Ch.4 Atoms and Elements

Timberlake - Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry 14th Edition

Timberlake14th EditionChemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological ChemistryISBN: 9781292472249Not the one you use?Change textbook

Timberlake 14th Edition

Ch.4 Atoms and Elements

Problem 25

Chapter 4, Problem 25

On a dry day, your hair flies apart when you brush it. How would you explain this?

Verified step by step guidance

Understand the concept of static electricity: Static electricity occurs when there is an imbalance of electric charges on the surface of a material. This imbalance can cause objects to attract or repel each other.

Recognize the role of friction: When you brush your hair, friction between the brush and your hair causes electrons to transfer from one surface to another. This transfer creates a charge imbalance.

Identify the charge distribution: As electrons move, your hair strands may become positively charged while the brush becomes negatively charged (or vice versa). Each strand of hair now has the same type of charge.

Explain the repulsion: Like charges repel each other. Since all the hair strands have the same charge, they push away from each other, causing your hair to fly apart.

Relate to environmental conditions: On a dry day, the lack of moisture in the air reduces the ability of charges to dissipate, making static electricity effects more pronounced.

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Key Concepts

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

Static Electricity

Static electricity is the buildup of electric charge on the surface of objects. When you brush your hair, friction between the brush and hair can transfer electrons, causing one to become positively charged and the other negatively charged. This imbalance leads to the hair strands repelling each other, making them fly apart.

Friction

Friction is the resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another. In the context of brushing hair, the friction between the brush and hair causes electrons to be transferred, which is essential for generating static electricity. The amount of friction can vary based on the materials involved and environmental conditions.

Humidity's Role

Humidity refers to the amount of moisture in the air. On dry days, low humidity means there is less water vapor in the air, which can help dissipate static charges. In contrast, higher humidity allows moisture to conduct electricity, reducing the buildup of static charge and preventing hair from flying apart.

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Textbook Question

Sometimes clothes cling together when removed from a dryer. What kinds of charges are on the clothes?

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Textbook Question

Would you use the atomic number, mass number, or both to determine each of the following?

d. number of electrons in a neutral atom

Textbook Question

Is each of the following statements true or false?

c. Neutrons repel each other.

Textbook Question

Would you use the atomic number, mass number, or both to determine each of the following?

c. number of particles in the nucleus

Textbook Question

Juan added the following elements to the soil to improve potato production. Identify the group and period for and classify each as an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, a transition element, or a nonmetal:

b. Cu

Textbook Question

Identify each of the following as describing either a proton, a neutron, or an electron:

a. has the smallest mass