83 practice questions on Electric Charges and Fields , sorted Easy → Hard. Try each one first, then open its answer page for the worked explanation. Want the full theory first? Read the Electric Charges and Fields notes .
Field Lines: Single Charge vs Electric Dipole + isolated +charge: lines radiate outward, all directions + − dipole: lines curve from + to − (denser between them) Field lines always point from positive to negative charge, are denser where the field is stronger, and never cross; an isolated positive charge has lines radiating symmetrically outward, while a dipole's lines curve from the positive to the negative charge.
Easy - 25 questions Q1.
Two point charges of +2 µC and +3 µC are separated by 0.3 m in vacuum. The magnitude of the electrostatic force between them is:
A 0.60 NB 0.30 NC 1.80 ND 6.00 NShow answer & explanation →
Q2.
An object gains 5 × 1012 electrons. Its net charge is:
A +8 × 10-7 CB -8 × 10-7 CC +5 × 10-7 CD -5 × 10-7 CShow answer & explanation →
Q3.
Two charges +2 µC and -3 µC are separated by 0.3 m. Their electrostatic potential energy is:
A +0.18 JB -0.09 JC -0.18 JD +0.36 JShow answer & explanation →
Q4.
A positive charge is moved along an equipotential surface. The work done by the electric field is:
A dependent on the charge onlyB positiveC negativeD zeroShow answer & explanation →
Q5.
For two equal positive charges placed symmetrically about a point, the electric field at the midpoint is zero because:
A their fields are equal and oppositely directedB their potentials cancel completelyC the charges produce no electric fieldD the midpoint is an equipotential point onlyShow answer & explanation →
Q9.
Coulomb's law: force between charges q1 and q2 at distance r:
A F = kq1 q2 /rB F = kq1 q2 /r2 C F = kq1 q2 *r2 D F = k(q1 +q2 )/r2 Show answer & explanation →
Q10.
Electric field lines originate from:
A Negative chargesB Positive chargesC Neutral objectsD Both positive and negativeShow answer & explanation →
Q12.
Inside a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium, electric field is:
A MaximumB UniformC ZeroD Equal to external fieldShow answer & explanation →
Q14.
Equipotential surfaces are always _____ to electric field lines:
A ParallelB PerpendicularC At 45 degreesD IdenticalShow answer & explanation →
Q16.
A hollow conductor placed in an external field: the interior has:
A Stronger fieldB Same field as outsideC Zero fieldD Negative fieldShow answer & explanation →
Q17.
Two like electric charges placed near each other:
A repel each otherB attract each otherC do nothing at allD merge togetherShow answer & explanation →
Q18.
Two unlike electric charges placed near each other:
A attract each otherB repel each otherC do nothing at allD cancel to nothingShow answer & explanation →
Q22.
Electric charge is quantised, meaning it can only be:
A an integer multiple of eB any real value at allC always a negative valueD a value without massShow answer & explanation →
Q23.
An object carrying equal positive and negative charge is electrically:
A neutralB positiveC negativeD highly chargedShow answer & explanation →
Q24.
The region around a charge in which it exerts a force is called the:
A electric fieldB magnetic fieldC gravitational fieldD null fieldShow answer & explanation →
Medium - 25 questions Q26.
A point charge of 8 µC lies inside a closed surface. The net electric flux through the surface is (take ε0 = 8.85 × 10-12 C2 N-1 m-2 ):
A 4.5 × 105 N m2 /CB 8.0 × 105 N m2 /CC 1.8 × 106 N m2 /CD 9.0 × 105 N m2 /CShow answer & explanation →
Q27.
Two positive charges q and 4q are separated by a distance d. The point between them where the net electric field is zero is at a distance from q equal to:
Show answer & explanation →
Q28.
Two charges +2 µC and -6 µC are separated by 0.4 m. The electric potential at the midpoint is:
A -2.7 × 105 VB -9.0 × 104 VC -1.8 × 105 VD +1.8 × 105 VShow answer & explanation →
Q29.
An infinitely long straight wire has a uniform linear charge density of 4 × 10-9 C/m. The electric field at a distance of 0.2 m from the wire is approximately:
A 180 N/CB 90 N/CC 720 N/CD 360 N/CShow answer & explanation →
Q30.
A short electric dipole has dipole moment 4 × 10-8 C m. At a point 0.2 m away on its axial line, the far-field electric potential is approximately:
A 9.0 × 103 VB 1.8 × 104 VC 4.5 × 103 VD 3.6 × 104 VShow answer & explanation →
Q31.
Two charges of +4 C and -1 C are 3 m apart. Force between them (k = 9 x 109 ):
A 4 x 109 N attractiveB 4 x 109 N repulsiveC 1.33 x 1010 N attractiveD 1.33 x 1010 N repulsiveShow answer & explanation →
Q32.
Electric field between two parallel plates (surface charge density sigma, area A):
A sigma x A / epsilon0 B sigma / epsilon0 C sigma / (2 epsilon0 )D 2 sigma / epsilon0 Show answer & explanation →
Q33.
A charge +Q is inside a closed surface. Total outward flux:
A Q/epsilon0 B -Q/epsilon0 C ZeroD Depends on shape of surfaceShow answer & explanation →
Q34.
Electric field at surface of a charged conductor with surface charge density sigma:
A sigma / epsilon0 B 2 sigma / epsilon0 C sigma / (2 epsilon0 )D sigma x epsilon0 Show answer & explanation →
Q36.
Coulomb’s law says the force between two charges is inversely proportional to the ___ of the distance between them:
A squareB cubeC first powerD fourth powerShow answer & explanation →
Q39.
The direction of the electric field is the direction of the force on a ___ test charge:
A positiveB negativeC neutralD very largeShow answer & explanation →
Q41.
The relation between the flux through a closed surface and the charge it encloses is given by ___ law:
A Gauss'sB Ohm'sC Newton'sD Boyle'sShow answer & explanation →
Q42.
An electric dipole consists of two equal and opposite charges separated by a small:
A distanceB a massC a timeD an areaShow answer & explanation →
Q43.
The electric dipole moment points from the ___ charge to the ___ charge:
A negative to the positiveB positive to the negativeC north to the southD east to the westShow answer & explanation →
Q46.
If the distance between two charges is doubled, the force becomes ___ of the original:
A one quarterB one halfC doubleD four timesShow answer & explanation →
Q47.
Electric flux is a measure of the number of field lines passing through a:
A surfaceB single pointC straight lineD point chargeShow answer & explanation →
Q49.
The electric field inside a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium is:
A zeroB uniform but non-zeroC a maximumD infiniteShow answer & explanation →
Q50.
A pair of +2 μC and −2 μC charges a small distance apart forms an electric:
A dipoleB monopoleC quadrupoleD conductorShow answer & explanation →
Hard - 33 questions Q51.
Two point charges +2 µC and -8 µC are 3 m apart. The point between them where the net electric field is zero is 1 m from the +2 µC charge. The electric potential at this point is:
A +1.8 × 104 VB -9.0 × 103 VC -1.8 × 104 VD -3.6 × 104 VShow answer & explanation →
Q52.
Three charges, +q, +q and -q, are placed at the vertices of an equilateral triangle of side 0.2 m. If q = 2 µC, the total electrostatic potential energy of the system is:
A +0.09 JB +0.18 JC -0.36 JD -0.18 JShow answer & explanation →
Q53.
A charge q is placed at one vertex of a cube. The electric flux through each of the three faces that do not contain that vertex is:
A q/(24ε0 )B q/(8ε0 )C q/(12ε0 )D q/(6ε0 )Show answer & explanation →
Q54.
A dipole of moment 3 × 10-8 C m is rotated in a uniform electric field of 2 × 105 N/C from 60° to 120°. The increase in its potential energy is:
A 3 × 10-3 JB 6 × 10-3 JC 9 × 10-3 JD 1.2 × 10-2 JShow answer & explanation →
Q55.
A uniformly charged thin spherical shell has charge Q and radius R. A point P is located at a distance 2R from its centre. Compared with the potential at the surface, the potential at P is:
A twice the surface potentialB one-fourth the surface potentialC half the surface potentialD equal to the surface potentialShow answer & explanation →
Q56.
A uniformly charged thin shell of radius R and charge Q. Electric field at r < R:
A kQ/r2 B kQ/R2 C ZeroD kQr/R3 Show answer & explanation →
Q57.
Work done to bring charge q from infinity to surface of charged sphere of radius R and charge Q:
A kqQ/RB kqQ/R2 C kqQ x RD -kqQ/RShow answer & explanation →
Q58.
Five equal charges Q are placed at 5 corners of a regular hexagon. Electric field at center due to 5 charges:
A ZeroB kQ/a2 C 5kQ/a2 D kQ/(5a2 )Show answer & explanation →
Q59.
Charge Q is distributed uniformly on a sphere of radius R. At distance r > R, electric field:
A kQ/r2 (same as point charge)B kQr/R3 , the formula valid mainly for points inside the sphereC Zero, as if the field vanished largely outside the shellD kQ/R2 , using the sphere's own radius instead of the distance rShow answer & explanation →
Q60.
Electric field inside a uniformly charged solid sphere at distance r from center (R = radius, Q = total charge):
A kQ/r2 (same as outside)B kQr/R3 C ZeroD kQ/R2 x rShow answer & explanation →
Q62.
By Gauss’s law, the total electric flux through a closed surface enclosing a charge Q is:
A Q/ε₀B Qε₀C just QD ε₀/QShow answer & explanation →
Q64.
The electric field due to an infinite charged plane sheet is:
A independent of distanceB directly proportional to rC proportional to 1/r² onlyD always exactly zeroShow answer & explanation →
Q65.
The torque on an electric dipole of moment p placed in a uniform field E is:
A pE sinθB pE cosθC simply pED p divided by EShow answer & explanation →
Q66.
The potential energy of a dipole in a field is minimum when the dipole is aligned ___ the field:
A parallel toB antiparallel toC perpendicular toD at 45° toShow answer & explanation →
Q68.
Two identical charges q are 2r apart. The electric field exactly at the midpoint is:
A zeroB a maximumC kq/r²D 2kq/r²Show answer & explanation →
Q69.
The number of electrons that make up a charge of 1 coulomb is about:
A 6.25 × 10¹⁸B 6.02 × 10²³C 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹D 9 × 10⁹Show answer & explanation →
Q70.
A charge Q sits at the centre of a cube. The electric flux through one face is:
A Q/6ε₀B Q/ε₀C 6Q/ε₀D exactly zeroShow answer & explanation →
Q72.
Coulomb’s law has the same inverse-square form as ___ law of gravitation:
A Newton'sB Ohm'sC Boyle'sD Hooke'sShow answer & explanation →
Q73.
When a dielectric medium is placed between two charges, the force between them:
A decreasesB increasesC stays the sameD falls to zeroShow answer & explanation →
Q75.
The net electric flux through a closed surface that encloses no net charge is:
A zeroB a maximumC infiniteD negativeShow answer & explanation →
Q76.
Two charges attract with force F in vacuum. When the same charges are placed in a medium of dielectric constant 2 at the same separation, the force becomes:
A halfB doubleC quarterD unchangedShow answer & explanation →
Q77.
For a short dipole, the ratio of the electric field on its axis to the field on its equator at the same distance is:
Show answer & explanation →
Q79.
The electric field inside a uniformly charged solid conducting sphere (in electrostatic equilibrium) is:
A zeroB kQ/R²C kQ/r²D a nonzero constantShow answer & explanation →
Q80.
Two equal positive charges +q are separated by a distance d. The electric field at the midpoint of the line joining them is:
A zeroB kq/d²C 2kq/(d/2)²D 4kq/d²Show answer & explanation →
Q81.
An electric dipole in a uniform electric field experiences maximum torque when the angle between the dipole moment and the field is:
Show answer & explanation →
Q82.
An electron is placed in a uniform electric field of 1000 N/C. Its acceleration (e = 1.6×10⁻¹⁹ C, m = 9.1×10⁻³¹ kg) is about:
A 1.76×10¹¹ m/s²B 1.76×10¹⁴ m/s²C 1.6×10¹⁶ m/s²D 9.1×10¹³ m/s²Show answer & explanation →
Q83.
A uniform electric field of 2×10³ N/C passes perpendicularly through a flat surface of area 0.5 m². The electric flux is:
A 250 N·m²/CB 500 N·m²/CC 1000 N·m²/CD 2000 N·m²/CShow answer & explanation →