Quiz 10.3 Electrostatics in Our Lives

Which is not something you should do as a lightning storm approaches?

Seek shelter under a tree
Seek shelter in a large building
Stay inside your vehicle
Crouch down in a low-lying area

This high voltage tower has a lightning rod and grounding wire to protect it from damaging lightning strikes.

How does a lightning rod work?

It directs any lightning that strikes a structure harmlessly to the ground through a grounding wire
It creates a negative charge that resists any lightning strikes to the structure to which it is attached
It contains a structure that absorbs the lightning's electrons and makes that energy available later on as a power source
It allows any electrons that build up on a structure to which it is attached to dissipate harmlessly into the air

Imagine that you have driven to a gas station to gas up your vehicle. It is hot and dry outside so you decide to pull your sweater off over your head before you get out of the vehicle. But wait! Knowing that static charge is a very dangerous thing around gasoline (and pulling off your sweater will likely create a static charge), what should you do?

Touch the metal exterior of your car before you touch the fuel nozzle
Touch a metal object inside your car before you pull your sweater off
Pull your sweater off and then sit in the vehicle for a minute to let any charges that built up dissipate into the air
Make sure you grab the fuel nozzle before you touch your car

Antistatic agents are added to some military jet fuels to make them safer to use.

These agents impart electrical conductivity to the fuel. How does this prevent a spark-induced explosion?

The fuel can't build up static charge
The fuel contains so many electrons it can't be charged further
The agents prevent the fuel from igniting
The agents allow the fuel to maintain the same charge as the aircraft

Why do more household sparks seem to happen in the winter?

Dry winter air acts as an insulator
Dry winter air acts as a conductor
Dry winter air is negatively charged
Dry winter air is positively charged

Imagine that, like many people, your computer equipment is located in a carpeted home office. Which activity is not likely to prevent static damage to your computer?

Keep the air moving in your office with a fan
Use an antistatic mat under your computer desk
Moisten the air in your office with a humidifier
Wear an antistatic wrist strap while you work on the computer

Which statement about how a photocopier works is false?

A negative charge is created on the drum before an image is projected onto it
The drum is composed of a material that acts as a photoconductor
The area that the image covers on the drum remains positively charged while the rest of the drum remains neutral
Negatively charged toner is attracted to positively charged areas on the drum

Negatively charged polluted gas enters an electrostatic precipitator as shown in this diagram.

Which of the following situations is most likely to result in clean gas exiting the precipitator?

The conducting metal plates are charged positively, attracting negatively charged pollutants
The conducting metal plates are charged negatively, attracting negatively charged pollutants
The conducting metal plates are charged positively, attracting positively charged pollutants
The conducting metal plates are charged negatively, attracting positively charged pollutants

Which is not an essential part of a building's lightning protection system?

Lightning diffuser
Ground rod
Insulated grounding wire
Lightning rod

This is a typical North American electrical outlet.

The two large semi-lunar-shaped holes are called the safety grounds. These connections prevent any build-up of static charge that may occur when an electrical device is plugged into this outlet. What must these grounds be connected to in order to work?

Grounding wires that lead to a connection to the ground of the Earth
Electrical source
All the other electrical outlets in the home
The home's roof