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A student rubbed a glass rod with a silk cloth. The glass rod became positively charged and the silk cloth became negatively charged.

Explain why the glass rod became positively charged.

[3]

Figure 1 shows the positively charged glass rod resting on an insulating block on a laboratory balance.

Figure 1 shows a digital balance with a display reading of 120.45 g. Resting on the balance pan is a block of insulating material, on top of which lies a positively charged glass rod.

Figure 2 shows another charged rod being held stationary directly above the glass rod on the balance. The two rods do not touch each other.

Figure 2 shows the same digital balance from Figure 1, but now with a display reading of 120.32 g. A hand is shown holding a second, separate charged rod horizontally and stationary at a small distance directly above the glass rod on the balance, without making contact.

Explain why the reading on the balance decreases.

[3]

The balance had a zero error. The zero error is not important in this experiment. Give the reason why.

[1]

A positively charged metal dome of a Van de Graaff generator is held near an earthed conducting sphere. Explain why a spark jumps between the dome and the earthed sphere.

[3]

Static electricity (physics only) Questions

Practise AQA GCSE Physics Static electricity (physics only) with exam-style questions for Foundation and Higher tier. 18 questions covering Static charge and Electric fields, matched to the AQA GCSE Physics (8463) specification and written in Paper 1 and Paper 2 style. Every question includes a full worked solution and mark scheme, so you can see where marks are awarded rather than just whether you got the answer right.