ELECTROSTATICS A short chain is usually attached to the

back of a petrol tanker trailing behind it to

1. (WAEC 1988) ensure that the
If the leaves of a positively charged
electroscope collapse completely as an A. petrol tanker is balanced on the road
object are brought near the cap of the B. heat generated by friction in the engine
electroscope, the object possesses can be conducted to the floor
A. an equal amount of positive charge C. charges generated by friction in the tanker
B. less amount of negative charge is conducted to the earth
C. no charge D. tanker moves slowly as the chain touches
D. a positive charge the road surface
E. an equal amount of negative charge E. chain produces sound for the resonance of
the tanker’s engine
2. (WAEC 1989)
A positively charged sphere is suspended 5. (WAEC 1989)
inside a hollow can placed on an insulating The electric force between two point
base. If the can is momentarily earthed charges each of magnitude q at a distance
and the charged sphere is then withdrawn, of r apart in air of permittivity ɛ0 is
which of the following diagrams best
represents the charge distribution on the A. q 2/ 4 ɛ0 r
can after this process?
B. r ɛ 0/ q 2

C. 4 q/ ɛ0

A. D. qr2/ ɛ0

E. q 2/ 4 ɛ0 r2

6. (WAEC 1989)
B. What is the total capacitance in the circuit
represented by the diagram below?

A. C 1 + C2 + C3

C. B. 1/ C1 + 1/ C2 + 1/ C3

C. C1C2C3____
C 1 + C2 + C 3
D. D. C2__
C 3 + C1

E. C 1C 2C 3
E. 7. (WAEC 1989)
Calculate the energy stored in a 10 F
3. (WAEC 1989) capacitor if the potential difference
Which of the following instruments can be between the plates is 20 V.
used to compare the relative magnitudes
of charge on two given bodies? A. 1.0 x 10-9 J
B. 2.0 x 10-4 J
A. The electrophorus C. 2.0 x 10-3 J
B. Ebonite rod D. 1.0 x 103 J
C. Proof planes E. 2.0 x 103 J
D. Gold leaf electroscope
E. Capacitor

4. (WAEC 1989) 8. (WAEC 1990)

 What is the electric potential energy
between two protons each of charge q and 12.(WAEC 1991)
at a distance of r apart? (Permittivity of The capacitors C1 and C2 are connected as
free space = ɛ0 ) shown in the diagram below. The
capacitance of C2 is twice C1. When the key
A. 4 ɛ 0 q2r is opened, the energy stored up in C1 is W.
If the key is later closed and the system is
B. qr/4 ɛ0 allowed to attain electrical equilibrium, the
total energy stored in the system will be
C. q/4 ɛ0 r
A. ½W
D. q2 / 4 ɛ0 r
B. 2
/3 W
C. W
E. q2 / 4 ɛ0 r2 D. 2W
E. 3W
9. (WAEC 1990)
A work of 30 joules is done in transferring 13.(WAEC 1991)
5 millicoulombs of charge from a point B to In which of the points labeled A, B, C, D
a point A in an electric field. The potential and E on the conductor shown below would
difference between B and A is electric charge tend to concentrate most?
A. 1.7 x 10-4 V A. A
B. 3.4 x 10-4 V B. B
C. 1.5 x 10-1 V C. C
D. 6.0 x 103 V D. D
E. 1.2 x 104 V E. E E
10.(WAEC 1990) 14.(WAEC 1992)
Which of the following field patterns A negatively charged rod is brought near
between two unlike charges is correct? the cap of a gold-leaf electroscope. The
cap is earthed momentarily while the rod is
near to it. The rod is then removed. Which
A. of the following is correct?

A. The cap will be positively charged and

B. negatively charged leaves will diverge
B. The cap will be negatively charged and
positively charges leaves will diverge
C. The cap and the leaves will be positively
C. charge.
D. The cap and the leaves will be negatively
charged
E. The leaves will not diverge because the
D. cap has been earthed

15.(WAEC 1992)
Calculate the energy stored in a 20 μF
E. capacitor if the potential difference
between the plates is 40 V.
11. (WAEC 1990) A. 3.2 x 10-2 J
A charge of 1.0 x 10-5 coulombs B. 1.6 x 10-2 J
experiences a force of 40 N at a certain C. 8.0 x 10-4 J
point in space. What is the electric field D. 4.0 x 10-4 J
intensity? E. 2.0 x 10-4 J
A. 8.00 x 106 NC-1
B. 4.00 x 106 NC-1
C. 4.00 x 10-4 NC-1
D. 2.00 x 10-4 NC-1 16. (WAEC 1992)
E. 2.50 x 10-7 NC-1
 What is the electric potential at point Which of the following instruments can be
distance r from proton of charge q placed used to compare the relative magnitude of
in a medium of permittivity ɛ0? similar charges on two given bodies?

A. q2 /4 ɛ0r2 A. Electrophorus
B. Ebonite rod
C. Proof plane
B. q /4 ɛ 0r
D. Gold-leaf electroscope
E. Capacitor
C. q2 /4 ɛ 0r
21.(WAEC 1993)
D. qr /4 ɛ0 A point charge of 1.0 x 10-7 C experiences
a force of 0.01 N in a uniform electric field.
E. 4 ɛ0q2r Calculate the magnitude of the strength of
the field.
17.(WAEC 1992)
If the frequency of the a.c circuit illustrated A. 106 NC-1
above is 500/ Hz. What would be the B. 105 NC-1
reactance in the circuit? C. 10-5 NC-1
D. 10-6 NC-1
E. 10-9 NC-1
A. 0.01 Ω
B. 190.91 Ω 22.(WAEC 1993)
C. 200.00 Ω The potential difference between two
D. 795.46 Ω points A and B situated at a distance d
E. 1000.00 Ω apart is V. Which of the following
expresses the magnitude of the electric
18.(WAEC 1993) field intensity between the two points
A short chain is usually attached to the assuming the field is uniform?
back of a petrol tanker and trailing behind
it so that the A. Vd
B. dV-1
A. petrol tanker is balanced on the road C. Vd-1
B. heat generated by friction in the engine D. V2d
can be conducted to the earth E. d2V
C. charges generated by friction in the tanker
are conducted to the earth 23.(WAEC 1994)
D. tanker can move slowly as the chain What is the total capacitance in the circuit
touches the road surface represented by the diagram beside?
E. chain can produce sound in resonance with
the noise from the tanker’s engine A. C 1 + C2 + C3
B. 1/C1 + 1/C2 + 1/C3
19.(WAEC 1993) C. C1 C2 C3 / (C1 + C2 + C3)
Which of the following indicates the correct D. C2 / (C1 + C3)
sequence of steps taken in charging a E. C1 C2 C3
gold-leaf electroscope by induction?
I. Removing the ebonite rod 24.(WAEC 1994)
II. Bringing a negatively-charged ebonite rod The electric force between two point
close to the cap charges each of magnitude q and at a
III. Earthing the cap distance r apart in air of permittivity ɛ0 is
IV. Disconnecting the earthing
A. q2 /(4 ɛ0 r2)
A. III, II,I and IV B. q /(4 ɛ0 r)
B. II, I, III and IV C. 4 q / ɛ0
C. III, IV,II and I D. q r2 / ɛ 0
D. II, III, IV and I E. q2 /(4 ɛ0 r)
E. III, IV, I and II

25.(WAEC 1995)
20.(WAEC 1993)
 A charge of 1.6 x 10-10 C is placed in a magnitude of the electric field intensity P
uniform electric field of intensity 2.0 x 105 can be expressed as
NC-1. What is the magnitude of the electric
force exerted on the charge? A. Q2___
4 ɛ0 r2
A. 3.2 x 105 N
B. 1.8 x 105 N B. Q__
C. 3.2 x 10-5 N 4 ɛ0 r2
D. 1.8 x 10-5 N
E. 4.0 x 10-6 N C. Q__
4 ɛ0 r
26.(WAEC 1995)
Calculate the electric potential at a D. Q2___
distance of 20.0 cm from a point charge of
4 ɛ0 r
0.015 C placed in air of permittivity ɛ0
[Take k=1/4 ɛ0 = 9.0 x 109 Nm2C-2] E. Q___
(4 ɛ0 r)2
A. 3.40 x 109 V
B. 6.75 x 108 V
31.(WAEC 1996)
C. 6.75 x 106 V
The electric potential of a point P in the
D. 3.45 x 105 V
diagram on Question 50 can be expressed
E. 8.30 x 10-12 V
as
27.(WAEC 1995)
A. Q2___
The energy stored in a capacitor of
capacitance 5 μF is 40 J. Calculate the 4 ɛ0 r
voltage applied across its terminal?
B. Q__
A. 4000 V 4 ɛ0 r2
B. 200 V
C. 16 V C. Q2__
D. 6V 4 ɛ0 r2
E. 4V
D. Q___
28.(WAEC 1995) 4 ɛ0 r
The effective capacitance between points
X and Y in the diagram beside is 1.0 μF. E. Q___
What is the value of the capacitance C, 4 ɛ 02 r
measured in micro-farad?
32.(WAEC 1997)
A. 5.0 μ A charge of 1.0 x 10-5 C experiences a
B. 4.0 μ force of 40 N at a certain point in space.
C. 3.0 μ What is the magnitude of the electric field
D. 1.0 μ intensity at the point in Newton per
E. 0.5 μ coulomb?

29.(WAEC 1995) A. 8.0 x 106

Calculate the quantity of charge flowing B. 4.0 x 106
through a conductor if a current of 10 A C. 3.0 x 10-4
passes through the conductor for 10 s. D. 2.0 x 10-4
E. 5.0 x 10-7
A. 100 C
B. 20 C 33.(WAEC 1998)
C. 15 C If an ebonite rod is rubbed with fur
D. 10 C
E. 1C A. both the ebonite rod and fur will be
negatively charged
B. the ebonite rod will be positively charged
30. (WAEC 1996) while the fur will have no charge
The diagram below illustrates an isolated C. there will be electron transfer only if the
metal sphere carrying charge W in a ebonite rods is earthed
medium whose permittivity is so. The
D. the ebonite rod will be negatively charged
while the fur will be positively charged
E. the ebonite rod will be positively charged
while the fur will be negatively charged

34.(WAEC 1999)
Using the diagram below, calculate the 39.(WAEC 2001)
effective capacitance of the circuit. What is the effective capacitance in the
circuit
A. 1.56 µF
B. 3.00 µF A. 2 µF
C. 3.7 µF B. 6 μF
D. 9.00 µF C. 18 µF
D. 216 µF
35.(WAEC 1999)
In a uniform electric field, the magnitude 40.(WAEC 2001)
of the force on a charge of 0.2 C is 4 N. What is the total energy stored by the
Calculate the electric field intensity. capacitors

A. 20 NC-1 A. 2.0 x 10-4 J

B. 8 NC-1 B. 1.0 x 10-4 J
C. 5 NC-1 C. 9.0 x 10-2 J
D. 2 NC-1 D. 1.0 x 10-2 J

36.(WAEC 1999) 41.(WAEC 2002)

A point charge of magnitude 2 μC is moved Which of the following items can be used
through a distance of 0.20 m against a to compare the relative magnitudes of
uniform field of intensity 25 Vm-1. Calculate electric charges on two bodies?
the work done on the charge.
A. Ebonite rod
A. 5.0 x 10-6 J B. Gold leaf electroscope
B. 1.0 x 10-5 J C. Proof planes
C. 5.0 x 10-5 J D. The electrophorus
D. 1.0 x 10-2 J
42.(WAEC 2002)
37.(WAEC 2000) Three capacitors each of capacitance 18
The capacitance of a parallel plate µF are connected in series. Calculate the
capacitor is increased by making the area effective capacitance of the capacitors.
of the plates
A. 54.00 µF
A. small and their separation large B. 18.00 µF
B. large and their separation small C. 6.00 µF
C. and their separation small D. 0.17 µF
D. and their separation equal
43.(WAEC 2003)
38.(WAEC 2001)
As the plates of a charge variable
capacitor are moved closer together, the
potential difference between them

A. increases
B. decreases
C. remains the same The diagram above shows the resultant
D. is doubled electric field pattern due to two electric
point charges P and S. Which of the
Use the diagram shown below to answer following statements is correct?
Questions 39 and 40
A. P is negatively charged while S is positively
charged
B. P is positively charged while S is negatively
charged
C. Both P and S are positively charged
D. Both P and S are negatively charged
49.(WAEC 2004)
44.(WAEC 2003) Calculate the energy stored in a 20 µF
Which of the following features of an capacitor if the p.d. between he plates is
electrostatic line of force is not correct? 40 V.

A. It is n imaginary line which a positive A. 3.2 x 10-2 J

charge would describe if it is free to move B. 1.6 x 10-2 J
B. The tangent drawn at any point on a C. 8.0 x 10-4 J
curved line of force shows the direction of D. 4.0 x 10-4 J
the electric field intensity at that point
C. It is sometimes curved 50.(WAEC 2004)
D. It can cross another line of force in a A charge of 1.6 x 10-10 C is placed in a
region of intense electric field uniform electric field of intensity 2.0 x 105
NC-1. Calculate the magnitude of the
45.(WAEC 2003) electric force exerted on the charge.
Which of the following statements about a
force field is correct? A. 3.2 x 105 N
B. 1.8 x 105 N
A. Electrostatic, gravitational and magnetic C. 3.2 x 10-5 N
forces are always attractive D. 1.8 x 10-5 N
B. Electric, gravitational and magnetic fields
obey inverse square laws 51.(WAEC 2005)
C. Field lines are real but their corresponding The ability of a material to store an electric
fields are imaginary charge when its plates are at different
D. Field lines and their corresponding fields potentials is referred to as its
are both real
A. conductance
46.(WAEC 2003) B. inductance
A positively charged glass rod is placed C. capacitance
near the cap of a positively charge D. resistance
electroscope. The divergence of the leaf is
observed to 52.(WAEC 2005)
Two capacitors of capacitances 0.4 µF and
A. decrease 0.5 µF are connected in parallel and
B. increase charged to a p.d. of 50 V. Determine the
C. remain the same total charge acquired.
D. increase and collapse immediately
A. 45 µC
47.(WAEC 2004) B. 25 µC
Charges on a conductor are C. 20 µC
D. 10 µC
A. evenly distributed over a surface of any
shape 53.(WAEC 2005)
B. concentrated on the inner surface of the A parallel plate capacitor of capacitance
conductor 600 µF has a potential difference of 2000 V
C. concentrated at the outer flat surface of between its plate. Calculate the charge on
the conductor either plate of the capacitor.
D. generally concentrated at sharply curved
surface A. 1.2 C
B. 3.3 C
48.(WAEC 2004) C. 3330.0 C
The quantity of electric charge stored in a D. 120000.0 C
capacitor is measured in
54.(WAEC 2006)
A. Farad An electron of mass m and charge enters a
B. Ampere uniform electric field between two metal
C. Coulomb plates P and Q separated by a distance d.
D. Volt P is maintained at a potential V while Q is
earthed. Determine an expression for the
magnitude of the acceleration of the
electron through the field.
A. eV /md A. be negatively charged
B. d /meV B. be positively charged
C. md /eV C. have an excess of negative charges on the
D. e /Vmd side nearest the rod
D. have an excess of positive charges on the
55.(WAEC 2006) side nearest the rod
Which of the following factors does not
affect the capacitance of a parallel plate 61.(WAEC 2008)
capacitor? Two bodies each carrying a charge of 2.00
x10-10 C are 5 cm apart. Calculate the
A. Area of the plates magnitude of the force between the
B. Nature of the surface of the plates charges.
C. Distance of separation between the plates [ 1 /4 9 2 -2
o = 9.00 x 10 Nm C ]
D. Nature of the insulating material between
the plates A. 1.44 x 10-7 N
B. 7.20 x 10-9 N
56.(WAEC 2006) C. 7.20 x 10-11 N
The equivalent capacitance of a 3 µF D. 1.44 x 10-11 N
capacitor and a 6 µF capacitor connected
in parallel is 62.(WAEC 2008)
If the charge on an object is measured as
A. 2.0 µF 4.0 x 10-18 C, how many excess electrons
B. 3.0 µF does the object posses, given that the
C. 4.5 µF charge of an electron is 1.6 x 10-19 C?
D. 9.0 µF
A. 18
57.(WAEC 2007) B. 19
A dry plastic comb used in combing hair C. 25
was found to attract pieces of paper and D. 37
dust. The most probable explanation for
this phenomenon is that the comb has 63.(WAEC 2008)
been given Which of the following is a unit of the time
rate of flow of electric charges?
A. magnetization by induction
B. electric charges by induction A. Coulomb
C. electric charges by conduction B. Ampere
D. electric charges by friction C. Volt
D. Watt
58.(WAEC 2007)
Which of the following components is used 64.(WAEC 2009)
for storing electric charges? When a conductor mounted on an
insulating stand is charged and left for
A. Inductor some time, the conductor eventually loses
B. Resistor all its charges. This is because the
C. Capacitor
D. Electrometer A. electric charges evaporate from the
surface of the conductor
59.(WAEC 2007) B. charges are conducted to earth
Which of the following operations does not C. charges on the conductor are neutralized
represent an action of a force field? by opposite charges from the surrounding
air
A. Falling of a mango fruit from the tree D. charges ionize the surrounding air
B. Picking of nails using a bar magnet
C. Repulsion of two like charges
D. Pushing of a wheel-barrow on a level Use the information below to answer the
ground questions 65 and 66
60.(WAEC 2008) An isolated metal sphere of radius R,
A negatively charged rod is held close to carrying an electric charge Q is situated in
an uncharged metal ball on an insulating a medium of relative permittivity ɛr .A test
stand. The ball will
 charge is placed at a point P, distance r
from the surface of the sphere. Let ɛ0
represents the permittivity of the free
space.

65.(WAEC 2009)
The electric potential at P is given by the
expression

A. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr r

B. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr (R + r)

C. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr (R – r)

D. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr R

66.(WAEC 2009)
The magnitude of the electric field
intensity at P is given by the expression

A. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr r2

B. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr (R + r)2

C. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr (R – r)2

D. Q /4 ɛ0 ɛr R2

67.(WAEC 2010)
A positively charged glass rod is placed
near the cap of a positively charged
electroscope. The divergence of the leaf is
observed to

A. decrease
B. increase
C. remain the same
D. increase and collapse immediately

68.(WAEC 2010)
Capacitors are used in the following
devices, except

A. water pumping machines

B. ceiling fans
C. electric irons
D. television sets