IB PHYSICS HL
MULTIPLE CHOICE REVIEW
ELECTROSTATICS AND ELECTRIC FIELDS
1.
A positively charged sphere falls vertically in a vacuum between two long parallel plates carrying
opposite charges. Which one of the following diagrams best shows the path followed by the
sphere?
A.
B.
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
C.
D.
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
–
+
(1)
2.
The diagram shows the electric field lines produced by an electrostatic focusing device.
Which one of the following diagrams best shows the corresponding equipotential lines? The
electric field lines are shown as broken lines on each of the diagrams.
A.
B.
C.
D.
(1)
1
3.
The diagram below shows the path XY of an electron that passes through a thin foil placed in a
vacuum.
Y
Foil
X
There is a uniform magnetic field acting perpendicularly to the plane of the page. Which one of
the following statements best explains the path followed by the electron?
Direction of motion of the electron
Direction of the magnetic field
A.
Y to X
into the plane of the page
B.
Y to X
out of the plane of the page
C.
X to Y
into the plane of the page
D.
X to Y
out of the plane of the page
(1)
4.
The diagram below shows lines of electric equipotential. The change in potential on moving from
one line to the next is always the same. At which point does the electric field strength have its
greatest magnitude?
A
B
C
D
(1)
5.
The diagram below shows two lines of equipotential in a region of a uniform electric field. Line
X has a potential of +50 V and line Y has a potential of +100V. The distance between X and Y is
2.0 cm.
X
Y
+50 V
+100 V
2.0 cm
Which one of the following correctly gives the direction of the electric field and its strength?
Direction
Strength / V cm–1
A.
XY
25
B.
XY
100
C.
YX
25
D.
YX
100
(1)
2
6.
The diagram below shows electric field lines in a region of space.
P
X
Y
Which of the following diagrams best shows the variation with distance d of the potential V along
the line XY?
A.
B.
V
V
X
P
Y
d
C.
X
P
Y
d
X
P
Y
d
D.
V
V
X
P
Y
d
(1)
3
7.
An isolated conducting sphere of radius r is positively charged.
Which one of the following graphs best shows the variation with distance x from the centre of the
sphere of the electric potential V?
A.
B.
V
0
V
0
0
x
r
C.
0
r
x
0
r
x
D.
V
0
V
0
0
x
r
(1)
8.
The diagram below illustrates some equipotential lines between two charged parallel metal
plates.
+
+
+
+
80 V
60 V
0.1 m
40 V
20 V
–
–
–
–
The electric field strength between the plates is
A.
6 N C–1.
B.
8 N C–1.
C.
600 N C–1.
D.
800 N C–1.
(1)
4
9.
The diagram below shows some equipotential lines in an electric field.
+300 V +290 V +280 V
+270 V
X
+260 V
+250 V
Y
The magnitude of the electric field strength at X is EX and at Y is EY.
Which one of the following correctly compares EX and EY and gives the correct direction of the
electric field?
Magnitude of field strengths
Direction of field
A.
EX  EY
XY
B.
EX  EY
YX
C.
EX  EY
XY
D.
EX  EY
YX
(1)
10.
Which of the following statements is not true?
A.
Electric charge is quantized.
B.
Electric charge is conserved.
C.
The force between two point charges is proportional to the sum of the charges.
D.
The force between two point charges is proportional to the inverse square of the separation
of the charges.
(1)
5
11.
Which of the following correctly describes the nature of electric potential and electric field
strength?
Potential
Field strength
A.
Scalar
Scalar
B.
Scalar
Vector
C.
Vector
Scalar
D.
Vector
Vector
(1)
12.
Two point charges of magnitude +2Q and −Q are fixed at the positions shown below. At which
point is the electric field due to the two charges most likely to be zero?
+2Q
–Q
A.
C.
B.
D.
(1)
13.
Which one of the following statements about electric potential gradient is correct?
A.
Electric potential gradient is numerically equal to the gradient of the electric field.
B.
Electric potential gradient at a point is numerically equal to the electric field strength at
that point.
C.
When one joule of work is done in moving one coulomb of charge between two points, the
electric potential gradient between the points is one volt per metre.
D.
When one joule of work is done in moving one coulomb of charge to a point, the electric
potential gradient at that point is one volt per metre.
(1)
14.
A charged particle P is accelerated between two charged metal plates X and Y separated by a
distance d. The particle starts from rest at plate X.
P.
plate X
plate Y
d
The kinetic energy of P, when it reaches plate Y, is K. The magnitude of the charge on P is e.
The magnitude of the electric field strength between the plates is
A.
de
.
K
B.
d
.
Ke
C.
K
.
ed
D.
Ke
.
d
(1)
6
15.
X and Y are two points in an electric field. The potentials at X and Y are VX and VY respectively
where VX  VY. A small, positive test charge +q is placed at X.
Which of the following is the work done per unit charge by the electric field on the charge as the
charge moves from point X to point Y?
A.
 VX  VY 
B.
 VX  VY 
C.
 VX  VY 
q
D.
 VX  VY 
q
(1)
16.
The diagram below shows some lines of equipotential in the region of an electric field.
X
Y
Which graph best shows the magnitude E of the electric field strength along the line XY?
A.
B.
E
E
X
Y
position
X
Y
position
X
Y
position
D.
C.
E
E
X
Y
position
(1)
7
17.
An isolated charged metal sphere has radius r.
Which diagram best shows the variation with distance d from the centre of the sphere of the
potential V?
B.
A. V
0
0
C.
r
0
0
d
V
0
0
V
d
r
d
V
D.
0
r
r
d
0
(1)
18.
The diagram below shows the electric field lines in a region of space. A positively charged
particle moves from P to Q.
P
Q
Which of the following is correct?
Change in potential energy of particle
Change in potential between P and Q
A.
decreases
zero
B.
decreases
negative
C.
increases
zero
D.
increases
negative
(1)
8
MARK SCHEME!
1.
B
[1]
2.
C
[1]
3.
D
[1]
4.
C
[1]
5.
C
[1]
6.
B
[1]
7.
D
[1]
8.
C
[1]
9.
A
[1]
10.
C
[1]
11.
B
[1]
12.
D
[1]
13.
B
[1]
14.
C
[1]
15.
B
[1]
16.
B
[1]
17.
D
18.
B
[1]
[1]
9