Physics · Textbook solutions
Electrostatics
Every solved example, exercise, and miscellaneous question, in the order the textbook teaches them. Plus every board question asked from this chapter. · 40 questions
8. Electrostatics — worked examples
19 q
Solved Examples
Worked · 19
- Solved Ex.8.1A sphere of radius 10 cm carries a charge of . Calculate the electric field (i) at a distance of 30 cm from the center of the sphere (ii) at the surface of the sphere and (iii) at a distance of 5 cm from the center of the sphere.
- Solved Ex.8.2The length of a straight thin wire is 2 m. It is uniformly charged with a positive charge of . Calculate (i) the charge density of the wire (ii) the electric intensity due to the wire at a point 1.5 m away from the center of the wire
- Solved Ex.8.3The charge per unit area of a large flat sheet of charge is . Calculate the electric field intensity at a point just near the surface of the sheet, measured from its midpoint.
- Solved Ex.8.4Potential at a point A in space is given as V. (i) Find the work done in bringing a charge of from infinity to the point A. (ii) Does the answer depend on the path along which the charge is brought?
- Solved Ex.8.5If of work is done in carrying a charge of from a place where the potential is 10 volt to another place where the potential is , find
- Solved Ex.8.6A wire is bent in a circle of radius 10 cm. It is given a charge of which spreads on it uniformly. What is the electric potential at the centre?
- Solved Ex.8.7A short electric dipole has dipole moment of C m. Determine the electric potential due to the dipole at a point distance 0.3 m from the centre of the dipole situated a) on the axial line b) on the equatorial line c) on a line making an angle of with the dipole axis.
- Solved Ex.8.8Two charges C and C are located 16 cm apart. At what point(s) on the line joining the two charges is the electric potential zero? Take the potential at infinity to be zero.
- Solved Ex.8.9A small particle carrying a negative charge of C is suspended in equilibrium between two horizontal metal plates 10 cm apart having a potential difference of 4000 across them. Find the mass of the charged particle.
- Solved Ex.8.10Two charges of magnitude 5 nC and nC are placed at points (2 cm, 0, 0) and (20 cm, 0, 0) in a region of space, where there is no other external field. Find the electrostatic potential energy of the system.
- Solved Ex.8.11Calculate the electrostatic potential energy of the system of charges shown in the figure.
- Solved Ex.8.12Two charged particles having equal charge of C each are brought from infinity to a separation of 30 cm. Find the increase in electrostatic potential energy during the process.
- Solved Ex.8.13a) Determine the electrostatic potential energy of a system consisting of two charges and (with no external field) placed at cm, 0, 0) and cm, 0, 0) respectively. b) Suppose the same system of charges is now placed in an external electric field , where cm, what would be the electrostatic potential energy of the configuration
- Solved Ex.8.14An electric dipole consists of two opposite charges each of magnitude separated by 2 cm. The dipole is placed in an external electric field of N C. Find: (i) The maximum torque exerted by the field on the dipole (ii) The work the external agent will have to do in turning the dipole through starting from the position
- Solved Ex.8.15When electrons are transferred from one conductor to another, a potential difference of 10 appears between the conductors. Find the capacitance of the two conductors.
- Solved Ex.8.16From the figure given below find the value of the capacitance if the equivalent capacitance between A and B is to be . All other capacitors are in micro farad.
- Solved Ex.8.17A parallel plate capacitor has an area of 4 cm and a plate separation of 2 mm (i) Calculate its capacitance (ii) What is its capacitance if the space between the plates is filled completely with a dielectric having dielectric constant of constant 6.7.
- Solved Ex.8.18In a capacitor of capacitance , the distance between the plates is 2 mm. If a dielectric slab of width 1 mm and dielectric constant 2 is inserted between the plates, what is the new capacitance?
- Solved Ex.8.19A parallel plate air capacitor has a capacitance of Farad. A slab of dielectric constant 3 and thickness 3 cm completely fills the space between the plates. The potential difference between the plates is maintained constant at 400 volt. What is the change in the energy of capacitor if the slab is removed?
Exercises
21 q
Choose the correct option
Practice · 5
- Choose the correct optionEx Q.1 (i)A parallel plate capacitor is charged and then isolated. The effect of increasing the plate separation on charge, potential, capacitance respectively are
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- Ex Q.1 (ii)A slab of material of dielectric constant has the same area A as the plates of a parallel plate capacitor and has thickness , where is the separation of the plates. The change in capacitance when the slab is inserted between the plates is
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- Ex Q.1 (iii)Energy stored in a capacitor and dissipated during charging a capacitor bear a ratio.
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- Ex Q.1 (iv)Charge and are placed at points A and B respectively which are distance 2L apart. C is the mid point of A and B. The work done in moving a charge along the semicircle CRD as shown in the figure below is
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- Ex Q.1 (v)A parallel plate capacitor has circular plates of radius 8 cm and plate separation 1mm. What will be the charge on the plates if a potential difference of 100 V is applied?
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Answer in brief
Practice · 5
- Answer in brief.Ex Q.2 (i)A charge is moved from a point A above a dipole of dipole moment to a point B below the dipole in equitorial plane without acceleration. Find the work done in this process.
- Ex Q.2 (ii)If the difference between the radii of the two spheres of a spherical capacitor is increased, state whether the capacitance will increase or decrease.
- Ex Q.2 (iii)A metal plate is introduced between the plates of a charged parallel plate capacitor. What is its effect on the capacitance of the capacitor?
- Ex Q.2 (iv)The safest way to protect yourself from lightening is to be inside a car. Justify.
- Ex Q.2 (v)A spherical shell of radius b with charge Q is expanded to a radius a. Find the work done by the electrical forces in the process.
Solve the following
Practice · 11
- Ex Q.3A dipole with its charges, and located at the points (0, -b, 0) and (0 +b, 0) is present in a uniform electric field E whose equipotential surfaces are planes parallel to the YZ planes. (a) What is the direction of the electric field E? (b) How much torque would the dipole experience in this field?
- Ex Q.4Three charges , and are placed at equal distance on straight line. If the potential energy of the system of the three charges is zero, then what is the ratio of ?
- Ex Q.5A capacitor has some dielectric between its plates and the capacitor is connected to a DC source. The battery is now disconnected and then the dielectric is removed. State whether the capacitance, the energy stored in it, the electric field, charge stored and voltage will increase, decrease or remain constant.
- Ex Q.6Find the ratio of the potential differences that must be applied across the parallel and series combination of two capacitors and with their capacitances in the ratio 1:2, so that the energy stored in these two cases becomes the same.
- Ex Q.7Two charges of magnitudes and are located at points (2a, 0) and (5a, 0) respectively. What is the electric flux due to these charges through a sphere of radius 4a with its centre at the origin?
- Ex Q.8A capacitor is charged by a 300 V supply. It is then disconnected from the supply and is connected to another uncharged capacitor. How much electrostatic energy of the first capacitor is lost in the form of heat and electromagnetic radiation ?
- Ex Q.9One hundred twenty five small liquid drops, each carrying a charge of and each of diameter 0.1 m form a bigger drop. Calculate the potential at the surface of the bigger drop.
- Ex Q.10The dipole moment of a water molecule is Cm. A sample of water contains molecules, whose dipole moments are all oriented in an electric field of strength N /C. Calculate the work to be done to rotate the dipoles from their initial orientation to one in which all the dipoles are perpendicular to the field, .
- Ex Q.11A charge is placed at the origin and another charge is placed on the y axis at a position A (0, 6.0) m. a) Calculate the total electric potential at the point P whose coordinates are (8.0, 0) m b) Calculate the work done to bring a proton from infinity to the point P. What is the significance of the sign of the work done ?
- Ex Q.12In a parallel plate capacitor with air between the plates, each plate has an area of and the separation between the plates is 2 mm. a) Calculate the capacitance of the capacitor, b) If this capacitor is connected to 100 V supply, what would be the charge on each plate? c) How would charge on the plates be affected if a 2 mm thick mica sheet of is inserted between the plates while the voltage supply remains connected ?
- Ex Q.13Find the equivalent capacitance between P and Q. Given, area of each plate = A and separation between plates = d.
What the board has asked from this chapter
Questions per paper · 16 papers · 2016 to 2026
2016: 2 questions per paper. 2017: 2 questions per paper. 2018: 3 questions per paper. 2019: 2 questions per paper. 2020: 2 questions per paper. 2022: 3 questions per paper. 2023: 1.5 questions per paper. 2024: 2 questions per paper. 2025: 1.7 questions per paper. 2026: 3 questions per paper
June 2026
3 q
- Q. 1(vii)When number of capacitors having each of capacity are connected in series, their equivalent capacity is
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Capacitors and Combination of Capacitors - Q. 5What are polar molecules and non polar molecules?Conductors, Insulators and Dielectrics
- Q. 22A parallel plate capacitor filled with air has an area and the plate separation is 2 mm. Calculate its capacity.Capacitors and Combination of Capacitors
February 2026
3 q
- Answer the following questions :Q. 2(i)State the formula for electric field intensity due to uniformly charged spherical shell.Applications of Gauss' Law
- Q. 8An electric dipole consists of two unlike charges of magnitude C each and separated by 4 cm. The dipole is placed in an external electric field of N/C. Calculate the work done by an external agent to turn the dipole through 180°.Potential Energy of Charges and Dipoles
- Q. 19Derive an expression for electric potential due to a point charge.Electric Potential and Potential Energy
June 2025
2 q
- Q. 18Obtain an expression for the electric intensity at a point outside a uniformly charged spherical shell.Applications of Gauss' Law
- Q. 24A parallel plate capacitor is maintained at potential of 400V. If area of plates is and separation between plates is 40 mm, calculate displacement current in .Parallel Plate Capacitor with a Dielectric
February 2025
3 q
- Answer the following questions :Q. 2(vii)Calculate the electric field intensity at a point just near the surface of a charged plane sheet, measured from its mid-point. [ ]Applications of Gauss' Law
- Q. 1(iv)Electric potential 'V' at a distance 'r' from a point charge is directly proportional to _____.
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Electric Potential and Potential Energy - Q. 31State any four uses of Van de Graaff generator. In a parallel plate air capacitor, intensity of electric field is changing at the rate of V/ms. If area of each plate is , calculate the displacement current.Conductors, Insulators and Dielectrics
July 2024
3 q
- Answer the following questions :Q. 2(viii)Determine the work done in bringing a charge of from infinity to the point A. The potential at point A is 400 kV.Electric Potential and Potential Energy
- Q. 7Draw a neat and labelled diagram of van de Graaf generator.Conductors, Insulators and Dielectrics
- Q. 25When electrons are transferred from one conductor to another, a potential difference of 20V appears between the conductors. Find the capacitance of the two conductors.Capacitors and Combination of Capacitors
February 2024
3 q
- Q. 31Derive an expression for energy stored in a charged capacitor. A spherical metal ball of radius 15 cm carries a charge of . Calculate the electric field at a distance of 20 cm from the center of the sphere.Energy Stored in a Capacitor
- Q. 1(iv)The work done in bringing a unit positive charge from infinity to a given point against the direction of electric field is known as _____.
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Electric Potential and Potential Energy - Answer the following questions :Q. 2(viii)Two capacitors of capacities and respectively are connected in series. Calculate the resultant capacity of the combination.Capacitors and Combination of Capacitors
February 2023
3 q
- Answer the following questions:Q. 2(vi)State the formula giving relation between electric field intensity and potential gradient.Electric Potential and Potential Energy
- Q. 6Obtain an expression for equivalent capacitance of two capacitors and connected in series.Capacitors and Combination of Capacitors
- Q. 26An electric dipole consists of two opposite charges each of magnitude , separated by 2 cm. The dipole is placed in an external electric field of N/C. Calculate the : (i) maximum torque experienced by the dipole and (ii) work done by the external field to turn the dipole through 180°.Potential Energy of Charges and Dipoles
March 2022
3 q
- Q. 4What are polar dielectrics and non polar dielectrics?Conductors, Insulators and Dielectrics
- Q. 24A parallel plate capacitor filled with air has an area of and plate separation of 3 mm. Calculate its capacitance.Parallel Plate Capacitor with a Dielectric
- Q. 1(iii)The angle at which maximum torque is exerted by the external uniform electric field on the electric dipole is ___________.
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Potential Energy of Charges and Dipoles
February 2020
2 q
- Q. 2(viii)Capacity of a parallel capacitor with dielectric constant 5 is . Calculate the capacity of the same capacitor when dielectric material is removed.Parallel Plate Capacitor with a Dielectric
- Q. 19Explain the concept of a parallel plate capacitor. State its any 'two' applications.Parallel Plate Capacitor with a Dielectric
March 2019
2 q
- Q. 3The electric field intensity outside the charged conducting sphere of radius 'R', placed in a medium of permittivity at a distance 'r' from the centre of the sphere in terms of surface charge density is ___________.
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Applications of Gauss' Law - Q. 12Define capacitance of a capacitor and its S.I. unit.Capacitors and Combination of Capacitors
March 2018
3 q
- Q. 5(iii)Electric intensity outside a charged cylinder having the charge per unit length '' at a distance r from its axis is ___________.
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Applications of Gauss' Law - Q. 5(iv)SI unit of potential gradient is ___________.
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Electric Potential and Potential Energy - Q. 8. BA parallel plate air condenser has a capacity of . What will be the new capacity if: i. the distance between the two plates is doubled? ii. a marble slab of dielectric constant 8 is introduced between the two plates?Parallel Plate Capacitor with a Dielectric
March 2017
2 q
- Q. 5(vii)If the charge on the condenser of is doubled, then the energy stored in it becomes ___________.
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Energy Stored in a Capacitor - Q. 7(iii)A cube of marble having each side 1 cm is kept in an electric field of intensity 300 V/m. Determine the energy contained in the cube of dielectric constant 8. [Given: .Energy Stored in a Capacitor
March 2016
2 q
- Q. 6(iii)Electric intensity due to a charged sphere at a point outside the sphere decreases with ___________.
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Applications of Gauss' Law - Q. 7A conductor of any shape, having area placed in air is uniformly charged with a charge . Determine the electric intensity at a point just outside its surface. Also, find the mechanical force per unit area of the charged conductor. [].Applications of Gauss' Law
The 10 board questions to practise first
The questions the board asked again come first, most asked first. Each one says how often and when.
Question 1
Asked 2 times: Mar 2022*, Jun 2026 (* = numbers or wording changed that year)
Q. 22A parallel plate capacitor filled with air has an area and the plate separation is 2 mm. Calculate its capacity.Question 2
Asked 2 times: Mar 2022, Jun 2026
Q. 5What are polar molecules and non polar molecules?Question 3
Asked 2 times: Feb 2023*, Feb 2026 (* = numbers or wording changed that year)
Q. 8An electric dipole consists of two unlike charges of magnitude C each and separated by 4 cm. The dipole is placed in an external electric field of N/C. Calculate the work done by an external agent to turn the dipole through 180°.Question 4
This type asked 4 times: Mar 2016, Mar 2019, Jun 2025, Feb 2026. This one: Feb 2026
Answer the following questions :Q. 2(i)State the formula for electric field intensity due to uniformly charged spherical shell.Question 5
This type asked 3 times: Feb 2023, Feb 2024, Jun 2026. This one: Jun 2026
Q. 1(vii)When number of capacitors having each of capacity are connected in series, their equivalent capacity isTap an option to check your answer.
Question 6
This type asked 2 times: Feb 2025, Feb 2026. This one: Feb 2026
Q. 19Derive an expression for electric potential due to a point charge.Question 7
This type asked 2 times: Feb 2025, Jun 2025. This one: Jun 2025
Q. 24A parallel plate capacitor is maintained at potential of 400V. If area of plates is and separation between plates is 40 mm, calculate displacement current in .Question 8
This type asked 2 times: Mar 2017, Feb 2024. This one: Feb 2024
Q. 31Derive an expression for energy stored in a charged capacitor. A spherical metal ball of radius 15 cm carries a charge of . Calculate the electric field at a distance of 20 cm from the center of the sphere.Question 9
This type asked 2 times: Mar 2018, Feb 2020. This one: Feb 2020
Q. 2(viii)Capacity of a parallel capacitor with dielectric constant 5 is . Calculate the capacity of the same capacitor when dielectric material is removed.Question 10
Asked once: Jun 2025 (same type asked 4 times)
Q. 18Obtain an expression for the electric intensity at a point outside a uniformly charged spherical shell.