AP Physics C Name: _________________________________

Unit 7 Test: Electrostatics Period: ______

Part 1: Multiple Choice - Choose the answers that best answers the questions below. If an exact answer is not
present, chose the closest available answer. (4 points each)

1. Three point charges, of charges +Q, -2Q, and +2Q, are placed
equidistant as shown on the right. Which vector best describes the net
direction of the electric force acting on the +Q charge?

A) B) C)

D) E)

2. If the only force acting on electron is due to a uniform electric field, the electron moves with constant:
A) acceleration in a direction opposite to that of the field.
B) acceleration in the direction of the field.
C) acceleration in a direction perpendicular to that of the field.
D) speed in a direction opposite to that of the field.
E) speed in the direction of the field.

3. Three identical conducting spheres are mounted on insulating stands as shown.

Sphere A and C have equal chargers of +Q and are seperated by a fixed distance.
They repel each other with an electrostatic force of magnitude, 𝐹. Sphere B is
initially uncharged. Sphere B is first touched to sphere A (then moved away
from A), then touched to sphere C, and then removed from the setup completely. If the charge
distribution on each sphere is assumed to always be spherical, what would be the new magnitude of the
electrostatic force between spheres A and C?
3𝐹 𝐹 𝐹 𝐹
A) 0 B) C) D) E)
8 2 16 4

4. Two point charges of Q1 = +8𝜇𝐶 and Q2 = +8𝜇𝐶 are situated as shown below.

At which labeled point above is the electric field strength the greatest?
A) A B) B C) C D) D E) E
5. In the diagram shown, sphere 2 remains at rest in the air below sphere 1,
which is attached to insulating stand. Sphere is distance of d below sphere
1. The sphere have equal masses M, and opposite charges of +Q and –Q.
Which the of following gives the magnitude of Q?

𝝅𝜺𝟎 𝑴𝒈 𝑴𝒈
A) 𝟐𝒅√𝝅𝜺𝟎 𝑴𝒈 B) 𝟐√ C) √𝟒𝝅𝜺
𝒅 𝟎𝒅

𝟒𝝅𝜺𝟎 𝑴𝒈 𝟐
D) E) 𝒅 √𝟐𝝅𝜺𝟎 𝑴𝒈
𝒅

6. A circle of charge is to be placed centered about the origin. However, due to the government shutdown,
only a quarter circle of charge +Q is constructed in the second quadrant of the Cartesian plane. Which of
the following integrals would, when evaluated, give the x-component of the electric field at the origin
due to the quarter-circle of charge?
𝜋 𝑘𝑄 𝜋 2𝑘𝑄
A) ∫
𝜋/2 2𝜋𝑅 2 cos 𝜃 𝑑𝜃 B) ∫𝜋/2 𝜋𝑅 2
cos 𝜃 𝑑𝜃
𝜋 𝑘𝑄 𝜋 2𝑘𝑄
C) ∫𝜋/2 cos 𝜃 𝑑𝜃 D) ∫𝜋/2 sin 𝜃 𝑑𝜃
𝜋𝑅 𝜋𝑅
𝜋 𝑘𝑄
E) ∫𝜋/2 2 sin 𝜃 𝑑𝜃
𝜋𝑅

7. A closed cylindrical shell of volume 𝜋𝑟 2 ℎ is placed close to an object with a charge of Q, as shown
above. There are no other charged objects nearby. The electric flux through the closed cylindrical shell
is:
𝑄
A) B) 𝜋𝑟 2 𝑄 C) 2𝜋𝑟ℎ D) 0 E) 2𝜋𝑟 2 𝑄 + 2𝜋𝑟ℎ𝑄
𝜀0

8. Two parallel plates has the same charge +Q, A. The plates are separated by a distance 𝑑 as shown.

What is the magnitude of the electric field in the region between the plates?
𝑄 2𝑄 𝑄 𝑄
A) B) C) D) E) 0
𝐴𝜀0 𝐴𝜀0 𝑑𝜀0 2𝐴𝜀0
9. A very long nonconducting cylinder has a radius of 𝑅 and a volume charge density of 𝜌. Which of the
following is the correct setup for Gauss’s law to determine 𝐸, the magnitude of the electric field due to
the cylinder a distance 𝑟 from the center, where r > R.

𝜌𝜋𝑟 2 𝜌𝜋𝑟 2 𝜌𝜋𝑅 2

A) 𝐸 (2𝜋𝑅 ) = B) 𝐸 (2𝜋𝑟) = C)𝐸 (4𝜋𝑟 2 ) =
𝜀0 𝜀0 𝜀0

2) 𝜌𝜋𝑟 2 𝜌𝜋𝑅 2
D) 𝐸 (4𝜋𝑟 = E) 𝐸 (2𝜋𝑟) =
𝜀0 𝜀0

10. Appreciate that there is a line of charge of length L and charge Q. Point P is somewhere near the middle
of the line of charge, a distance of d away, where L >> r. Which of the following is a valid application of
Gauss’s law to find the magnitude of the electric field at point P?

𝑄𝑥 𝑄 𝑄
A) 𝐸(2𝜋𝑟𝑥) = 𝐿𝜀 B) 𝐸(2𝜋𝑟 2 ) = 𝐿𝜀 C) 𝐸(𝜋𝑟 2 ) = 𝐿𝜀
0 0 0

𝑄 𝑄𝐿
D) 𝐸(2𝜋𝑟𝐿) = 𝐿𝜀 E) 𝐸(2𝜋𝑟𝑥) = 𝑥𝜀
0 0

11. A long cylinder (radius = 3.0 cm) is filled with a nonconducting material which carries a uniform charge
density of 1.3 µC/m3. Determine the electric flux through a spherical surface (radius = 2.0 cm) which
has a point on the axis of the cylinder as its center.

A) 5.7 Nm2/C B) 4.9 Nm2/C C) 6.4 Nm2/C D) 7.2 Nm2/C E) 15 Nm2/C

12. A flat charged disk lies in the xy plane as shown. Points A and B
are points directly above the center of the disk as shown. Point A
is twice as far from point B from the disk, and the disk has a
radius such that R>>>x. Which of the following gives the value
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝐴
of the ratio: ?
𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝐵

A) ½ B) 2 C) ¼ D) 4 E) 1
 13. Figure 1 above shows two charged spherical conductors, X and Y, which are equal in size. When each
conductor is isolated and surrounded by a closed cubical surface, the total electric flux through the
surfaces is +Φ0 for conductor X and −4Φ0 for conductor Y. Conductor Y is brought into contact with
conductor X and then separated, as shown in Figure 2. If the separation is small so that both conductors
are inside the same closed cubical surface, as shown above, what is the total electric flux through the
surface?
5 3 5
A) − Φ0 B) − Φ0 C) −3Φ0 D) Φ0 E) 0
2 2 2

14. A long non-conducting cylinder of radius R has a uniform volume charge density. At the lateral surface
of the cylinder, the electric field strength is E. A second cylinder of radius 2R is created with the same
volume charge density. What is the electric field strength at the lateral surface of the second cylinder?
A) 4E B) E/2 C) E D) E/4 E) 2E

15. Congratulations on making through the multiple choice. Here’s an easy

question. A positively charged glass rod is brought close to, but does not
touch, a conducting sphere. Which of the following describes the
resulting charge on the sphere?
A) The sphere is positively charged.
B) The sphere is negatively charged.
C) The charged is uncharged, but the sphere is polarized, with positive charge moving right.
D) The charged is uncharged, but the sphere is polarized, with positive charge moving left.
E) All of the above.

Part 2: Free Response. You must show all steps required to arrive at the correct answer for the following
problems, including any diagrams. All answers must be given with correct units.
16. (27 points) A uniform solid conducting sphere has a charge of +Q
and radius R. As is tradition, it is surrounded by a spherical shell of
inner radius 2R and 3R. The outer shell is a non-conductor with a
charge of -Q distributed uniformly through its volume.

a) Determine a function for the electric field, E(r), for the following
regions. For each region, clearly draw and identify the gaussian
surface you are using.

i. 𝑟 < 𝑅

ii. 2𝑅 < 𝑟 < 3𝑅

iii. 𝑟 > 3𝑅
iv. Sketch the field E(R), for the field as a function of distance, r, from the center of the sphere.

b) It’s rewind time. The inner sphere is replaced with a solid, uniform
conducting material, with the same charge +2Q, and the outer shell is now
replaced with a conducting shell of the same inner and outer radii and still
carries a total charge of -Q.

i. Determine an expression for the charge density on the inner surface of the
outer shell.

ii. Determine an expression for the charge density on the inner surface of the outer shell.

iii. Graph the field vs. distance for this case.

16. (15 points) A charged point of charge Q is placed at the point (0,b). The
charge is affected by a charged rod of total charge +Q that is placed along the x-
axis from (-a,0) to (a,0) as shown.

a) Write a differential equation that could be used to find the force on the point
charge due to the rod. Ensure to include bounds in the integral and put the
function to be integrated in simplest form.

b) The charge is allowed to move. Assuming there is no gravity, describe the result motion of the charge in
terms of its speed and acceleration from its release to a very long time after it’s released.

c) The charge of mass Q is attached to one end of a string of length L. The charge is a
small point of mass M. The other end is fixed to a wall. The wall causes a constant,
uniform electric field of magnetic field E.

i. What is the direction of the electric field created by the wall? Justify your answer.
ii. Determine an expression for the angle the string makes with the wall. Show your work, including the relevant
free body diagram.

Bonus: A spherical cloud of charge of radius R contains a total charge +Q with

nonuniform volume charge density that varies according to:
𝑟
𝜌(𝑟) = 𝜌0 (1 − 𝑅) for ≤ 𝑅

Determine the electric field as a function of r within the cloud.