Consider three identical metal spheres, A, B, and C. Sphere A carries a charge o
ID: 1572561 • Letter: C
Question
Consider three identical metal spheres, A, B, and C. Sphere A carries a charge of +6q. Sphere B carries a charge of +5q. Sphere C carries no net charge. Spheres A and B are touched together and then separated. Sphere C is then touched to sphere A and separated from it. Last, sphere C is touched to sphere B and separated from it. For the following questions, express your answers in terms of q. (a) How much charge ends up on sphere C? (b) What is the total charge on the three spheres before they are allowed to touch each other? (c) What is the total charge on the three spheres after they have touched?Explanation / Answer
charge on sphere A is +6q
charge on sphere B is +5q
total charge on both A and B is +11q
given both are identical
they share the total charge equally between them
now charge on sphere A is 11q/2
charge on sphere B is 11q/2
a)
now charge on A is 11q/2
initaial charge on C is 0(no charge)
now they share the total chrge equally
total charge is (11q/2)+0 = 11q/2
now final charge on sphere A is 11q/4
charge on sphere C is 11q/4
b)
before they are allowed to touch each other = 6q+5q+0 = 11q
c)
befroe and after, the total charge should be the same = 11q
you can check it by adding final charges
total charge = (11q/4 )+(11q/2)+(11q/4) = 11q