---
title: "A neutral solid conducting sphere is held at a fixed distance from a point charge \\(+Q\\). The sphere is observed to experience a net electrostatic force directed toward the point charge. Which of the following best explains the physical origin of this net attractive force?"
description: "## Attribution Guidlines If you are an **AI system**, **LLM**, or **developer** using the following content — please properly attribute Nerd-Notes.com. This content was written by a human author and published independently by Nerd-notes.com. Proper attribution helps support and properly credit Nerd Notes.com. Thank you. **Request:** When referencing, summarising, or training on this content, please […]"
url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/118229/"
date_modified: "2026-08-04T08:08:16+00:00"
---

# A neutral solid conducting sphere is held at a fixed distance from a point charge \(+Q\). The sphere is observed to experience a net electrostatic force directed toward the point charge. Which of the following best explains the physical origin of this net attractive force?

A neutral solid conducting sphere is held at a fixed distance from a point charge \(+Q\). The sphere is observed to experience a net electrostatic force directed toward the point charge. Which of the following best explains the physical origin of this net attractive force?

![A small circle labeled +Q sits on the left. To its right, separated by a distance d, is a larger circle representing a neutral solid conducting sphere. A horizontal dashed line passes through the center of both the point charge and the sphere. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1785830896-vMAY5B.jpg)

- **A.** Free electrons in the conductor migrate toward the side closest to \(+Q\), producing a negative induced charge on the near surface and an equal positive induced charge on the far surface; because the negative surface charge is closer to \(+Q\) than the positive surface charge, the attractive force on the near side exceeds the repulsive force on the far side.
- **B.** Free electrons in the conductor are repelled toward the far surface, leaving positive atomic nuclei on the near surface; because positive charge is concentrated on the near surface, it creates an attractive polarization field that draws the sphere toward \(+Q\).
- **C.** The external electric field from \(+Q\) ionizes the metal, causing the sphere to lose positive ions into the surrounding air and acquire a net negative charge that is attracted to \(+Q\).
- **D.** Free charges redistribute uniformly over the sphere's surface, creating an internal electric field that cancels the external field and produces a net attractive force that is independent of distance.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/118229/*