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Ch.2 - Atoms, Molecules & Ions
McMurry - Chemistry 8th Edition
McMurry8th EditionChemistryISBN: 9781292336145Not the one you use?Change textbook
All textbooksMcMurry 8th EditionCh.2 - Atoms, Molecules & IonsProblem 172b
Chapter 2, Problem 172b

In an alternate universe, the smallest negatively charged particle, analogous to our electron, is called a blorvek. To determine the charge on a single blorvek, an experiment like Millikan's with charged oil droplets was carried out, and the following results were recorded : (b) Further experiments found a droplet with a charge of 5.81 * 10-16 C. Does this new result change your answer to part (a)? If so, what is the new largest value for the blorvek's charge?

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1
Identify the charge of the droplet given in the problem, which is 5.81 * 10^-16 C.
Recall that in Millikan's oil drop experiment, the charge on a droplet is quantized and is a multiple of the elementary charge of the particle being measured. In this case, the elementary charge is that of a blorvek.
Determine the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the new droplet charge and the previously identified smallest charge of a blorvek from part (a). This step involves finding the largest number that divides both charges without leaving a remainder, which could suggest a new value for the charge of a blorvek.
Compare this new GCD value to the charge of the blorvek determined in part (a). If the GCD is smaller, it suggests that the charge of the blorvek might be smaller than previously thought.
Conclude whether the new droplet charge measurement affects the previously determined charge of a blorvek. If the GCD is different from the charge found in part (a), update the value accordingly.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Charge Quantization

Charge quantization refers to the principle that electric charge exists in discrete units, typically multiples of the elementary charge (e). In the context of the question, this means that the charge of the blorvek must be a specific fraction of the charge measured in the experiment, similar to how the electron's charge is quantized.
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Millikan's Oil Drop Experiment

Millikan's oil drop experiment was a groundbreaking experiment that measured the charge of the electron by balancing the gravitational and electric forces on tiny charged droplets of oil. This experiment established that the charge of the electron is approximately -1.6 x 10^-19 C, providing a fundamental understanding of charge quantization and allowing for the determination of other charged particles' values.
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Coulomb's Law

Coulomb's Law describes the force between two charged particles, stating that the force is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This law is essential for understanding how charged droplets interact in the experiment and helps in calculating the charge of the blorvek based on the observed results.
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Coulomb's Law Concept 2
Related Practice
Textbook Question
The molecular weight of a compound is the sum of the atomic masses of all atoms in the molecule. What is the molecular mass of acetaminophen (C8H9NO2), the active ingredient in Tylenol?
Textbook Question

In an alternate universe, the smallest negatively charged particle, analogous to our electron, is called a blorvek. To determine the charge on a single blorvek, an experiment like Millikan's with charged oil droplets was carried out, and the following results were recorded : (a) Based on these observations, what is the largest possible value for the charge on a blorvek?