Question

A student is investigating the distribution of charges in insulators. The student will place an aluminum metal can on top of a foam cup and touch the side of the foam cup with a negatively charged rod. The set up for the investigation is shown in the diagram.

What will most likely happen to the electrons when the rod touches the foam cup?

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1 point
Captionless Image
The electrons will pass to the foam cup but will remain in a localized, positively charged area on the cup where the rod was placed.
The electrons will pass to the foam cup but will remain in a localized, negatively charged area on the cup where the rod was placed.
The electrons will pass from the foam cup to the aluminum can, and both the foam cup and the aluminum can will become positively charged.
The electrons will pass from the foam cup to the aluminum can, and both the foam cup and the aluminum can will become negatively charged.

Answer 1

The electrons will pass to the foam cup but will remain in a localized, negatively charged area on the cup where the rod was placed.

Reason: Foam is an insulator, so electrons transferred from the negatively charged rod stay near the contact point and cannot move freely to the aluminum can.