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Electric Charges and Fields

Class 12th Physics Chapter Assertion and Reason


Assertion and Reason Questions Chapter-1  Electric Charges and Fields

Assertion (A) and other labelled Reason (R). Select the correct answer to these questions from the options as given below.

A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.

C. A is true, but R is false.

D. A is false, but R is true.


1. Assertion (A): Electric field inside a conductor is always zero.

Reason (R): Charges in a conductor move to the surface until the electric field inside is zero.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: In electrostatic equilibrium, the free charges within a conductor redistribute themselves on the surface, leading to zero electric field inside.

2. Assertion (A): Electric field lines never intersect each other.

Reason (R): At any point, there can be only one direction of the electric field.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: If electric field lines intersected, there would be two directions of the electric field at a single point, which is not possible.

3. Assertion (A): The electric potential inside a charged spherical conductor is constant.

Reason (R): The electric field inside a charged spherical conductor is zero.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Inside a charged conductor, the electric field is zero, hence the potential remains the same at all points inside.

4. Assertion (A): Electric field at a point on the axis of a dipole is directed along the dipole axis.

Reason (R): The electric field due to a dipole is stronger near the axis than at the equatorial position.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The electric field along the axis of the dipole is directed along the dipole axis, and the magnitude is stronger on the axis.

5. Assertion (A): Electric field lines start from positive charges and end on negative charges.

Reason (R): Electric field lines represent the direction of force experienced by a positive test charge.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The field lines indicate the direction of force on a positive test charge, starting from positive charges and terminating at negative ones.

6. Assertion (A): A dipole placed in a uniform electric field experiences both torque and net force.

Reason (R): The torque on the dipole causes it to rotate and align with the electric field direction.

  • (d) A is false, but R is true.
  • Answer: (d)
    Explanation: A dipole in a uniform electric field experiences torque but no net force, as the forces on each charge cancel each other out.

7. Assertion (A): The electric field due to a point charge decreases with distance as 1/r².

Reason (R): The electric potential due to a point charge decreases with distance as 1/r.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (b)
    Explanation: The electric field varies as 1/r², but the potential varies as 1/r. Both decrease with distance, but in different ways.

8. Assertion (A): The electric field at any point on the surface of a charged spherical conductor is the same.

Reason (R): A charged spherical conductor behaves like a point charge placed at its center.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The electric field at the surface of a charged spherical conductor is uniform, and it behaves as if all the charge is concentrated at the center.

9. Assertion (A): Coulomb’s force between two charges is independent of the medium between them.

Reason (R): Coulomb's force depends only on the magnitude of charges and the distance between them.

  • (d) A is false, but R is true.
  • Answer: (d)
    Explanation: Coulomb’s force depends on the medium between the charges, as it involves the permittivity of the medium.

10. Assertion (A): The electrostatic force between two charges is inversely proportional to the product of their magnitudes.

Reason (R): The electrostatic force between two charges depends on the distance between the charges.

  • (d) A is false, but R is true.
  • Answer: (d)
    Explanation: The electrostatic force is proportional to the product of their magnitudes, not inversely proportional.

11. Assertion (A): The electrostatic force on a charge due to another charge can be attractive or repulsive.

Reason (R): The electrostatic force follows the inverse square law.

  • (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (b)
    Explanation: The nature of the force (attractive or repulsive) depends on the sign of the charges, while the inverse square law only governs the magnitude of the force.

12. Assertion (A): The net force on a test charge placed inside a charged spherical shell is zero.

Reason (R): The electric field inside a charged spherical shell is zero.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The electric field inside a uniformly charged spherical shell is zero due to symmetry, hence no force acts on a charge inside.

13. Assertion (A): A charged conductor always has its charge distributed uniformly over its surface.

Reason (R): Charges on a conductor move to minimize potential energy.

  • (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (b)
    Explanation: Charges distribute themselves on the surface to maintain electrostatic equilibrium, not just to minimize potential energy.

14. Assertion (A): The electric potential due to a dipole at an axial point is zero.

Reason (R): The electric potential at the midpoint of a dipole is zero.

  • (d) A is false, but R is true.
  • Answer: (d)
    Explanation: The electric potential at the midpoint is zero, but at an axial point, the potential is not zero.

 


15. Assertion (A): A point charge placed outside a uniformly charged spherical shell experiences an electric force as if all the charge were concentrated at the center of the shell.

Reason (R): A charged spherical shell behaves like a point charge for points outside the shell.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: A uniformly charged spherical shell behaves as if all its charge is concentrated at its center for points outside the shell.

16. Assertion (A): The work done in moving a test charge between two points on an equipotential surface is zero.

Reason (R): The potential difference between any two points on an equipotential surface is zero.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Since the potential difference between any two points on an equipotential surface is zero, no work is done in moving a charge between them.

17. Assertion (A): The electric flux through a closed surface depends only on the charge enclosed within the surface.

Reason (R): The electric flux through a closed surface is independent of the shape of the surface.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: According to Gauss’s law, electric flux depends only on the charge enclosed and is independent of the shape of the surface.

18. Assertion (A): The electric potential due to a dipole at the equatorial line is zero.

Reason (R): The potential due to a dipole at any point on the equatorial line is equal in magnitude but opposite in sign for the positive and negative charges.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The contributions of the positive and negative charges of the dipole cancel each other at the equatorial line, resulting in zero potential.

19. Assertion (A): A charged conductor in equilibrium has no net motion of charge.

Reason (R): The electric field inside a conductor is zero in electrostatic equilibrium.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: In electrostatic equilibrium, charges do not move, and the electric field inside a conductor is zero.

20. Assertion (A): The electric field due to a uniformly charged infinite plane sheet is constant at any point near it.

Reason (R): The electric field due to an infinite plane sheet is independent of distance from the sheet.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: For an infinite plane sheet, the electric field is uniform and does not vary with distance from the sheet.

21. Assertion (A): The electric field at any point due to an electric dipole is inversely proportional to the cube of the distance from the dipole.

Reason (R): The electric field due to a dipole at large distances falls off faster than that due to a point charge.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The electric field of a dipole decreases as 1/r³, which is faster than the 1/r² dependence for a point charge.

22. Assertion (A): The force between two charges placed in a medium decreases with an increase in the dielectric constant of the medium.

Reason (R): The dielectric constant reduces the effective force between charges by weakening the electric field.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: A higher dielectric constant reduces the electric force between charges because the medium weakens the field.

23. Assertion (A): The potential energy of a system of two like charges is positive.

Reason (R): Like charges repel each other, increasing the energy of the system.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The potential energy of a system of two like charges is positive due to the repulsive force between them.

24. Assertion (A): The electric flux through a Gaussian surface enclosing an electric dipole is zero.

Reason (R): The net charge enclosed by the Gaussian surface is zero.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: A dipole consists of equal and opposite charges, so the net charge enclosed is zero, resulting in zero electric flux.

25. Assertion (A): A positive test charge placed in an electric field experiences a force in the direction of the field.

Reason (R): The electric field is defined as the force experienced by a unit positive charge.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: By definition, the direction of the electric field is the direction of the force experienced by a positive test charge.

26. Assertion (A): The electric field inside a uniformly charged solid sphere is non-zero.

Reason (R): The charges inside the sphere contribute to the electric field within the sphere.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Inside a uniformly charged solid sphere, the electric field increases linearly with distance from the center due to the enclosed charge.

27. Assertion (A): The magnitude of electrostatic force between two point charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Reason (R): Coulomb’s law governs the interaction between point charges.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Coulomb’s law states that the force between two charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

28. Assertion (A): The electric potential energy of two opposite charges is negative.

Reason (R): Opposite charges attract each other, reducing the energy of the system.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The attractive force between opposite charges lowers the potential energy, making it negative.

29. Assertion (A): The electric field at the surface of a conductor is perpendicular to the surface.

Reason (R): Charges on a conductor move until the electric field inside is zero.

  • (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (b)
    Explanation: The electric field is perpendicular to the surface of a conductor because charges move until the electric field inside is zero, but this doesn’t directly explain why the field at the surface is perpendicular.

30. Assertion (A): Electric field lines are continuous curves without breaks.

Reason (R): Electric field lines represent the direction of the force acting on a positive test charge.

  • (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (b)
    Explanation: Electric field lines are continuous because the electric field is a vector quantity and cannot have sudden jumps, but this is not because they represent force directions alone.

31. Assertion (A): The electric field due to a uniformly charged ring is zero at the center of the ring.

Reason (R): The net force at the center of the ring due to all the charges is zero.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The symmetry of the uniformly charged ring results in cancellation of forces at the center, causing the electric field to be zero.

32. Assertion (A): Two charges of the same magnitude but opposite signs placed at a distance form a dipole.

Reason (R): A dipole is characterized by two equal and opposite charges separated by a small distance.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: A dipole consists of two equal and opposite charges placed a certain distance apart.

33. Assertion (A): Electric field lines can intersect.

Reason (R): Two electric field lines can cross each other if the magnitudes of the electric field at the point of intersection are the same.

  • (d) A is false, but R is true.
  • Answer: (d)
    Explanation: Electric field lines never intersect because at any given point in space, the electric field has a unique direction.

34. Assertion (A): The electric field inside a uniformly charged spherical shell is zero.

Reason (R): The net charge enclosed by a Gaussian surface inside the shell is zero.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: According to Gauss’s law, if a Gaussian surface is inside a uniformly charged spherical shell, the net charge enclosed is zero, so the electric field inside is zero.

35. Assertion (A): The force between two charges in a medium is smaller than the force between them in a vacuum.

Reason (R): The electric permittivity of a medium is greater than that of a vacuum.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The electric permittivity of a medium reduces the effective force between two charges compared to vacuum due to a screening effect.

36. Assertion (A): The electric potential due to a point charge decreases as we move away from the charge.

Reason (R): The electric field due to a point charge decreases inversely with the square of the distance.

  • (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (b)
    Explanation: The potential decreases inversely with the distance, while the field decreases inversely with the square of the distance. These are related but not the same.

37. Assertion (A): The electrostatic potential energy of a system of two charges of opposite sign is negative.

Reason (R): Opposite charges attract each other, resulting in negative potential energy.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Opposite charges experience attractive force, and the system has lower potential energy, making it negative.

38. Assertion (A): Electric field lines can never form closed loops.

Reason (R): The electric field is a conservative field.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Electric field lines begin at positive charges and end at negative charges and cannot form closed loops. The conservative nature of the field ensures this.

39. Assertion (A): The electric potential at a point midway between two equal like charges is zero.

Reason (R): The electric field at a point midway between two equal like charges is zero.

  • (d) A is false, but R is true.
  • Answer: (d)
    Explanation: The electric field at the midpoint between two like charges may be zero due to symmetry, but the potential is not zero since the potential due to both charges adds up.

40. Assertion (A): The electric field at a point due to a point charge is directed along the radial line.

Reason (R): The electric field is the force per unit charge experienced by a positive test charge.

  • (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (b)
    Explanation: The electric field due to a point charge is radial, and the force on a test charge provides the direction of the field, but R does not fully explain the radial nature.

41. Assertion (A): Two similar charges placed close to each other will experience a repulsive force.

Reason (R): Like charges repel each other according to Coulomb’s law.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Coulomb’s law states that like charges repel each other with a force proportional to the product of their magnitudes and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

42. Assertion (A): A conductor in electrostatic equilibrium has no net electric field inside it.

Reason (R): Charges in a conductor move to the surface, creating an electric field that cancels out any internal field.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: In electrostatic equilibrium, free charges in a conductor move to the surface, ensuring that the electric field inside the conductor is zero.

43. Assertion (A): The electric field at the center of a uniformly charged ring is zero.

Reason (R): The contributions of electric field vectors from different parts of the ring cancel out at the center.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Due to the symmetry of the ring, the electric field contributions from different parts of the ring cancel each other at the center, resulting in zero field.

44. Assertion (A): The electric potential is constant throughout the interior of a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium.

Reason (R): The electric field inside a conductor is zero in electrostatic equilibrium.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Since the electric field inside a conductor is zero in electrostatic equilibrium, the potential remains constant throughout the interior of the conductor.

45. Assertion (A): The potential at any point outside a uniformly charged spherical shell is the same as that of a point charge placed at the center of the shell.

Reason (R): The electric field due to a uniformly charged shell behaves as if all the charge is concentrated at the center of the shell for points outside the shell.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: According to Gauss’s law, the electric field outside a spherical shell is the same as that of a point charge placed at the center, and the potential follows this.

46. Assertion (A): The electrostatic force between two charges is conservative in nature.

Reason (R): Work done in moving a charge between two points depends only on the initial and final positions, not on the path taken.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: The electrostatic force is a conservative force, meaning the work done depends only on the initial and final positions, and not on the path taken between them.

47. Assertion (A): The electric field inside a hollow spherical conductor is zero.

Reason (R): There is no charge enclosed within the hollow region of the conductor.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Inside a hollow spherical conductor, the charges reside on the outer surface, and no charge is enclosed within the hollow region, making the electric field inside zero.

48. Assertion (A): The electric field at the surface of a conductor is always perpendicular to the surface.

Reason (R): If the electric field had a component parallel to the surface, the charges would move, violating electrostatic equilibrium.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: If there were a parallel component of the electric field, charges would move until equilibrium is reached. In equilibrium, the field must be perpendicular to the surface.

49. Assertion (A): The electric potential at a point on the axis of an electric dipole is zero if the point is equidistant from both charges.

Reason (R): The electric potential due to the positive charge cancels out the potential due to the negative charge at the midpoint.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: At the midpoint along the axis of a dipole, the contributions to the potential from both charges cancel out, resulting in zero potential.

50. Assertion (A): Electric flux through a closed surface depends only on the net charge enclosed by the surface.

Reason (R): According to Gauss’s law, electric flux through a closed surface is proportional to the net charge enclosed.

  • (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
  • Answer: (a)
    Explanation: Gauss’s law states that the electric flux through a closed surface is directly proportional to the net charge enclosed within the surface.