Name: Date:

Chapter 10 Static Electricity Test (76 marks)

Multiple Choice (26 marks)
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

____ 1. A single atom of an element is made up of several smaller particles. Which type of particle found in an atom
of an element has a positive charge?
A. electron C. neutron
B. positron D. proton
____ 2. What is the type of electricity that builds up on the surface of an object when electrons move from one surface
to another?
A. voltage C. static electricity
B. current electricity D. current
____ 3. What does the word static mean when referring to static electricity?
A. charges that stay in one place until given a chance to move
B. charges that move around the surface quickly, looking for escape
C charges that leap from object to object
D. charges that make a crackling noise when they move
____ 4. Which of the following statements describes an object with a positive charge?
A. The object has more neutrons than protons.
B. The object has the same number of electrons as protons.
C. The object has more electrons than protons.
D. The object has more protons than electrons.
____ 5. Which of the following statements describes an object with a negative charge?
A. The object has more electrons than protons.
B. The object has more neutrons than protons.
C. The object has more protons than electrons.
D. The object has the same number of electrons as protons.
____ 6. Which of the following statements describes an object with a neutral charge?
A. The object has more protons than electrons.
B. The object has more neutrons than protons.
C. The object has more electrons than protons.
D. The object has the same number of electrons as protons.
____ 7. A neutral object loses electrons. What is the new charge on the object?
A. neutral C. negative
B. positive D. More information is needed.
____ 8. Friction is one method that transfers charges. What occurs when charges are transferred through friction?
A. Electrons are transferred from one object to another.
B. Electrons are lost from one object but not from the other.
C. Both objects lose a certain number of protons and electrons.
D. Protons are transferred from one object to another.
____ 9. Which of the following statements about the transfer of a charge from one object to another is true?
A. No new charge is created; electrons are lost from one object but not from the other.
B. No new charge is created; protons are simply transferred from one object to another.
C. A new charge is created when the electrons from an object are suddenly freed from a
neutral object.
D. No new charge is created; electrons are simply transferred from one object to another.

Triboelectric Series

Tend to lose electrons (+)

human hands (dry)
glass
human hair
nylon
cat fur
silk
cotton
steel
wood
amber
rubber balloon
plastic wrap
Teflon
Tend to gain electrons ()

____ 10. What occurs when silk is rubbed on amber?

A. The silk gains electrons, and becomes positively charged.
B. The amber gains electrons, and becomes positively charged.
C. The amber gains electrons, and becomes negatively charged.
D. The silk gains electrons, and becomes negatively charged.

____ 11. What happens when fur is rubbed on wood?

A. The wood becomes negatively charged because it gains electrons from the fur.
B. The wood becomes positively charged because it loses electrons to the fur.
C. The wood becomes positively charged because it gains electrons from the fur.
D. The wood becomes negatively charged because it loses protons to the fur.

____ 12. What happens when silk is rubbed on a glass rod?

A. The glass rod becomes positively charged because it gains electrons from the silk.
B. The glass rod becomes negatively charged because it loses electrons to the silk.
C. The glass rod becomes negatively charged because it gains electrons from the silk.
D. The glass rod becomes positively charged because it loses electrons to the silk.
____ 13. When a negatively charged object is brought near a neutral electroscope, what happens to the electroscope?
A. The negative charges in the electroscope move toward the knob, leaving positive charges
in the leaves, causing the leaves to move apart.
B. The negative charges in the electroscope move away from the knob and into the leaves,
causing the leaves to move apart.
C. The positive charges in the electroscope move toward the knob, leaving negative charges
in the leaves, causing the leaves to move apart.
D. The positive charges in the electroscope move away from the knob and into the leaves,
causing the leaves to move apart.
____ 14. When a positively charged rod is brought into contact with a neutral electroscope, what happens to the
electroscope?
A. The positive charge in the rod causes the negative charges in the neutral knob to move into
the rod, and the entire electroscope becomes positively charged.
B. The positive charge in the rod pushes all the negative charge in the electroscope out, and
the entire electroscope becomes positively charged.
C. The positive charge in the rod moves into the neutral knob, and the entire electroscope
becomes positively charged.
D. The positive charge in the rod pulls all the positive charge out of the electroscope, and the
entire electroscope becomes negatively charged.
____ 15. A balloon is rubbed on a students hair. The balloon is then brought close to a wall without actually touching
the walls surface. Why does the balloon then stay stuck in place if allowed to touch the wall?
A. Walls are usually covered in a material that is positively charged.
B. The balloon caused the wall to become positively charged by contact, and unlike charges
attract.
C. The balloon caused the wall to become positively charged by induction, and unlike
charges attract.
D. The balloon caused the wall to become negatively charged by induction, and like charges
attract.
____ 16. What is lightning?
A. electrical discharge C. charging by induction
B. insulation of charge D. charging by contact
____ 17. What type of electrostatic generator uses a belt-and-roller system to generate charges on a large metal sphere?
A. a Whimshurst machine C. a friction machine
B. a clothes dryer D. a Van de Graaff generator
____ 18. Which of the following is an unsafe location to be during a lightning storm?
A. under a tall tree in the middle of a field C. riding on a school bus
B. standing in the living room of a house D. sitting in a car on the side of the road
____ 19. What does a lightning rod need to be attached to in order to be effective as a lightning safety device?
A. a long wire conductor buried in the ground
B. a house
C. a tree
D. the tallest building in the area
____ 20. Which object would lightning likely strike first?
A. a tree 50 m tall C. a metal tower 50 m tall
B. a bird flying 50 m above the ground D. a wooden totem pole 50 m tall
____ 21. How do static charges build on cars and airplanes?
A. glass windows being cleaned with silk cloth
B. ebonite materials in the engines rubbing on conductive metal parts
C. fur and natural fibres used in the interior
D. air flowing past the moving vehicles
____ 22. When flying to visit your family in Vancouver, you notice some small rods sticking out of the wing of the
airplane you are on.

What is the purpose of these structures?

A. to increase the lift of the wings
B. to allow static charges to disperse into the air
C. to increase the broadcast range of the radio
D. to act as a lightning rod
____ 23. Why is it a good idea to grab a metal door handle as you get out of a vehicle at a gas station?
A. Sparks from static discharge can ignite fuel fumes, and the door handle causes a positive
inductive charge to build before you get near the pumps.
B. The fuel from the pumps will cause a static charge to build as it flows, and the door handle
allows you to get a neutral charge.
C. The fuel from the pumps will cause a static charge to build as it flows, and the door handle
allows you to ground yourself before you get near the pumps.
D. Sparks from static discharge can ignite fuel fumes, and the door handle allows any static to
be grounded before you get near the pumps.
____ 24. If you notice the clothes coming out of your clothes dryer have more static than usual, what might be true?
A. The air is very dry, and dry air is a good conductor.
B. The air is very humid, and humid air is a good insulator.
C. The clothes are made of different materials that are good insulators, such as nylon and
polyester.
D. The clothes are made of different materials that are good conductors, such as nylon and
polyester.
____ 25. What time of year would you get the worst static shocks when opening doors in your home? Why?
A. in the winter, because the air is drier and therefore insulates charges from moving
B. in the summer, because the air is drier and therefore insulates charges from moving
C. in the winter, because the air is drier and therefore conducts charges from place to place
D. in the summer, because the air is drier and therefore conducts charges from place to place
____ 26. How do dryer sheets work to reduce static charge from building in clothes dryers?
A. A waxy material coats the inside of the dryer, making it a better insulator and allowing the
static charge to exit the dryer as it builds.
B. A waxy substance increases friction between the materials, stopping them from rubbing
together in the dryer.
C. A waxy substance reduces the friction between the materials rubbing together in the dryer.
D. A waxy material coats the inside of the dryer, making it a better conductor and allowing
the static charge to exit the dryer as it builds.

Modified True/False (3 marks)

Indicate whether the statement is true or false. If false, change the identified word or phrase to make the statement true.

____ 27. A glass rod becomes positively charged when rubbed by a silk cloth.

____ 28. During a thunderstorm, we hear thunder before we see lightning, unless the storm is straight overhead, even
though the thunder and lightning occur at the same time.

____ 29. Clothes in a dryer made of the same types of material will get more static charge than clothes made of
different materials.

Short Answer (30 marks)

30. Explain the difference between and insulator and a conductor. Give 2 examples of each. (4 marks)

Examples
Insulator: 1.

2.

Conductor: 1.

2.

31. State the laws of repulsion and attraction, and explain what Coulomb discovered about these laws. (5
marks)
32. Lightning occurs when large clouds and active air masses are involved. Explain lightning by describing in
words what is happening in each picture. (4 marks)

a)

b)

c)

d)
33. What are three ways an electronics technician will minimize the risk of electric discharge on the electronic
components she is working on? (3 marks)

34. a) A balloon is being rubbed against a wool sweater. Draw a picture to show what has happened to the
electrons during the rubbing process and the resulting charges on the balloon and wool sweater. (2 marks)

b) Draw a picture to show what would happen when the charged balloon is brought near a wall. (1 mark)

35. How is static charged used to spray paint a car? (2 marks)

 36. Complete the table which describes the three methods of transferring static electric charge. (9 marks)

Charging by Friction Charging by Contact Charging by Induction

What are the charges on
the starting objects?

How do the transfers

occur?

What are the resulting

charges on the objects?

Science and Math (17 marks)

37. Round the following:

a) Round to the nearest hundredth: 8943.67888 =

b) Round to the nearest thousand: 12 309. 65 =
c) Round to the nearest tens: 487 333 168 =

38. Convert the following:

a) 6942876.45 m = km
b) 0.00456 hL = L
c) 12345.678 mg = dag
39. Convert to standard notation:

a) 4.8764 x 106 =
b) 893.0023 x 10-8 =

40. Convert to scientific notation:

a) 32 544 000 =
b) 0.000 456 899 =

41. State the number of significant figures:

a) 0.000239 =
b) 23500 =
c) 32. =
d) 4.67501 x 10-4 =
e) 87.00 =

42. State the answer with the correct number of significant figures:

a) 65.22 x 9.33 =
b) 12.5 + 6.88 =