The figure shows electric field lines arising from two small charged particles P and Q.Consider the following two statements:
(i)The charge on P is smaller than the charge on Q.
(ii)The electrostatic force on P is smaller than the force on Q.
Which of the above statements are true?
A)Only (i)is true.
B)Only (ii)is true.
C)Both (i)and (ii)are true.
D)Neither (i)nor (ii)is true.

Question

The figure shows electric field lines arising from two small charged particles P and Q.Consider the following two statements:
(i)The charge on P is smaller than the charge on Q.
(ii)The electrostatic force on P is smaller than the force on Q. 
Which of the above statements are true?
A)Only (i)is true. 
B)Only (ii)is true. 
C)Both (i)and (ii)are true. 
D)Neither (i)nor (ii)is true.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The density of electric field lines represents the magnitude of electric field. The electric field lines emerge radially outwards from the point charges P and Q, which indicates that the charges are positive. The number of electric field lines originating from a charge is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge. Therefore, if the number of electric field lines originating from Q is more than those originating from P, then it follows that the charge on Q is greater than that on P. Thus, statement (i) is true. However, the strength of the electric field around a charged particle depends on both the magnitude of the charge and the distance from the particle. If the distance r of P from Q is smaller than their distance from some point X in the field, then the force on P is larger than that on Q, since F ∝ Q1Q2/r^2. Thus, statement (ii) is not necessarily true.

The Figure Shows Electric Field Lines Arising from Two Small