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Two similar metal spheres, A and B, have charges of +2.0 x10 –6 coulomb and +1.0 x10 –6 coulomb, respectively, as shown in the diagram below. What is the charge on each sphere after the spheres make contact and are then separated?

User John Spax
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Final answer:

Upon contact, two identical conductive spheres will share their total charge equally. Sphere A and sphere B, initially carrying +2.0 x10−6 C and +1.0 x10−6 C respectively, will both have an equal charge of +1.5 x10−6 C after being separated.

Step-by-step explanation:

Physics of Charge Distribution

When two identically sized conductive spheres come into contact, they share their combined charge equally. Given that sphere A has a charge of +2.0 x10−6 C and sphere B has a charge of +1.0 x10−6 C, upon contact, the total charge is the sum of both charges. This gives us a total charge of +3.0 x10−6 C. As they are identical and can distribute the charge evenly, each sphere will end up with half of the total charge after they are separated.

The final charge on each sphere after separation will be +1.5 x10−6 C. To express this in terms of electron count, recall that the charge of one electron is approximately -1.6 x10−19 C. Dividing the final charge of a sphere by the charge of an electron gives the number of electrons equivalent to that charge. Since the spheres are positively charged, the equivalent is based on the deficit of electrons from the balanced state (where the positive proton charge and negative electron charge cancel each other out).

User Adaxa
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