2026 Electrostatic Potential and CapacitanceProperties of conductors in electrostatic equilibrium Medium Question 3 of 76 in Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance

Which of the following statements are correct? I. Inside a conductor, the electrostatic field is zero. II. Electric field at the surface of a charged conductor does not depend on its surface charge density. III. The interior of a charged conductor can have no excess charge in the static situation. IV. At the surface of a charged conductor, the electrostatic field must be normal to the surface at every point. V. The electrostatic potential is zero everywhere inside a charged conductor. Choose the CORRECT answer from the options given below:

A III, IV and V only
B I, II and IV only
C I, III and IV only
D I, III and V only

The answer is C.

Solution

I. Inside a conductor, the electrostatic field = 0 (True) II. Electric field at the surface of a conductor $E = \frac{\sigma}{\epsilon_0}$ depends on $\sigma$ (False) III. The interior of a charged conductor has no excess charge in the static situation (True) IV. At the surface of a charged conductor, E is perpendicular to the surface at every point (True) V. $E_{in} = 0$, so $V_{in}$ = constant, not necessarily zero (False) So I, III and IV only are correct.

Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance in past papers

76 questions from this chapter have appeared across 27 exam years.