Here's a bank of 60 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) on electrostatics, structured to include easy, moderate, and tough questions, suitable for the BISE (Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education) level in Gujranwala.
Easy Questions (30%)
1. What is the basic unit of electric charge?
- A) Joule
- B) Coulomb
- C) Volt
- D) Ampere
2. Which of the following materials is a good conductor of electricity?
- A) Wood
- B) Glass
- C) Copper
- D) Rubber
3. What is electrostatic induction?
- A) Charging by friction
- B) Charging by contact
- C) Charging without direct contact
- D) Discharging an object
4. An electroscope is used to detect:
- A) Electric current
- B) Voltage
- C) Electric charge
- D) Magnetic fields
5. What type of charge does a glass rod acquire when it is rubbed with silk?
- A) Negative charge
- B) Positive charge
- C) No charge
- D) Neutral charge
6. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of electric field lines?
- A) They never cross each other.
- B) They indicate the direction of the electric field.
- C) They can end in empty space.
- D) They are always straight.
7. Capacitors are used to:
- A) Store electric charge
- B) Generate electricity
- C) Measure current
- D) Increase resistance
8. In a vacuum, the electric field strength decreases as the:
- A) Distance increases
- B) Charge increases
- C) Voltage increases
- D) Material changes
9. Which device can clean the air using electrostatic forces?
- A) Air conditioner
- B) Electrostatic air cleaner
- C) Fan
- D) Heater
10. What happens to the charge on a neutral object when a charged object is brought close to it?
- A) The neutral object gains charge.
- B) The neutral object loses charge.
- C) The neutral object remains unchanged.
- D) The neutral object becomes more neutral.
Moderate Questions (40%)
11. Coulomb's law describes the relationship between:
- A) Charge and current
- B) Charge and electric field strength
- C) Electric force and distance between charges
- D) Voltage and capacitance
12. A capacitor with a capacitance of 2 microfarads stores a charge of:
- A) 2 coulombs
- B) 2 millicoulombs
- C) 2 microcoulombs
- D) 2 nanocoulombs
13. Which of the following is a characteristic of a good insulator?
- A) Allows electric current to flow easily
- B) Has high resistance to electric current
- C) Conducts heat well
- D) Is always metallic
14. The electric field inside a charged conductor is:
- A) Zero
- B) Positive
- C) Negative
- D) Varies with distance
15. The potential difference across a capacitor is directly proportional to:
- A) Charge stored
- B) Distance
- C) Material used
- D) Current
16. What is the primary function of an electroscope?
- A) Measure voltage
- B) Measure current
- C) Detect electric charge
- D) Store electric charge
17. What type of capacitor is commonly used in electronic circuits?
- A) Electrolytic capacitor
- B) Ceramic capacitor
- C) Tantalum capacitor
- D) All of the above
18. Electrostatic powder painting relies on the principle of:
- A) Magnetic attraction
- B) Electrostatic attraction
- C) Thermal expansion
- D) Chemical bonding
19. Which of the following hazards is associated with static electricity?
- A) Overheating
- B) Fire
- C) Explosion
- D) All of the above
20. The work done in moving a charge within an electric field is known as:
- A) Electric potential
- B) Electric current
- C) Electric resistance
- D) Electric energy
21. When two charged objects are brought closer, the force between them:
- A) Decreases
- B) Increases
- C) Remains constant
- D) Becomes zero
22. An object that has a charge of +3C experiences a force of 6N in an electric field. What is the strength of the electric field?
- A) 2 N/C
- B) 3 N/C
- C) 4 N/C
- D) 6 N/C
23. What happens when a charged object is placed in an electric field?
- A) It becomes neutral.
- B) It experiences a force.
- C) It loses its charge.
- D) It remains stationary.
24. Which of the following materials is commonly used as a dielectric in capacitors?
- A) Air
- B) Water
- C) Paper
- D) All of the above
25. In electrostatic applications, the term "grounding" refers to:
- A) Connecting a circuit to the earth
- B) Charging an object positively
- C) Discharging an object
- D) Insulating an object
26. The electrostatic potential energy of a system of charges depends on:
- A) The distance between the charges
- B) The type of charges
- C) The magnitude of the charges
- D) All of the above
27. Which of the following is used to demonstrate the concept of electric field lines?
- A) A compass
- B) A voltmeter
- C) An ammeter
- D) A rheostat
28. A capacitor stores energy in the form of:
- A) Electric charge
- B) Electric potential energy
- C) Magnetic fields
- D) Thermal energy
29. Which phenomenon describes the separation of charges in an insulator when exposed to an external electric field?
- A) Polarization
- B) Induction
- C) Conduction
- D) Insulation
30. In a parallel plate capacitor, if the distance between the plates is doubled, the capacitance:
- A) Doubles
- B) Halves
- C) Quadruples
- D) Remains the same
Tough Questions (30%)
31. The electric field due to a point charge decreases with the square of the distance. This statement is based on:
- A) Coulomb's law
- B) Gauss's law
- C) Ohm's law
- D) Ampère's law
32. The energy stored in a capacitor can be expressed by which of the following formulas?
- A) U = 1/2 CV^2
- B) U = CV^2
- C) U = Q^2/2C
- D) U = CV
33. What is the significance of the dielectric constant in capacitors?
- A) It determines the resistance of the capacitor.
- B) It indicates the amount of charge a capacitor can store.
- C) It affects the capacitance of the capacitor.
- D) It measures the voltage rating of the capacitor.
34. Which law describes the relationship between electric field intensity (E) and electric potential (V)?
- A) E = -dV/dx
- B) E = V/d
- C) E = CV
- D) E = I/R
35. An object is said to be charged negatively when it has:
- A) More protons than electrons
- B) More neutrons than protons
- C) More electrons than protons
- D) Equal numbers of protons and electrons
36. A capacitor with a capacitance of 5 μF is connected to a 10V battery. The charge stored is:
- A) 5 μC
- B) 50 μC
- C) 100 μC
- D) 200 μC
37. What is the effect of increasing the temperature on the resistance of a conductor?
- A) Resistance increases
- B) Resistance decreases
- C) Resistance remains the same
- D) Resistance becomes zero
38. The principle behind an electrostatic air cleaner relies on which of the following processes?
- A) Filtration
- B) Electrostatic precipitation
- C) Adsorption
- D) Condensation
39. In which of the following scenarios is electrostatic potential energy maximized?
- A) Charges are far apart
- B) Charges are very close to each other
- C) Charges have opposite signs
- D) Charges are neutral
40. The force between two charges in electrostatics is always:
- A) Attractive
- B) Repulsive
- C) Depends on the distance
- D) Depends on the medium
41. The method of charging an object by bringing it close to another charged object without contact is called:
- A) Conduction
- B) Induction
- C) Friction
- D) Grounding
42. When an electroscope is positively charged, the leaves:
- A) Diverge
- B) Converge
- C) Remain neutral
- D) Become negatively charged
43. The force of attraction between two charges of 3C and 2C separated by a distance of 1 meter is:
- A) 6 N
- B) 12 N
- C) 18 N
- D) 36 N
44. Which of the following applications uses electrostatics to enhance adhesion in painting processes?
- A) Electrostatic air cleaner
- B) Electrostatic powder painting
- C) Capacitors
- D) Electroscopes
45. Which capacitor type is typically used in power factor correction circuits?
- A) Tantalum capacitor
- B) Ceramic capacitor
- C) Film capacitor
- D) Electrolytic capacitor
46. The region surrounding a charged object where other charges experience a force is called:
- A) Electric field
- B) Magnetic field
- C) Electric potential
- D) Charge field
47. Which of the following is a key characteristic of electrostatic precipitators?
- A) They require no external power.
- B) They have high efficiency in removing particulates.
- C) They only work in high temperatures.
- D) They are only effective for gases.
48. A charge of -2C and a charge of +3C are placed 1 meter apart. What is the net force acting on the charges?
- A) Attractive force of 6N
- B) Repulsive force of 6N
- C) No net force
- D) Attractive force of 5N
49. In electrostatics, which of the following quantities is scalar?
- A) Electric field intensity
- B) Electric potential
- C) Force
- D) Charge
50. The process by which a charged object discharges its excess charge to the ground is called:
- A) Charging
- B) Induction
- C) Grounding
- D) Polarization
51. In a uniformly charged sphere, the electric field inside the sphere is:
- A) Zero
- B) Constant
- C) Decreasing
- D) Increasing
52. The concept of electric field lines helps visualize:
- A) The direction of current
- B) The strength of a magnetic field
- C) The direction and strength of an electric field
- D) The flow of heat
53. If the potential difference across a capacitor is halved, what happens to the stored energy?
- A) It doubles
- B) It halves
- C) It quadruples
- D) It remains unchanged
54. In electrostatics, which statement is true regarding insulators?
- A) They allow free movement of charges.
- B) They restrict the flow of charges.
- C) They have high conductivity.
- D) They cannot be charged.
55. The safety device that uses electrostatic principles to prevent the buildup of charge is known as:
- A) Circuit breaker
- B) Fuse
- C) Grounding rod
- D) Capacitor
56. The energy density of an electric field is given by which formula?
- A) (1/2)εE^2
- B) (1/2)CV^2
- C) (1/2)Q^2/C
- D) εV/d
57. In an electrostatic field, the potential at infinity is defined as:
- A) Zero
- B) Positive
- C) Negative
- D) Indeterminate
58. Which of the following applications is NOT commonly associated with electrostatics?
- A) Laser cutting
- B) Paint spraying
- C) Inkjet printing
- D) Battery charging
59. When an insulator is polarized in an electric field, it:
- A) Loses all charge
- B) Gains a net charge
- C) Creates a temporary dipole
- D) Becomes a conductor
60. What type of electrostatic force exists between two like charges?
- A) Attractive force
- B) Repulsive force
- C) Neutral force
- D) None of the above
Answers
1. B
2. C
3. C
4. C
5. B
6. D
7. A
8. A
9. B
10. A
11. C
12. B
13. B
14. A
15. A
16. C
17. D
18. B
19. D
20. A
21. B
22. A
23. B
24. D
25. A
26. D
27. A
28. B
29. A
30. B
31. A
32. A
33. C
34. A
35. C
36. B
37. A
38. B
39. B
40. B
41. B
42. A
43. B
44. B
45. C
46. A
47. B
48. A
49. B
50. C
51. A
52. C
53. B
54. B
55. C
56. A
57. A
58. D
59. C
60. B