Understanding Millikan's Oil Drop Experiment

What was the primary goal of Millikan's Oil Drop Experiment?

• To measure the gravitational constant

• To discover a new element

• To find the charge of a single electron

• To determine the speed of light

Who discovered the electron and its charge-to-mass ratio?

• JJ Thompson

• Niels Bohr

• Isaac Newton

• Albert Einstein

What role does the atomizer play in Millikan's experiment?

• It generates ionizing radiation

• It sprays oil droplets into the chamber

• It calculates the mass of the droplets

• It measures the charge of electrons

How do the charged plates affect the oil droplets in the experiment?

• They attract and repel the droplets based on charge

• They repel the droplets

• They heat the droplets

• They dissolve the droplets

What is the significance of the 'sweet spot' in the experiment?

• It is the point where the oil drop dissolves

• It is the point where the oil drop is suspended in midair

• It is the temperature at which oil evaporates

• It is the voltage at which the plates are neutral

How did Millikan calculate the charge of each oil droplet?

• By observing the color of the oil

• By counting the number of droplets

• By using the voltage to stop the droplet's fall and its mass

• By measuring the temperature of the oil

What assumption did Millikan make about the number of electrons in each droplet?

• Each droplet has a fractional number of electrons

• Each droplet has a whole number of electrons

• Each droplet has no electrons

• Each droplet has an infinite number of electrons

What is the elementary charge of an electron as determined by Millikan?

• -1.76 x 10^8 C

• 1.60 x 10^-19 C

• 9.10 x 10^-28 C

• -1.60 x 10^-19 C

How did Millikan use the charge-to-mass ratio to find the mass of an electron?

• By subtracting the charge from the mass

• By adding the charge and mass

• By multiplying the charge by the mass-to-charge ratio

• By dividing the charge by the mass

What is the mass of a single electron as calculated by Millikan?

• 9.10 x 10^-19 g

• 1.60 x 10^-19 g

• 1.76 x 10^8 g

• 9.10 x 10^-28 g