Question

A 16 g piece of Styrofoam carries a net charge of -8.6 µC and floats above the center of a large horizontal sheet of plastic that has a uniform charge density on its surface. What is the charge per unit area on the plastic sheet?

Answer 1

the charge per unit area on the plastic sheet is - 3.23 x 10⁻⁷ C/m²

Step-by-step explanation:

given information:

styrofoam mass, m = 16 g = 0.016 kg

net charge, q = - 8.6 μC

to calculate the charge per unit area on the plastic sheet, we can use the following equation:

`F_(e) = mg`

where

`F_(e) =` the force between the electric field

m = mass

g = gravitational force

`F_(e) =qE`

where

q = charge

E = electric field

and

E = σ/2ε₀

where

ε₀ = permitivity

thus

`F_(e) =qE`

mg = qσ/2ε₀

σ = (2mg ε₀)/q

= 2 (0.016) (9.8) (8.85 x 10⁻¹²)/( - 8.6 x 10⁻⁶)

= - 3.23 x 10⁻⁷ C/m²