Experimenting with Electrostatic charge.


Materials: 2 white vinyl strips, 2 clear acetate strips, 2 swatches of black wool cloth, 2 swatches of tan cotton cloth, one swatch silk cloth, one glass test tube.

Perform each of the experiments described below. Each student turns in a paper with answers to all questions ( “ q: “ )


1. Briskly rub the clear acetate strip with the cotton cloth. This will place a POSITIVE charge on the strip. Do not set the strip down, hold it by it’s edges

2. Have a lab partner rub the vinyl strip with the wool cloth. Hold the two pieces close to each other (about 1 cm apart) by the edges as shown.


q: is there any sign of electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion?
q. what charge do you think is on the vinyl strip?

3. Charge two acetate strips as in part 1 above and hold them close as shown.
q: explain any electrostatic forces you observe.

4. Charge two vinyl strips as in part 2 above and hold them close as shown.
q: explain any electrostatic forces you observe.



5. Scientists have ranked materials in order of their ability to hold or give up electrons. This ranking is called the triboelectric series . A list of some common materials is shown here. Under ideal conditions, if two materials are rubbed together, the one higher on the list should give up electrons and become positively charged.

Triboelectric Series