What will be the electric field at if the
charge at is replaced by -q?
b) How would your answer to
a) be affected if pentagon is replaced by n
-sided regular polygon with charge at each
(-ve sign would be between and and of its corners?
hence is unaceptable.) Ans. lines of force emanate from them, a) (i) zero
to the left of ii) along
24. Fig. shows the electric field lines iii) along
around three point charges and b) same as (a
C. Exp: a) Charges A and C are positive since
lines of force emanate from them.
b) Charge C has the largest magnitude since
maximum number of field lines are associated
with it.
c) (i) near A. There is no neutral point between
a positive and a negative charge. A neutral point
(a) Which charges are positive?
may exist between two like charges. From the
(b) Which charge has the largest
figure we see that a neutral point exists between
magnitude? Why? charges A and C. Also between two like charges
(c) In which region or regions of the picture the neutral point is closer to the charge with
could the electric field be zero? Justify your smaller magnitude. Thus, electric field is zero
answer. near charge A.
(i) near A, (ii) near B, (iii) near C, (iv)
a) (i) zero ii) along
nowhere.
Ans. A and C are positive, C has largest magnitude, iii) along
Near B
Exp: A and C are positive, C has largest b) same as (a)
magnitude, Near B 26. In 1959 Lyttleton and Bondi
25. Five charges, each are placed at the suggested that the expansion of the
corners of a regular pentagon of side 'a' . Universe could be explained if matter
carried a net charge. Suppose that the
Universe is made up of hydrogen atoms
with a number density , which is
maintained a constant. Let the charge on
 the proton be: e where is (b) Because of the net force, the hydrogen atom
the electronic charge. experiences an acceleration such that
(a) Find the critical value of such that
expansion may start.
(b) Show that the velocity of expansion is
Or, where
proportional to the distance from the
centre.
Ans. , the velocity is
proportional to the distance from the centre This has a solution
Exp: (a) Let the Universe have a radius . As we are seeking an expansion,.
Assume that the hydrogen atoms are uniformly
distributed. The charge on each hydrogen atom
is Thus, the velocity is proportional to the distance
The mass of each hydrogen atom is (mass from the centre.
of proton). Expansion starts if the Coulumb 27. Consider a sphere of radius R with
repulsion on a hydrogen atom, at , is larger charge density distributed as
than the gravitational attraction.
Let the Electric Field at be E. Then
(a) Find the electric field at all points .
(Gauss's law)
(b) Suppose the total charge on the sphere
is 2 e where e is the electron charge.
Where can two protons be embedded such
Let the gravitational field at be . Then that the force on each of them is zero.
Assume that the introduction of the proton
does not alter the negative charge
distribution.
Ans.
Exp: (a) The symmetry of the problem suggests
that the electric field is radial. For points
Thus the Coulombic force on a hydrogen atom , consider a spherical Gaussian surface. Then on
at is the surface
!
ò R • dS
E

The gravitational force on this atom is

The net force on the atom is

For points , consider a spherical
Gaussian surfaces' of radius ,

The critical value is when

(b) The two protons must be on the opposite Ans. , the charge on and are
sides of the centre along a diameter. Suppose the
protons are at a distance from the centre. and , respectively,

Now,
Exp: (a) The electric field at due to plate is

Consider the forces on proton 1 . The attractive

force due to the charge distribution is The electric field at due to plate is
Hence, the net electric field is

The repulsive force is

(b) During the collision plates are together
Net force is and hence must be at one potential. Suppose the
This is zero such that charge on is and on is . Consider a
point . The electric field here must be zero.
Or, Electric field at 0 due to
Electric field at 0 due to
Electric Field at 0 due to
Thus, the protons must be at a distance
from the centre.
28. Two fixed, identical conducting plates
, each of surface area are charged Further,
to and , respectively, where
. A third identical plate , free and
to move is located on the other side of the Thus the charge on and are and
plate with charge at a distance (Fig ). , respectively.
The third plate is released and collides with (c) Let the velocity be at the distance after
the plate . Assume the collision is elastic the collision. If is the mass of the plate , then
and the time of collision is sufficient to the gain in K.E. over the round trip must be
equal to the work done by the electric field.
redistribute charge amongst .
After the collision, the electric field at is

The work done when the plate is released till

the collision is where is the force on plate
.
The work done after the collision till it reaches
is where is the force on plate .
(a) Find the electric field acting on the plate
before collision.
(b) Find the charges on and after the and
collision. Total work done is
(c) Find the velocity of the plate after the
collision and at a distance d from the plate
.
 Or,
1 esu of charge
29. There is another useful system of Hence, [1 esu of charge
units, besides the SI/mks A system, called
the cgs (centimeter-gram-second) system. [1 esu of charge]
In this system Coulomb's law is given by Thus charge in cgs unit is expressed as
fractional powers (1/2) of and of .
ii) Consider the coulomb force on two charges,
where the distance is measured in each of magnitude 1 esu of charge separated by
in dynes and a distance of 1 cm :
the charges in electrostatic units (es units), The force is then 1 dyne .
where This situation is equivalent to two charges of
magnitude separated by .
This gives:
The number [3] actually arises from the
speed of light in vacuum which is now
taken to be exactly given by which should be 1 dyne . Thus
. An approximate
value of c then is .
With , this yields
i) Show that the coulomb law in cgs units
yields
)
Obtain the dimensions of units of charge in With [3] , we get
terms of mass M , length and time .
Show that it is given in terms of fractional
powers of and . 30. Two charges -q each are fixed
ii) Write 1 esu of charge , where is a separated by distance . A third charge
dimensionless number. Show that this of mass placed at the mid-point is
gives displaced slightly by
perpendicular to the line joining the two
fixed charged as shown in Fig. . Show that
With , we have will perform simple harmonic oscillation
of time period.

Ans. dyne ,

Exp: Net force on towards the centre O

Exp: i) dyne ,
 for
Thus, the force is proportional to negative of
displacement under such forces is harmonic.
(b) From (a)
or

. for .
Thus, the force on the third charge is
proportional to the displacement and is towards
the centre of the two other charges. Therefore,
the motion of the third charge is harmonic with
frequency That is, . Hence

and hence .
31. Total charge is uniformly spread
along length of a ring of radius . A small
test charge of mass is kept at the
centre of the ring and is given a gentle
push along the axis of the ring.
(a) Show that the particle executes a
simple harmonic oscillation.
(b) Obtain its time period.
Ans.

Exp: (a) Slight push on along the axis of the

ring gives rise to the situation shown in Fig (b).
A and B are two points on the ring at the end of
a diameter.
Force on due to line elements at A and B
is

(a) Total force due to ring on