24. Explain what happens to the warn negatively charged electroscope when objects with the following charges are brought close to, but are not touching.the electroscope. (a) negative (b) positive

24. Here's what happens to the leaves of a negatively charged electroscope when different charges are brought near:<br /><br />**(a) Negative:** When a negatively charged object is brought close to the electroscope, the leaves will diverge *further*. The negatively charged object repels the electrons in the electroscope's cap and stem down into the leaves. Since the leaves now have an increased negative charge, they repel each other more strongly, leading to greater divergence.<br /><br />**(b) Positive:** When a positively charged object is brought close to the electroscope, the leaves will converge *closer together* (or even collapse completely depending on the strength of the positive charge). The positively charged object attracts the electrons in the leaves up towards the cap of the electroscope. With fewer electrons in the leaves, their negative charge decreases, and thus the repulsive force between them decreases, causing them to converge.<br />