Question

While discussing with another group regarding the amount of charge calculated to be on a piece of tape, you see they calculated a value of 4.5 x 10^-24 C. Why do you know that there must be a mistake in either their measurements or calculations?

a) We are not working with distances small enough to get a charge that small.
b) You cannot have less than the charge of a single electron on the piece of tape.
c) The charge on the tape must be positive.
d) Tape does not hold a charge.

Answer 1

The mistake in their calculation is that you cannot have less than the charge of a single electron on the piece of tape. Charge is quantized and any charge on the tape would have to be an integer multiple of the charge of a single electron.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mistake in their calculation is option b) You cannot have less than the charge of a single electron on the piece of tape.

According to the laws of physics, charge is quantized, meaning it comes in discrete amounts. The smallest possible charge is the charge of a single electron, which is approximately 1.602 × 10^-19 C. Any charge on the piece of tape would have to be an integer multiple of this value.

Therefore, a charge of 4.5 x 10^-24 C is not consistent with what is typical of static electricity. There must have been a mistake in their measurements or calculations.