Pith Ball Lab (answered) Gizmoz; Student Exploration: Pith Ball Lab 2021

Name: Aadhav Prabu Date: 12/12/2021 Student Exploration: Pith Ball Lab Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and prompts in the orange boxes. Vocabulary: Coulomb’s law, electrostatic force, gravitational force, induced charge, pith ball, Pythagorean Theorem, tension, vector Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. A girl rubs a balloon on her head and then holds it a short distance away. Why does her hair stick to the balloon? When she rubs the balloon on her head, she transfers charges between her hair and the balloon, causing a force of attraction between the two. 2. Why do you think the individual strands of hair are spread apart? Since like charges repel, the individual strands of hair repel each other but are still attracted to the balloon. Gizmo Warm-up The girl’s hair was attracted to the balloon by the electrostatic force, a force between all charged objects. Most objects acquire a charge (q) by gaining or losing electrons. Objects that gain electrons become negatively charged, while objects that lose electrons become positively charged. The Pith Ball Lab Gizmo shows two pith balls hanging by strings. Pith balls are made from lightweight material that can easily acquire a charge. To begin, check that the charge on each pith ball (q1 and q2 ) is 0.0 × 10 -6 coulombs (C). Use the sliders to test each combination of charges listed below. State whether the electrostatic force is attractive (balls move together), repulsive (balls move apart), or zero (balls don’t move).