Question
A student combed his hair. Then he observed what happened to the water when he put the comb near the faucet as shown below. Why did the water path change? (Due to induction, the charged comb attracted the neutrally charged water; due to conduction, the charged comb attracted the neutrally charged water; due to induction the charged comb repelled the neutrally charged water; due to conduction the charged comb repelled the neutrally charged water)
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The correct explanation for why the water path changed when the charged comb was brought near it is "due to induction, the charged comb attracted the neutrally charged water."
Here's why: When the charged comb is brought near the stream of water, it induces a separation of charges in the water molecules. The side of the water molecules that is near the comb becomes charged oppositely (if the comb is positively charged, the nearest side of the water molecules becomes negatively charged), causing the water to bend towards the comb due to the attractive force between opposite charges. This phenomenon is due to electrostatic induction, not conduction or repulsion.
Here's why: When the charged comb is brought near the stream of water, it induces a separation of charges in the water molecules. The side of the water molecules that is near the comb becomes charged oppositely (if the comb is positively charged, the nearest side of the water molecules becomes negatively charged), causing the water to bend towards the comb due to the attractive force between opposite charges. This phenomenon is due to electrostatic induction, not conduction or repulsion.