Laboratory Report

Applied Physics
PHY-111
Practical 1: Calculating Charge on a Sheet of
Paper
Submitted to:
Shamaila Fatima

Submitted by:
Name: M. Bilal Ali
Registration number:
232948
Class & Section:
BS(IT)-2-A
Date of Experiment Performed:12-02-2024
Date of Experiment: Date of Submission:
12/2/24 20/2/24
. Estimate the charge on a small piece of paper using
comb with the help of electrostatic induction.
. Apparatus:
1. Ruler /comb
2. Piece of paper
3. Electronic balance
. Procedure:
1. We have to take a piece of paper and measure its mass
with an electronic balance.
2. After measuring mass, we will divide sheet of paper into
small equal sizes.
3. Now we will divide total mass to total number of pieces
we will get mass of one piece of paper.
4. Now we have to select one small piece and keep it
separate.
5. Now Take a comb or plastic ruler and rub it with your
hairs for few seconds when the comb and plastic ruler
gets charged bring it near small piece of paper.
6. Now Take a scale and measure its distance when piece
of paper suspended in the air.
7. After measuring distance, we will use coulombs law and
compare it with 2nd Law of Motion and we will put all
the values in formula then we will get charge on a small
paper.
8. We have to Repeat this experiment three times.

. Theoretical explanation:
 1. Before rubbing comb and hair, molecules are neutral, as having equal no
of positive proton and negative electrons, but after rubbing comb with
hair the plastic comb become negatively charged with excess electrons
and hair become positively charged with less no of electrons. After
charging the comb the comb is brought closer to pieces of paper which
causes charge movement/polarization within the paper.
2. The paper experiences a force in the direction of the comb because of the
greater attractive force acting on the protons of paper and lesser repulsive force
acting on the electrons of the paper, the transfer of electric charge between
objects through friction is known as triboelectric effect.
3. The net effect is an attractive force between comb and paper, and this
phenomenon is called electrostatic effect,

. Observations and Calculations:

We know that;
F=mg-------------(eq i)
F=kq1q2/r2 ------------(eq ii)

By comparing eq(i) and eq(ii) we get;

mg=kq1q2/r2
mg=kq2/r2 ⸫ q1q2=q2
r2mg=kq2
q=(r2mg/k)1/2
No. Mass(m) Gravitational Proportionality Distance Charge on a
Acceleration(g) Constant(k) (r) body
q=(r2mg/k)1/2

Unit kg ms-2 Nm2c-2 m c

1 3.12*10-5 9.8 9*109 0.8*10-2 1.69*10-9
2 3.12*10-5 9.8 9*109 1.1*10-2 4.67*10-9
3 3.12*10-5 9.8 9*109 2.9*10-2 6.42*10-9
Average charge(q)=(q1+q2+q3)/3
 Average charge(q)= (1.69*10-9+4.67*10-9+6.42*10-9)/3
Average charge(q)= 1.69*10-9
. Result:
The estimated charge on a small piece of paper is 1.69*10-9

. Graph:
7 Distance-Charge Graph
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

In the graph we have Charge(q) on Y-axis and Distance(r) on X-axis

. Result:
The estimated charge on a small piece of paper is 1.69*10-9
. Precautions:
1. Check the Zero reading of weight machine before putting paper.
2. If you rubbed scale to your hairs way to gently, paper chunks won’t
be attracted.
3. Observe the distance “r” very carefully.
4. Clean the desk after completion.
. Conclusion:
In this experiment, I learned the concept of charging by induction
and explained how a negatively charged body can induce a charge of
opposite polarity on a piece of paper. This experiment also
demonstrates the conversions of charge. By this experiment we saw
that the charge (q) is directly proportional to the distance between the
charge bodies, that explains that with the increase in distance the
charge is increased.