Class notes and
Question bank
Student
Instructor Mr. ARYAN YADAV
Subject PHYSICS XII
Chapter Electro-Statics
Electrostatics deals with the study of electric charges at rest. It includes the
interactions, properties, and behavior of stationary charges.
Lecture #1: Electrical Charges and
Force
● Electric charge is an intrinsic property of the elementary particles like
electrons, protons, etc., of which all the objects are made up of. It is because
of these electric charges that various objects exert strong electric forces of
attraction or repulsion on each other.
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● Large-scale matter that consists of equal numbers of electrons and protons
is electrically neutral. If there is an excess of electrons, the body has a
negative charge and an excess of protons(deficiency of electron) results in a
positive charge.
● Frictional Electricity: If a glass rod is rubbed
with a silk cloth, it is able to attract small pieces
of paper, straw, lint, light feathers, etc. Similarly, a
plastic comb passed through dry hair can attract
such light objects. In all these examples, we can
say that the rubbed substance has become
electrified or electrically charged. It is because of
friction that the substances get charged on
rubbing.
● Surface Electrons are transferred from one object to other which charges the
body or technically creates (potential difference i.e (access or deficiency of
electrons ) thus, a force is exerted called electrostatic force.
● 🤔Aaha!... Why don’t Protons transfer ?
● OK! … Now Think about the applications where this concept is used ? ( 👍can be a good question for
exam)
● Properties:
1. There are only two kinds of electric charges - positive and negative.
2. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other.
The statement 2 is known as the fundamental law of electrostatics
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Conductors: The substances through which electric charges can flow easily are
called conductors.
Insulators: The substances through which electric charges cannot flow easily are
called insulators.
Difference in Conductors and Insulators is that when some charge is transferred to
a conductor, it readily gets distributed over its entire surface. On the other hand, if
some charge is put on an insulator, it stays at the same place. A metal rod held in
hand and rubbed with wool does not develop any charge. This is because the
human body is a good conductor of electricity, so any charge developed on the
metal rod is transferred to the earth through the human body. We can electrify the
rod by providing it with a plastic or a rubber handle and rubbing it without touching
its metal part.
● Electrostatic induction is the phenomenon of
temporary electrification of a conductor in
which opposite charges appear at its closer
end and similar charges appear at its farther
end in the presence of a nearby charged body.
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● The three main properties of electric charges are:
🤔
1. Conservation: Electric charge is conserved; it cannot be created or destroyed,
only transferred. (Think about it how it follows )
2. Quantization: Charge exists in discrete packets and is always an integral multiple
of the elementary charge (q=±ne). Most Important
3. Additivity:Total charge of a system is the algebraic sum of all the individual
charges located at different points inside the system. (+2c-1c-3c+9c)
Practice Question:
1. Calculate the charge carried
by 12.5 x 10^8 electrons.
(Ans. 2 X 10^-10)
2. How many electrons would
have to be removed from a copper
penny to leave it with a positive
charge of 10^-6 C ?
(Ans. 6.25 x 10^11 electrons)
3. Calculate the charge on an
alpha particle.
4. Estimate the total number
of electrons present in 100 g of
water. How much is the total
negative charge carried by these
electrons ? Avogadro's number =
6.02 x 10^23 and molecular mass
of water = 18u.
(Ans. 5.35 x 10^6)
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COULOMB'S LAW OF ELECTRIC FORCE
Derivation:
In Vector Form:
@ Its a Inverse Square law similar to gravitational force
Numericals:
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Some Important Concepts To Ponder
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Vector Problems:
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Lecture #2: Electric field and lines
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Questions
1. Does the force between two point charges change if the dielectric constant of the medium in
which they are kept is increased?
2. A free proton and a free electron are placed in a uniform field. Which of the two experiences
greater force and greater acceleration?
3. No two electric lines of force can intersect each other. Why?
4. When a glass rod is rubbed with a silk cloth, charges appear on both. A similar phenomenon
is observed with many other pairs of bodies. Explain how this observation is consistent with the
law of conservation of charge.
5. a) An electric field line is a continuous curve. That is, a field line cannot have sudden breaks.
Why not?
b) Explain why two field lines never cross each other at any point?
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6. Two charges +q and +9q are separated by a distance of 10a . Find the point on the line
joining the two charges where the electric field is zero.
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8.
9. a) Sketch electric lines of force due to i. isolated positive charge (i.e., q>0 )
ii. isolated negative charge (i.e., q<0 ).\
iii. isolated positive and negative charge separated by
small distance with same magnitude |Q|
Iv. isolated positive and positive charge separated by
small distance with same magnitude |Q|
V. isolated isolated positive Q1 and positive Q2
charges separated by small distance with Q1>Q2.
10.Two-point charges q and −q are placed at a distance of 2a apart.
a) Calculate the electric field at a point P situated at a distance r along the perpendicular
bisector of the line joining the charges. What is the electric field when r>>a ?
b) Calculate the electric field at a point P situated at a distance r along the axis of the line
joining the charges. What is the electric field when r>>a ?
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11.Figure 1.30 shows tracks of three charged particles in a uniform electrostatic field. Give the
signs of the three charges. Which particle has the highest charge to mass ratio?
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13.
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15. Draw |E| vs r graph for following (| | is modulus function )
a) Two positive charges separated by a distance.
b) Two Opposite Charges separated by a distance.
c) Q and 2Q separated by a distance
16. Draw E vs r graph for following.
a) Two positive charges separated by a distance.
b) Two Opposite Charges separated by a distance.
c) Q and 2Q separated by a distance
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Lecture #3: Electric Dipole and
Moment(p^)
Permanent Electric Dipoles:
Molecules like water (H2O), where the oxygen atom has a stronger pull on electrons than the
hydrogen atoms, have a permanent dipole moment. This means that one end of the molecule
(oxygen) has a slight negative charge, while the other end (hydrogen) has a slight positive
charge.
Induced Electric Dipoles:
When an electric field is applied to an atom or molecule, the electrons can be shifted slightly
away from their normal position, creating a temporary separation of charges. This creates an
induced dipole moment.
Examples:
Polar Molecules: Water (H2O), hydrochloric acid (HCl), and acetic acid (CH3COOH) are
examples of molecules that have permanent dipole moments.
****(Non-Polar Molecules: The molecules in which individual dipole moments cancel out each
other ,the net dipole moment is Zero. e.g. CO2, O2,,)
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Antennas: A radio transmitting antenna can be considered a large electric dipole, with electrons
oscillating to create an alternating electric field.
Que: The Distance between Na+ & Cl- ions in NaCl molecule is 1.48 Å . Calculate the dipole
moment ? ans: 2.05 * 10^-29 Cm
Significance:
The existence of electric dipoles is crucial for understanding various phenomena, including:
Polarity of molecules: The dipole moment of a molecule affects its interactions with other
molecules and its behavior in electric fields.
Dielectric properties of materials: Dipoles play a role in how materials respond to electric fields.
Applications in electronics: Dipoles are used in antennas, capacitors, and electrets.
Electric field at various points of a dipole (Derivation)
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Behaviour of Dipole in Uniform Electric Field:
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Q1 An electric dipole when held at 30 with respect to a uniform electric field of 10^4 N / C
experiences a torque of 9 x 10^-26 Nm . Calculate dipole moment of the dipole?
Q2 An electric dipole with a dipole moment 4 x 10^-9 Cm is aligned at 30 degree with the
direction of a uniform electric field of magnitude 5 x 10^4 N/C . Calculate the magnitude of the
torque acting on the dipole.
Q3
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Lecture #4: Electric Flux and Gauss’s
Law
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Q Calculate the total electric flux linked with a circular disc of radius a. situated at
a distance R from a point charge q
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(vi) In a Gaussian surface electric flux ϕ = 0 does not imply E = 0 but E = 0
implies electric flux ϕ = 0.
(vii) If the net flux is positive, then net positive charge is enclosed. If the net flux is negative, then net
negative charge is enclosed in the closed surface.
(viii) If the closed gaussian surface has n symmetrical faces then the electric flux passing through one
face will be 1/n times the total flux passing through the surface.
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Q. 1. Positive electric flux indicates that electric lines of force are directed
(a) outwards (b) inwards
(c) either (a) or (b) (d) None of these
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Q3 A point charge of 2.0 C is kept at the center of a cubic Gaussian surface of edge length 9cm
. What is the net electric flux through the surface?
Q4 A point charge + 10 C is a distance 5 cm directly above the center of a square of 10cm , as
shown in Fig. 1.34. What is the magnitude of the electric flux through the square? (Hint: Think of
the square as one face of a cube with edge 10cm )
Q5 Consider a uniform electric field E =3x10^3 iˆN/C .
a) What is the flux of this field through a square of side 10cm whose plane is parallel to the y-z
plane?
B)What is the flux through the same square if the normal to its plane makes a 60 degree angle
with the x-axis?
Q6 . Careful measurement of the electric field at the surface of a black box indicates that the net
outward flux through the surface of the box is 3 2 8.0 10 Nm / C. a) What is the net charge
inside the box?
b) If the net outward flux through the surface of the box were zero, could you conclude that
there were no charges inside the box? Why or why not?
Q7)
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Electric Charge Density
The charge density is the measure of electric charge per unit area of a surface, or per unit volume of a
body or field.
Depending on the nature of the surface charge density is given as the following
Linear Charge Density
where q is the charge and l is the length over which it is distributed
S.I unit of Linear charge density is coulomb/m
Surface Charge Density
σ=q/A
where q is the charge and A is the area over which it is distributed
S.I unit of Linear charge density is coulomb/
Volume Charge Density
ρ=q/v
where q is the charge and V is the volume over which it is distributed
S.I unit of Linear charge density is coulomb/
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Electric field due to a uniformly charged plane sheet vs spherical
shell:
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