---
title: "An uncharged, thick conducting spherical shell has inner radius \\(a\\) and outer radius \\(b\\). A positive point charge \\(+q\\) is placed inside the cavity of the shell at a distance \\(d\\) from the center, where \\(0 < d < a\\), and held fixed. Which of the following correctly describes the total charge and the spatial distribution of charge on the inner surface (\\(r = a\\)) and the outer surface (\\(r = b\\)) of the shell once electrostatic equilibrium is established?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/118205/"
date_modified: "2026-08-04T08:08:09+00:00"
---

# An uncharged, thick conducting spherical shell has inner radius \(a\) and outer radius \(b\). A positive point charge \(+q\) is placed inside the cavity of the shell at a distance \(d\) from the center, where \(0 < d < a\), and held fixed. Which of the following correctly describes the total charge and the spatial distribution of charge on the inner surface (\(r = a\)) and the outer surface (\(r = b\)) of the shell once electrostatic equilibrium is established?

An uncharged, thick conducting spherical shell has inner radius \(a\) and outer radius \(b\). A positive point charge \(+q\) is placed inside the cavity of the shell at a distance \(d\) from the center, where \(0 < d < a\), and held fixed. Which of the following correctly describes the total charge and the spatial distribution of charge on the inner surface (\(r = a\)) and the outer surface (\(r = b\)) of the shell once electrostatic equilibrium is established?

![A cross-sectional diagram of a thick spherical shell and an interior point charge. Two concentric circles represent the inner surface of radius \(a\) and the outer surface of radius \(b\) of a thick conducting shell, centered at origin point \(O\). The region between radius \(a\) and radius \(b\) is shaded light gray to represent the solid conductor. Inside the inner circle of radius \(a\), a small filled black circle representing a point charge labeled \(+q\) is located to the right of the center \(O\) along the horizontal axis, at a distance labeled \(d\). A dashed radial line segment from \(O\) to the inner circle is labeled \(a\), and another dashed radial line segment from \(O\) to the outer circle is labeled \(b\). No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/shell-diagram-1785830889-eUOzkx.jpg)

- **A.** Inner surface: total charge \(-q\), uniformly distributed; Outer surface: total charge \(+q\), non-uniformly distributed
- **B.** Inner surface: total charge \(-q\), uniformly distributed; Outer surface: total charge \(+q\), uniformly distributed
- **C.** Inner surface: total charge \(-q\), non-uniformly distributed; Outer surface: total charge \(+q\), uniformly distributed
- **D.** Inner surface: total charge \(-q\), non-uniformly distributed; Outer surface: total charge \(+q\), non-uniformly distributed

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/118205/*