Static Electricity (AQA GCSE Physics)

Exam Questions

52 mins9 questions
1a2 marks

Which of the following substances can become statically charged?

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Copper begin mathsize 36px style square end style
Air size 36px square
Plastic  size 36px square
Gold size 36px square
Steel  size 36px square
1b2 marks

Which of the following are examples of static electricity?

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Hair sticking up after taking off a hat begin mathsize 36px style square end style
Electrons flowing through an electrical circuit size 36px square
Photocopiers sticking power to a document size 36px square
High-speed electrons emitted during nuclear decay size 36px square

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2a1 mark

Which of the following pairs of charges shows the correct force acting between them?

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~RZU_1Mn_charge-d charge-a charge-d charge-b
size 36px square size 36px square size 36px square size 36px square

2b1 mark

A student rubs a plastic rod with a cloth. Both are uncharged initially. The cloth becomes positively charged.

Which row best describes the charge on the rod when compared to the cloth?



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Positive and larger begin mathsize 36px style square end style
Positive and equal size 36px square
Positive and lesser size 36px square
Negative and larger size 36px square
Negative and equal size 36px square
Negative and lesser size 36px square

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3a1 mark

Figure 1 shows a student rubbing a plastic rod with a cloth. 

Figure 1

screenshot-2022-10-05-at-15-03-36

Describe a method to show that the plastic rod has now gained charge.
3b3 marks

Complete the sentences. 

Choose answers from the box. 

Each answer can be used once, more than once or not at all.

electrons

positive

protons

neutral

neutrons

negative

 

     

When a plastic rod is rubbed with a cloth, the plastic rod gains .............................. 

   

After the plastic rod has been rubbed with the cloth, the plastic rod has a .............................. charge.

   

And the cloth has a .............................. charge.

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1a3 marks

Figure 1 shows a Van de Graaff generator that is used to make pupils’ hair stand on end the world over.

Figure 1

fig-1-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

Explain how an object with no charge may become positively charged.
1b2 marks
On the diagram below, draw the electric field pattern around the Van de Graaff generator’s dome.

q1b-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

1c1 mark

A negatively charged object is placed at each of the positions shown below: A, B, C, and D.

At which point would the object experience the greatest force?

q1c-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

Position ________

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2a2 marks

Figure 2 shows a student touching the dome of a charged Van de Graaff generator.

Figure 2

fig-2-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

Explain why the student’s hair stands on end when the generator is switched on.
2b2 marks

When the potential difference between the dome and the student reached 20 kV, a spark jumped to the student from the dome.

This spark converted 50 mJ of energy into heat, light and sound.

Calculate the charge carried by the spark.

2c3 marks

The spark transfers the charge to the student in a time of 1.5 ms.

Calculate the current in the spark.

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3a2 marks

Figure 3 shows a youth jumping on a trampoline while wearing socks.

Figure 3

fig-3-q3-2-3-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

As the youth bounces, friction between his socks and the trampoline cause him to become negatively charged.

Explain why friction causes the youth to become charged.
3b2 marks

The youth’s head is shown as a circle in the diagram below.

The student’s head is negatively charged.

Draw the electric field pattern around the youth’s head.

q3b-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

3c3 marks

When the youth stops jumping and touches the metal side of the trampoline, he receives an electric shock.

Explain why.

3d2 marks

The youth got fed up with constantly receiving shocks and decided to wear a grounded wrist strap when bouncing.

This severely hampered his ability to perform acrobatic manoeuvres but did prevent the shocks.

A grounded wrist strap contains a thin copper wire which connects the youth’s wrist to the trampoline frame.

Suggest why the grounded wrist strap prevents shock.

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4a2 marks

Figure 4 shows a children’s playground slide. It is made from plastic.

Figure 4

fig-4-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

As a child slides down the slide, she becomes electrostatically charged.

Explain why.

4b2 marks

When the child gets to the bottom of the slide, her hair is standing on end.

What conclusion can be made about the electrical charge on the child’s head from this observation?

Give a reason for your answer.

4c2 marks
What can you say about the charge the child would receive if the slide were made from metal?

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5a2 marks

A student rubs a glass rod with a piece of polystyrene.

The glass rod becomes positively charged.

Explain how this happens.
5b2 marks

The student placed the glass rod onto a balance, as shown in Figure 5 below.

A piece of insulating material was placed between the glass rod and the balance.

Figure 5

fig-5-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

The student then rubbed a pvc rod with a pair of nylon tights and held it near to, but not touching the glass rod on the balance. 

The reading on the balance decreased.

Figure 6

fig-6-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

Explain why the reading on the balance decreases.

5c2 marks

When the student brings the two rods closer together, the reading on the balance decreases still further.

What can the student conclude from this observation?

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6a2 marks

A student carried out an experiment to investigate the effect of bringing charged rods near to each other, as shown in Figure 7 below. 

Nylon rod AB was rubbed with a cloth, and then suspended from a clamp stand, so that it was free to rotate.

Polythene rod CD was also rubbed with a cloth, then brought close to rod AB. Care was taken to ensure the rods did not touch.

Figure 7

fig-7-2-4-medium-aqa-gcse-physics

End C was brought near to end B. The rods moved towards each other.

Explain why the rods moved towards each other.
6b1 mark
What would happen if end D was brought near to end A?
6c2 marks

The experiment was repeated with two identical nylon rods.

Explain what would happen when one rod was brought near to the other one.

6d3 marks
Explain what happened as the rods were rubbed with the cloths in terms of electron movement.

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