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NEET Electrostatics: 5 practice MCQs with answers

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

Electrostatics opens the Class 12 Physics block and sets up current electricity, magnetism and induction. The five MCQs below test Coulomb's law, electric potential, capacitors in series, energy stored in a capacitor and Gauss's law, all at NCERT Class 12 level, with a worked explanation for each.

What this chapter covers in the NEET syllabus

Electrostatics is its own NMC unit, based on the Class 12 NCERT chapters Electric Charges and Fields, Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance. The topics are:

• Electric charge, its quantisation and conservation, and Coulomb's law.
• Electric field, field lines, the electric dipole and the torque on a dipole.
• Gauss's law and its use for a line of charge, a plane sheet and a spherical shell.
• Electric potential, potential energy and equipotential surfaces.
• Conductors and insulators, dielectrics and polarisation.
• Capacitors: capacitance, series and parallel combinations, and energy stored.

Five practice MCQs on Electrostatics

Question 1

The force between two point charges in air is F. If the distance between them is doubled, the force becomes:

• A. 2F
• B. F/2
• C. F/4
• D. 4F

Question 2

Two capacitors of 6 μF and 3 μF are connected in series. The equivalent capacitance is:

• A. 9 μF
• B. 4.5 μF
• C. 18 μF
• D. 2 μF

Question 3

The electric potential at a distance of 0.3 m from a point charge of 3 nC in air is (take 1/4πε₀ = 9 × 10⁹ N m²/C²):

• A. 30 V
• B. 90 V
• C. 270 V
• D. 9 V

Question 4

The energy stored in a 10 μF capacitor charged to 100 V is:

• A. 0.5 J
• B. 5 J
• C. 0.005 J
• D. 0.05 J

Question 5

A closed surface encloses a charge of +2 μC and a charge of −2 μC. The net electric flux through the surface is:

• A. zero
• B. +2 μC/ε₀
• C. −2 μC/ε₀
• D. +4 μC/ε₀

Answers and explanations

1. C. Coulomb's law gives F proportional to 1/r². Doubling r divides the force by 2² = 4, so the new force is F/4.
2. D. For capacitors in series, 1/C = 1/6 + 1/3 = 1/6 + 2/6 = 3/6 = 1/2, so C = 2 μF. The series value is always smaller than the smallest capacitor, which rules out options A, B and C straight away.
3. B. V = (1/4πε₀) q/r = 9 × 10⁹ × 3 × 10⁻⁹ / 0.3 = 27/0.3 = 90 V. Potential is a scalar, so its sign follows the sign of the charge.
4. D. U = ½CV² = ½ × 10 × 10⁻⁶ × (100)² = ½ × 10⁻⁵ × 10⁴ = 0.05 J. Convert microfarad to farad before calculating.
5. A. By Gauss's law the flux depends on the net enclosed charge, q/ε₀. The net charge is +2 − 2 = 0, so the flux is zero, even though the field need not be zero at points on the surface.

How to prepare Electrostatics

• Understand field and potential as different things. The field is a vector and the potential a scalar. Add fields vectorially and potentials algebraically, with signs. Many wrong answers come from adding potentials as vectors or fields as scalars.
• Use symmetry for Gauss's law. Learn the three standard results (infinite line, infinite plane sheet, spherical shell) and what happens inside versus outside a conductor.
• Link field and potential. E = −dV/dr, so the field is zero inside a region of constant potential, and field lines are perpendicular to equipotentials.
• Treat capacitors as a series-parallel exercise. Parallel capacitances add, series reciprocals add, and in a series chain the charge on each is the same while the voltage divides. Practise the energy formulas U = ½CV² = Q²/2C and what changes when you insert a dielectric slab with the battery connected or disconnected.
• Memorise the dipole formulas. The dipole moment p = q × 2a, the torque τ = pE sin θ and the potential energy −pE cos θ.

Aim for steady daily practice rather than a long single sitting: 15 numericals a day for a week covers the chapter. Read about chapter order in the NEET Physics preparation guide, and check the unit list in the NEET syllabus.

Take a full Electrostatics test on PrepMatic

Electrostatics sets up the rest of Class 12 Physics, so it is worth testing early. Take a PrepMatic topic test (about 15 questions in 30 minutes) and review the score with NEET's negative marking. The free Basic plan includes topic tests, and the practice hub has the next chapters.

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