P2: STATIC ELECTRICITY

Question 1

What charges attract?

Answer 1

opposite charges (+ve and -ve)

Question 2

What charges repel?

Answer 2

like charges (+ve and +ve or -ve and -ve)

Question 3

What is a buildup of static electricity caused by?

Answer 3

friction

Question 4

How does friction cause static electricity to build up?

Answer 4

-when there’s friction between 2 objects, electrons are transferred from one of the objects to the other
-this leaves the objects electrically charged with a +ve static charge on one and a -ve static charge on the other

Question 5

How is a balloon able to stick to a wall?

Answer 5

-friction between the jumper and the balloon causes electrons to be transferred to the balloon
-balloon becomes net -ve
-net -ve balloon repels electrons in the wall
-front of the wall beomes net +ve so the balloon sticks to the wall due to attraction between the +ve and -ve charges

Question 6

How can too much static cause a spark?

Answer 6

-an electric charge builds on an object, the pd between the object and the earth (0V) increases
-high pd causes a strong electric field between the charged object and the earth
-the strong electric field causes the air to become ionised which makes it conductive meaning a current can flow through it
-this causes a spark