• 23 objects
  • Checked October 2026

Electrostatic Charge Diagram Worksheet

Count the plus and minus signs on each object and say whether it is positive, negative, neutral or polarized.

Electrostatic Charge Diagram Worksheet

Name Date

Numbered worksheet

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
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Write the name of each numbered object.Answer key

  1. Neutral
  2. Neutral
  3. Negative
  4. Positive
  5. Negative
  6. Negative
  7. Negative
  8. Neutral but polarized
  9. Neutral
  10. Negative
  11. Neutral but polarized
  12. Negative
  13. Positive
  14. Negative
  15. Positive
  16. Positive
  17. Neutral
  18. Positive
  19. Negative
  20. Positive
  21. Negative
  22. Positive
  23. Negative

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 by a script from the table of counts in this file: own work. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a object is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a circuit

All 23 objects on the diagram

Show the list

Charged by rubbing 6

  1. Neutral Equal plus and minus charges, evenly mixed. Nothing has been rubbed yet.
  2. Neutral Equal plus and minus charges, evenly mixed. The hair has not been rubbed yet.
  3. Negative The balloon took electrons from the hair. It has two more minus signs than before and the same plus signs.
  4. Positive The hair lost electrons to the balloon. It has two fewer minus signs than before.
  5. Negative This balloon gained electrons when it was rubbed. Two things with the same charge push each other apart.
  6. Negative This balloon gained electrons too. It carries the same kind of charge as its partner, so the two hang apart.

A charge nearby 5

  1. Negative The rubbed balloon carries extra electrons. It was charged before it touched the wall.
  2. Neutral but polarized The wall has equal plus and minus charges. Its electrons shift a little away from the balloon, so its near surface is positive.
  3. Neutral Equal plus and minus charges, evenly mixed. Nothing charged is near the sphere.
  4. Negative The rod carries extra electrons. It never touches the sphere.
  5. Neutral but polarized Equal charges, pushed to opposite sides. The rod drives the sphere's free electrons to the far side; none leave or arrive.

Charged by induction 5

  1. Negative The rod carries extra electrons. It stays near the sphere and never touches it.
  2. Positive Electrons left through the wire to the ground. The rod pushed them away, and the wire gave them a way out.
  3. Negative The rod still carries its extra electrons. Nothing has moved onto it or off it.
  4. Positive The sphere stays short of electrons. With the wire gone they cannot come back, and the rod holds the positive charge on its side.
  5. Positive The sphere is still short of electrons. With the rod gone, its charge spreads evenly.

The electroscope 7

  1. Neutral Equal plus and minus charges, evenly mixed. The two leaves hang together.
  2. Positive This rod is short of electrons. It is held near the knob without touching it.
  3. Negative Electrons were pulled up into the knob. The positive rod attracts them from the leaves.
  4. Positive The leaves are left short of electrons. Both are positive, so they push apart.
  5. Negative This rod carries extra electrons. It is held near the knob without touching it.
  6. Positive Electrons were pushed down out of the knob. The negative rod repels them into the leaves.
  7. Negative The leaves hold the extra electrons. Both are negative, so they push apart.

How this list was compiled: The charges in every scene checked on 2026-10-03 in two sources: Wikipedia, text only (Static electricity; Electrostatic induction; Electroscope), and three lessons of a physics tutorial site (https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/estatics/Lesson-2/Charging-by-Friction , https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/estatics/Lesson-1/Polarization , https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/estatics/Lesson-2/Charging-by-Induction ). A scene is on the sheet only where both give its charges. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 by a script from the table of counts in this file: own work. No font and nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

This electrostatic charge diagram worksheet has twelve small scenes. Every object carries plus and minus signs. Count them to name its charge: positive, negative, neutral, or neutral but polarized. Print it numbered, or answer on screen.

Read the full guide

Read the signs

More minus signs than plus signs means the object is negative: it gained electrons. More plus than minus means it is positive: it lost electrons. Equal numbers, evenly mixed, means neutral. Equal numbers pushed to opposite sides means neutral but polarized: a charge nearby has moved the object's own electrons.

Follow the electrons

Only electrons move in these scenes. Rubbing carries them from the hair to the balloon. A charged rod pushes or pulls them inside a metal sphere, and a wire to the ground lets them leave it.

  • A neutral object still has charges: equal numbers of both kinds.
  • The rod never touches the sphere or the knob in these scenes.

Questions and answers

How do you read an electrostatic charge diagram?

Count the plus signs and the minus signs on one object. More minus than plus is a negative charge, more plus than minus is positive, and equal numbers is neutral. Then look at where the signs sit: equal charges pushed apart show polarization.

Why does a rubbed balloon stick to a wall?

The balloon is negative. It pushes the electrons in the wall's surface a little way back, so the part of the wall nearest the balloon is positive. Opposite charges attract, and the wall as a whole stays neutral.

How is a metal sphere charged by induction?

Hold a negative rod near the sphere, which drives electrons to its far side. Join the sphere to the ground and those electrons leave. Take the wire away, then the rod, and the sphere is left positive.

Why do the leaves of an electroscope spread apart?

A charged rod near the knob moves electrons between the knob and the leaves. Both leaves end up with the same kind of charge, and like charges repel, so they push apart.

Can I print this worksheet with its answers?

Yes. Press Print this worksheet for the numbered sheet, and Print the answer key for the same sheet with the charge of every object listed under it.

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