A plastic rod is rubbed with a piece of fur. The rod becomes negatively charged and the fur becomes positively charged. What happened?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Let's break down what happened at the microscopic level when a plastic rod is rubbed with fur. The key idea is that electrons are transferred between objects with different affinities for electrons.
Option 1: 'both' — This would imply that both the rod and the fur become charged in the same manner or magnitude, which is inconsistent with the given result where the rod is negatively charged and the fur is positively charged. In reality, one object gains electrons while the other loses them; the charges are not both of the same sign.
Option 2: 'neither' — If neither object gained or lost electrons, there would be no charge separation, contradicting the observed outcome of the rod being negatively charged and the fur positively charged. The rubbing process typically causes transfer of electrons, leading to charging, so this is incorrect.
Option 3: 'the fur got protons from the rod' — Protons are not readily transferred between objects; they are bound in the nucleus and do not move significantly during rubbing. The charging described (electrons moving to the rod) involves electrons, not protons, so this statement is not physically accurate.
Option 4: 'the rod got electrons from the fur' — This aligns with the described charges: the rod ends up negatively charged, indicating it gained extra electrons, while the fur becomes positively charged, indicating it lost electrons. Electron transfer from fur to rod during friction is the standard explanation for this scenario.
In summary, the behavior is best explained by electron transfer: the rod gains electrons from the fur, leading to negative charge on the rod and positive charge on the fur. The other options either contradict the observed charges, rely on impossible particle transfer (protons moving), or wrongly claim no charge separation would occur.

Physics Honors-Henrikson Unit 11 and part of 12 Test part 1

A plastic rod is rubbed with a piece of fur. The rod becomes negatively charged and the fur becomes positively charged. What happened?

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