Question:easy

When a piece of polythene is rubbed with wool, a negative charge of $4 \times 10^{-7}\text{ C}$ is developed on the polythene. The number of electrons transferred from wool to polythene is [$e = 1.6 \times 10^{-19}\text{ C}$]

Show Hint

To perform the division $\frac{4}{1.6}$ quickly in your head, scale both numbers by 10 to clear the decimal point: $\frac{40}{16}$. Dividing both parts by 8 yields $\frac{5}{2} = 2.5$ in seconds!
Updated On: Jun 4, 2026
  • $1.5 \times 10^{12}$
  • $3.5 \times 10^{13}$
  • $2.5 \times 10^{13}$
  • $2.5 \times 10^{12}$
Show Solution

The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: What the question is about.
When you rub polythene with wool, tiny particles called electrons jump from one body to the other. Polythene gets a negative charge, so it has gained extra electrons. We need to count how many electrons made this jump.
Step 2: The rule about charge.
Charge is not smooth. It comes in tiny equal packets. Every packet is one electron, and one electron carries a charge $e = 1.6 \times 10^{-19}$ C. So the total charge is just the number of electrons times this small packet.
Step 3: Write the simple formula.
If $N$ electrons move, the total charge is \[ q = N \times e \] We want $N$, so we turn the formula around: \[ N = \frac{q}{e} \]
Step 4: Put in the numbers.
Here $q = 4 \times 10^{-7}$ C and $e = 1.6 \times 10^{-19}$ C. So \[ N = \frac{4 \times 10^{-7}}{1.6 \times 10^{-19}} \]
Step 5: Do the easy division.
First divide the front numbers: $4 \div 1.6 = 2.5$. Then handle the powers of ten by subtracting them: $-7 - (-19) = 12$. So \[ N = 2.5 \times 10^{12} \]
Step 6: State the result.
About two and a half trillion electrons moved from the wool onto the polythene. This is option (4). \[ \boxed{N = 2.5 \times 10^{12}} \]
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