In Millikan's experiment, the charge on each drop of oil was measured in coulombs. Imagine the same experiment, but with charges measured in a fictitious unit called a zeet (Z).
Drop Charge (Z)
A 8.40×10−15
B 1.96×10−14
C 2.24×10−14
D 2.52×10−14
E 3.64×10−14
What is the charge on an electron in zeets?
What is the charge on an electron in zeets?
a,d
To determine the charge on an electron in zeets, we can use the fact that in Millikan's experiment, he measured the charge on oil drops and found that the magnitude of the charges were always a multiple of the elementary charge, which is the charge of a single electron.
In this case, we have a series of charges measured in zeets for different oil drops. We can assume that these charges are all multiples of the same elementary charge value. To find this value, we need to look for the greatest common factor among the given charges.
Let's list the charges and find the greatest common factor:
Drop A: 8.40×10^(-15) Z
Drop B: 1.96×10^(-14) Z
Drop C: 2.24×10^(-14) Z
Drop D: 2.52×10^(-14) Z
Drop E: 3.64×10^(-14) Z
To find the greatest common factor, we can express these charges in scientific notation without powers of 10:
Drop A: 0.84×10^(-14) Z
Drop B: 1.96×10^(-14) Z
Drop C: 2.24×10^(-14) Z
Drop D: 2.52×10^(-14) Z
Drop E: 3.64×10^(-14) Z
Now, we can express each charge as a fraction of the lowest charge:
Drop A: (0.84/0.84)×(10^(-14)/10^(-14)) Z = 1×1 Z
Drop B: (1.96/0.84)×(10^(-14)/10^(-14)) Z = 2.33333...×1 Z
Drop C: (2.24/0.84)×(10^(-14)/10^(-14)) Z = 2.66666...×1 Z
Drop D: (2.52/0.84)×(10^(-14)/10^(-14)) Z = 3×1 Z
Drop E: (3.64/0.84)×(10^(-14)/10^(-14)) Z = 4.33333...×1 Z
From the fractions above, we see that the greatest common factor is 1. So, the charge on an electron in zeets is 1 Z.
Please note that the value of 1 Z is a fictitious value for the charge on an electron in this scenario, and in reality, the charge on an electron is approximately -1.602 × 10^(-19) coulombs.