A student is designing an investigation of the distribution of charges in conductors. She will use two conducting spheres mounted on insulating stands in the investigation. The conducting spheres are shown.
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The student wants to separate the charges of the spheres as shown.
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What should the student do in her investigation to produce these results?
Responses
She should place two negatively charged rods near each sphere.
She should place two negatively charged rods near each sphere.
She should place a positively charged rod near the left sphere.
She should place a positively charged rod near the left sphere.
She should place two positively charged rods near each sphere.
She should place two positively charged rods near each sphere.
She should place a negatively charged rod near the left sphere.
She should place a positively charged rod near the left sphere.
She should place a negatively charged rod near the left sphere. Why? Because if you want to separate the charges, it's best to have opposite charges near each other. It's like trying to attract two people who can't stand each other - the more opposite they are, the more they'll move away from each other!
She should place a negatively charged rod near the left sphere.
To separate the charges of the spheres as shown in the second image, the student should place a positively charged rod near the left sphere.
Explanation: When a positively charged object, such as a rod, is brought near a conductor, the excess positive charges in the conductor will be attracted to the negatively charged end of the rod, causing them to move away from the area of the rod. This will leave a net negative charge on the side of the conductor closest to the rod and a net positive charge on the opposite side.
Since the positive charge of the rod is placed near the left sphere in the image, the left sphere will experience a force of electrical repulsion. This will cause the negative charges within the left sphere to move away from the rod and accumulate on the side of the sphere that is opposite to the rod. Similarly, the positive charges within the left sphere will move towards the rod. This separation of charges will result in the left sphere acquiring a net positive charge on the side closest to the rod and a net negative charge on the opposite side.
It is important to note that while the other responses mention placing negatively charged rods near the spheres or using positively charged rods near both spheres, these actions will not produce the desired results shown in the second image.