Five balls marked $a$ to $e$ are suspended using separate threads. Pairs $(b, c)$ and $(d, e)$ show electrostatic repulsion,while pairs $(a, b)$,$(c, e)$,and $(a, e)$ show electrostatic attraction. The ball marked $a$ must be:

When two spheres having $4 Q$ and $-2 Q$ charge are placed at a certain distance,the force acting between them is $F$. Now they are connected by a conducting wire and again separated from each other. Now they are kept at a distance half of the previous one. The force acting between them is . . . . . . .

Answer the following:
$(a)$ The top of the atmosphere is at about $400 \; kV$ with respect to the surface of the earth,corresponding to an electric field that decreases with altitude. Near the surface of the earth,the field is about $100 \; Vm^{-1}$. Why then do we not get an electric shock as we step out of our house into the open? (Assume the house to be a steel cage so there is no field inside!)
$(b)$ $A$ man fixes outside his house one evening a two-metre-high insulating slab carrying on its top a large aluminium sheet of area $1 \; m^2$. Will he get an electric shock if he touches the metal sheet next morning?
$(c)$ The discharging current in the atmosphere due to the small conductivity of air is known to be $1800 \; A$ on an average over the globe. Why then does the atmosphere not discharge itself completely in due course and become electrically neutral? In other words,what keeps the atmosphere charged?
$(d)$ What are the forms of energy into which the electrical energy of the atmosphere is dissipated during lightning?

Two identical small spheres carry charges of $Q_1$ and $Q_2$ with $Q_1 >> Q_2$. The charges are $d$ distance apart. The force they exert on one another is $F_1$. The spheres are made to touch one another and then separated to distance $d$ apart. The force they exert on one another now is $F_2$. Then $F_1/F_2$ is

At a certain distance from a point charge,the electric field intensity is $500 \ V/m$ and the electric potential is $3000 \ V$. What is this distance in $m$?

Ten charges are placed on the circumference of a circle of radius $R$ with constant angular separation between successive charges. Alternate charges $1, 3, 5, 7, 9$ have charge $(+q)$ each, while $2, 4, 6, 8, 10$ have charge $(-q)$ each. The potential $V$ and the electric field $E$ at the centre of the circle are respectively (Take $V = 0$ at infinity).