Chapter 20, Problem 30A

To determine

To explain:Whether hundreds of thousands of coulombs charges of all electrons in a nickel imply anything about the net charge on the coin or not.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

Electric charge is the fundamental physical property of any material that makes it to exhibit electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion with the other material. There are two types of charges: positive and negative charge in nature. Positive charges are carried by protons and negative charges are carried by electrons. If the material contains equal number of protons and electrons, then the net charge of that material is zero, and the material is called neutral.

The hundreds of thousands of coulombs charges of all electrons in a nickel imply nothing about the net charge on the coin. Because net charge on the coin depends on the difference between the number of protons and electrons in it. The coin can still have a net charge of zero.

Conclusion:

Therefore, nothing can be implied about the net charge on the coin by the given information.