Question

Which statement best predicts what will happen to the charge, and why?

A.
It will quickly spread to the air around the sphere, because it will seek to occupy as large a volume of neutral matter as possible.

B.
It will remain at the point of contact between the rod and the sphere, because resistance in the metal prevents the charges from easily moving.

C.
It will distribute itself evenly over the surface of the sphere, because like charges repel and the sphere is a conductor.

D.
It will slowly drift to the bottom of the sphere, because the charges rapidly attach to individual atoms, making them slightly heavier than surrounding atoms.

Answer 1

The statement that best predicts what will happen to the charge is:

C. It will distribute itself evenly over the surface of the sphere, because like charges repel and the sphere is a conductor.

In conductors, charges are free to move. When a charged object comes into contact with a conductor, the charge will spread out evenly on the surface of the conductor due to the repulsion between like charges, until it reaches electrostatic equilibrium. This is a fundamental property of conductors that allows the charges to move freely until they are uniformly distributed.