Charges and Sticky Tape

Procedures:
1. Tear about 10 cm of clear tape from dispenser. Stick the tape to a binder or other smooth surface and carefully peel it up. Have a partner do the same. Bring your tape close to your partner's tape. Q1: Describe and sketch the interaction. Does the strength of the interaction change with the distance between tapes? 2. To your binder or a smooth plastic surface attach a 12 cm piece of tape and label it "bottom." Place a 10 cm piece of tape labeled "top" onto the first. Peel up both together. 3. While still together, stroke the two pieces of tape with your thumb and index finger to discharge them. Finally, carefully peel the two apart. Determine how the top and bottom pieces interact. Now test your pieces of tape with that of other groups. Q2: Describe and sketch the interaction between your bottom and top piece. Does it depend on distance between the tapes, and if so how? Q3: Describe and draw the interaction between your bottom and top tapes and those tapes prepared by other groups. Do they behave consistently? How many others did you try? Q4: From your observations, what evidence supports the claim that two distinct types of charges exist? Q5: Account for these phenomena using the 'electron fluid' model of charge behavior by sketching diagrams of the pieces of tape with charges in your report. Describe in words what tape has what charge and where it came from. Q6: Describe the interaction between your bottom and top tapes in terms of conservation of charge.

Q7: Invent and describe a test for a third type of charge. Try it. Describe and interpret your results.

Charges and Sticky Tape

(Answers)
Q1: Describe and sketch the interaction. Does the strength of the interaction change with the distance between tapes?

The ends of the tape repel each other. The closer the two pieces, the stronger the force of repulsion.

Q2: Describe and sketch the interaction between your bottom and top piece. Does it depend on distance between the tapes, and if so how?

The ends of the tape attract each other. The closer the two pieces, the stronger the force of attraction.

Q3: Describe and draw the interaction between your bottom and top tapes and those tapes prepared by other groups. Do they behave consistently? How many others did you try? All tops repel other tops. All bottoms repel other bottoms. All tops attract all bottoms.

top and bottom

top and top

bottom and bottom

Q4: From your observations, what evidence supports the claim that two distinct types of charges exist? The interactions described in Q3 can be classified into two types of behavior; "top" behavior and "bottom" behavior. This supports the claim that there are two types of charges giving rise to the two different behaviors. Q5: Account for these phenomena using the 'electron fluid' model of charge behavior by sketching diagrams of the pieces of tape with charges in your report. Describe in words what tape has what charge and where it came from. Under the "electron fluid" model electrons flow from one piece of tape to the other while they are being pulled apart. The tape with more "electron fluid" at the end is negatively charged. The piece that lost the "fluid" is positively charged.

Q6: Describe the interaction between your bottom and top tapes in terms of conservation of charge. As the tape is pulled apart the original number of movable charged particles (presumably electrons) are unevenly distributed between the pieces of tape. No net charge is created in the process. If the pieces were originally neutral, the tape with more electrons will be negatively charged and the tape with fewer will be positively charged. The magnitude of the positive and negative charge will be the same. Therefore the sum of the final charges will equal the initial charge (in this case neutral). Q7: Invent and describe a test for a third type of charge. Try it. Describe and interpret your results.

Charging by Friction & Contact

Purpose:
* to observe, describe and explain:

charging by friction and contact evidence for two kinds of electrical charge

Equipments:
plastic strips 2 pith balls with thread ring stand clamp cloth scraps ring stand tape

Procedures:
Part 1 - A Single Pith Ball 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Hang a single pith ball from a ring stand clamp using a small piece of tape. Charge a plastic strip by rubbing with a cloth scrap. Bring the charged strip close to but not touching the pith ball. Describe what happens. Allow the pith ball to touch the charged strip. What happens now? Why does the pith ball do that? After you touch the pith ball with your hand, how does it behave? Why? Devise a test to tell whether your plastic strip has a positive or a negative charge and write a short description. (You may borrow a plastic rod and fur pad or glass rod and silk cloth from your teacher for this test.) Carry out your test. Is the plastic strip positively or negatively charged? 7. See if you can find a combination of plastic strip and cloth that will produce the opposite charge from your original strip. (You may use your own object, such as a comb, etc. if you wish.) How do you know that it is oppositely charged? Part 2 - Two Pith Balls 1. Hang a second pith ball next to your original so that they are touching when they are at rest. 2. Charge both pith balls with your plastic strip. What happens? Why? 3. If you bring the charged strip close to the two charged pith balls without touching them, what happens? Why? 4. If you bring an oppositely-charged strip near the charged pith balls without touching them, what happens? Why?

Charging by Friction & Contact

(Answers)
Part 1 - A Single Pith Ball
3. When the charged strip is brought near but not touching the pith ball, the pith ball was attracted to the strip. 4. (a) After the pith ball was allowed to touch the strip, the pith ball was repelled by the strip. (b) This happens because when the charged strip touches the pith ball, some of its electric charge is transferred to the pith ball. Then, both the strip and the pith ball have the same charge, and like charges repel. 5. (a) After I touched to charged pith ball with my hand, it behaved just like it did in step 3 - that is, like a neutral pith ball. (b) Touching the pith ball "grounds" it - that is, it provides a path for electrons to move freely between the Earth and the pith ball. If the charged pith ball had extra electrons, they can escape to the Earth. If the charged pith ball needed electrons, it can get them from the Earth. 6. A method: (1) Secure an object of known charge. (A rubber rod rubbed with fur will have a negative charge, and a glass rod rubbed with silk will have a positive charge.) (2) Charge the pith ball with your charged rod. (3) Bring the known charge near the pith ball. If it is repelled, it has the same charge as your known charge, and if it is attracted, it has the opposite charge. The charged rod will have the same charge as the pith ball. 7. You can tell if another combination of strip and cloth has an opposite charge by charging the pith ball with one of the strips. If the pith ball is attracted to the other charged strip, the charged strips have opposite charges.

Part 2 - Two Pith Balls

2. When the two pith balls are charged, they repel each other, since like charges repel. 3. If you bring the charged strips close to the charged pith balls, the pith balls are repelled by both the strip and each other. Like charges repel. 4. If you bring an oppositely-charged strip close to the two charged pith balls, the pith balls are attracted to the strip. Unlike charges attract.

Straws and Pens

Materials:
straw plastic pen tape various type of cloth

Purpose:
To explore static electricity and how items can be charged, discharged, and recharged.

Procedures:
1. You'll need a straw that still has the paper covering on it. Carefully tear one end of the paper and slide about one inch of the straw out of the paper. Partially push and pull the straw in and out of the paper five times. Remove the paper and lay it on the table while holding one end of the straw with your fingertips. 2. Like a wand, lower the straw and hold it next to the paper, then raise the straw again. What happens? 3. Now take the straw and "wipe" it through your bare palm a couple of times. Once again hold the straw to the paper. What happened? Q1: When you first pull the straw out of the paper there is a static electric charge present. Where do you think this charge originated from? Q2: The Coulomb force (attractive or repulsive force between charged objects) between the paper and the straw allows you to initially attract the paper and "lift" it off of the table. What must be true of the relative sizes of Coulomb force and force due to Gravity for the paper to be lifted by static electricity? Q3: Why won't the straw pick up the paper after you wipe the straw through your bare hand a few times? 4. Take the straw and rub it with some cloth, like your shirt or coat. Locate the point on the straw that you think is about half its length. Use a long narrow piece of tape to hang the straw from the edge of your desk. Make sure the straw can move freely. 5. Hold one end of a plastic pen near one end of the straw. Does anything happen? Now take the pen and rub it over a piece of fabric, ten or twenty times. Again hold the end of the pen near the end of the straw. What happens? Q4: What does rubbing the plastic pen or the straw over fabric do to the pen and straw? Q5: Why does the straw "spin" when you hold the end of the pen near it? What would happen if you rubbed the pen over a different material, like rubber or leather and then brought the pen near the straw? See the table of triboelectronegativities. Q6: Draw a free-body diagram of the paper while it is being lifted by the straw. Label the Coulomb force and force due to gravity and indicate their relative sizes.

Straws and Pens

(Answers)
Q1: When you first pull the straw out of the paper there is a static electric charge present. Where do you think this charge originated from? One conclusion is that friction between the paper and straw caused a separation of charge leaving one item positively charged and the other negatively charged. Q2: The Coulomb force (attractive or repulsive force between charged objects) between the paper and the straw allows you to initially attract the paper and "lift" it off of the table. What must be true of the relative sizes of Coulomb force and force due to Gravity for the paper to be lifted by static electricity? The Coulomb force must be greater than the force due to gravity in order to lift the paper. Q3: Why won't the straw pick up the paper after you wipe the straw through your bare hand a few times? The straw has an electric charge because of an excess or lack of electrons. As you wipe the straw with your hand electrons are transferred between the your hand and the straw, leaving the straw electrically neutral. Q4: What does rubbing the plastic pen or the straw over fabric do to the pen and straw? The friction created by rubbing the pen against another surface causes electrons to be transferred, leaving the pen or straw electrically charged. Q5: Why does the straw "spin" when you hold the end of the pen near it? What would happen if you rubbed the pen over a different material, like rubber or leather and then brought the pen near the straw? See the table of triboelectronegativities. Depending on the kind of charge gained by the pen, the end of the straw will either be attracted or repelled by the end of the pen causing the straw to spin. Depending on the relative triboelectronegativities of the two materials the pen will either gain or lose electrons. The straw was most likely negatively charged. Rubbing the pen on fabric most likely left it with a negative charge. Under these conditions the straw and pen would repel each other. Rubbing the pen on rubber would most likely leave it with a positive charge. Under this condition the straw and pen would attract each other. Q6: Draw a free-body diagram of the paper while it is being lifted by the straw. Label the Coulomb force and force due to gravity and indicate their relative sizes

Fc = Fg for lift at a constant velocity Fc > Fg for acceleration