Answer to Question #87325 in Electricity and Magnetism for Michael

Question

conductor possesses a positive charge of 3.2x 10^-19 C. How many electron does it have in excess or deficit (e = 1.60 x 10^-19C)

Answer 1

We can find the number of the electrons in the conductor from the formula:

$q = Ne,$

here, $q$ is the charge of the conductor, $N$ is the number of electrons in the conductor, $e$ is the charge of the electron.

Then, we get:

$N = \dfrac{q}{e} = \dfrac{3.2 \cdot 10^{-19}C}{1.6 \cdot 10^{-19}C} = 2.$

Since the charge of the conductor is positive, the conductor has a deficit of 2 electrons.

Answer:

The conductor has a deficit of 2 electrons.