Question

Which of the following is a true statement? A. If she removes some air from one of the balloons, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase. B. If she moves the balloons closer together, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase. C. If she removes the charge from one of the balloons, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase. D. If she moves the balloons further apart, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase. a) A b) B c) C d) D

Answer 1

Moving the charged balloons closer together increases the electrical potential energy between them, as this action requires work, which is then stored as potential energy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer to the student's question is B: If she moves the balloons closer together, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase. According to the principles of electrostatics, as two charged objects are brought closer together, the electrical potential energy of the system increases. This is because, like charges repel each other and it requires work to bring them closer, consequently increasing the system's potential energy. The potential energy of a system of charges is proportional to 1/r, where r is the distance between charges. Therefore, decreasing the distance between the charges (r) leads to an increase in the electrical potential energy.

Answer 2

The correct statement is:

B. If she moves the balloons closer together, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase.

Here's a step-by-step explanation:

1. Electrical potential energy (U) between two charged objects (in this case, balloons) can be calculated using the formula:

`U = (k * q1 * q2) / r`

Where:

- U is the electrical potential energy

- k is Coulomb's constant (a constant value)

- q1 and q2 are the charges on the objects

- r is the separation distance between the objects

2. Let's analyze each option:

A. If she removes some air from one of the balloons, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase.

- Removing air from a balloon changes its volume and shape but does not change its charge or the distance between the two balloons. Therefore, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will not increase. This statement is false.

B. If she moves the balloons closer together, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase.

- In this case, when the balloons are moved closer together, the separation distance (r) in the formula decreases. Since k, q1, and q2 remain constant, a smaller separation distance results in an increase in electrical potential energy (U). This statement is true

C. If she removes the charge from one of the balloons, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase.

- Removing the charge from one of the balloons means that either q1 or q2 becomes zero in the formula. When one of the charges is zero, the electrical potential energy (U) will also be zero, regardless of the separation distance. This statement is false.

D. If she moves the balloons further apart, the electrical potential energy between the balloons will increase.

- Moving the balloons further apart increases the separation distance (r) in the formula. Since k, q1, and q2 remain constant, a larger separation distance results in a decrease in electrical potential energy (U). This statement is false.

option B is the only true statement among the given choices.