Answer choices are: Path A, Path B, Path C, Path D, Path E, or Path F. Please ex
ID: 2277631 • Letter: A
Question
Answer choices are: Path A, Path B, Path C, Path D, Path E, or Path F. Please explain if you can! Thank you.
The figure shows two very large charged plates side-on, one with charge +Q the other with charge -Q. (Note, the plates extend very far up, down, into the page, and out of the page, so the figure just shows a small cross-section of the entire plates.) Between the plates are arrows showing 6 different paths through which an electron is moved. Each path is separate. For each path the electron starts at the base of the arrow and ends up at the tip (pointy part) of the arrow. For which path is the change in electrostatic potential energy (PEf- PEi) of the electron going to be the largest?Explanation / Answer
The answer will be Path B. This is so because as electron is a negative charge so it has tendency to be attracted towards positivelycharged plate and also experience a repulsive force due to negatively charged plate. Thus, if that electron moves directly or perpendicularly towards negative charged plate and away from positive charged plate opposing all the forces acting on the electron, then only the change in electrostatic potential energy of the electron will be higher which is in the case of Path B.