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Home Concept Builders Static Electricity Conductors and Insulators Help Help 17

Conductors and Insulators - Questions 17 Help

Materials can be categorized as being conductors or insulators. Conductors are those materials that allow the free flow of electrons from atom to atom across their surface. Insulators prevent the free flow of such electrons. This property makes the behavior of conductors quite different than that of insulators when they are touched to a charged object or to the ground.

There are four nearly identical versions of this question. This is one of the versions.

Version 1:
Objects A and B are conductors. Object C is an insulator. Objects A and B have a positive charge. Object C is neutral. Object C is touched to the ground. When the ground is pulled away, what charge do the three objects have?

Like all questions in Conductors and Insulators, you will need to ...

  • Identify whether Object A, Object B, and Object C are conductors or insulators.
  • Identify whether Object A (or C) is being touched by neutral ground or by a charged object.


What's Happening?
When a charged conductor is touched to the ground, it's charge is removed by means of electron flow between the ground and the object. This process is known as grounding. Only conductors can conduct their charge in this manner. Insulators are unable to transfer charge in this manner since such materials prevent the flow of electrons from atom to atom across their surface.

The flow of electrons is not limited to the charged conductor that is touched to the ground. Other directly-connected conductors can also participate in the process since conducting materials allow for the free flow of electrons from atom to atom across their surface. Since insulators do not allow for such electron movement, connected insulators do not participate in this grounding process.

Try these links to The Physics Classroom Tutorial for more help with understanding the process of conductors, insulators, conduction, and grounding. Links to the corresponding videos are also included:

Conductors and Insulators (view Video)

Charging by Conduction (view Video)

Grounding - The Removal of Charge (view Video)

Concept Builder Teacher Notes Directions