Charged Spheres

A. A solid conducting sphere of radius R = 2 m is given a charge Q = 3e-6 C.

Answer the following questions:

• Where is the charge and the charge density?
• What does the electric field look like outside the sphere?
• What type of Gaussian surface would we use to find the E-field?
  
  
• Find the electric field at
  • R = 1 m
  • R = 3 m
  • R = 5 m
  • R = 9 m

Sketch a graph of E-field vs. r, the distance from the center of the sphere.

 

B. Now we place the solid conducting sphere (blue) from above inside a neutral spherical conducting shell (red) as shown below.

Answer the following questions:

1. Where is the charge?
(Use a charge model to illustrate your answer)
2. How much charge is on the conducting shell

3. Find the electric field at

• R = 1 m
• R = 3 m
• R = 5 m
• R = 9 m

Sketch a graph of E-field vs. r, the distance from the center of the sphere.

 

C. Consider a uniformly charged insulating sphere of radius 2 m
and a charge of 3e-6 C

Use Gauss' Law to find the electric field at

• R = 1 m
• R = 3 m
• R = 5 m
• R = 9 m

Sketch a graph of E-field vs. r, the distance from the center of the sphere.