If the charge density of a spherical charge distribution increases linearly with
Practice Questions
Q1
If the charge density of a spherical charge distribution increases linearly with radius, how does the electric field vary inside the sphere?
Linearly with radius
Quadratically with radius
Inversely with radius
Constant
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the charge density of a spherical charge distribution increases linearly with radius, how does the electric field vary inside the sphere?
Step 1: Understand that charge density is how much charge is in a certain volume. In this case, it increases as you move away from the center of the sphere.
Step 2: Recognize that the electric field inside a sphere is affected by the charge distribution within it.
Step 3: Since the charge density increases linearly with radius, it means that as you go from the center to the surface, there is more charge in the outer layers.
Step 4: Use Gauss's Law, which relates the electric field to the charge enclosed within a certain radius.
Step 5: Calculate the total charge enclosed within a radius 'r' inside the sphere, which will involve integrating the charge density over the volume.
Step 6: Determine how the electric field depends on the total charge enclosed. Since the charge density increases with radius, the total charge will increase more than linearly.
Step 7: Conclude that the electric field inside the sphere will vary quadratically with radius because the total charge increases faster than the radius.
Electric Field in Non-Uniform Charge Distributions – The relationship between charge density and electric field strength, particularly in spherical charge distributions where charge density varies with radius.
Gauss's Law – Application of Gauss's Law to determine the electric field inside a spherical charge distribution.
Quadratic Variation of Electric Field – Understanding how the electric field varies as a function of radius when charge density increases linearly.