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Physics - Electrostatics

Practise 31 NEST (NISER) previous year questions on Electrostatics, compiled from papers spanning 2012 to 2026. Each question is pulled directly from the actual exam paper it appeared in, so you're practising in the exact style and difficulty NEST (NISER) tests.

Electrostatics has been asked in 15 of the 16 years of NEST (NISER) papers analysed (2011–2026), with 31 questions in all. 3% of them were easy, 61% moderate and 35% tough. Most of its questions came from 2022, with 6 questions that year. In the last three years (2024–2026) it had 5 questions across 4 papers, about 1.3 per paper.

The chapter's 5 topics are not weighted equally: Electric Field and Electric Field Lines (16 questions, 52%), Electric Charge and Coulomb's law (5 questions, 16%), and Electric Potential and Potential Energy (5 questions, 16%) have been asked the most. Electric Field and Electric Field Lines has also led over the last five years, with 5 questions. Electric Field and Electric Field Lines has produced the most tough questions (7).

  1. 1An infinitely long straight wire with uniform line charge density lies at a perpendicular distance from a point O. The total electric flux t2026Electric Flux and Gauss Law
  2. 2Two protons are separated by a distance of nanometer. The magnitudes of gravitational, electromagnetic and strong nuclear forces between the2026Electric Charge and Coulomb's law
  3. 3Three positive and two negative charges each of magnitude are placed at five of the six vertices of a regular hexagon of side . The work don2025Electric Potential and Potential Energy
  4. 4A large conducting slab having uniform surface charge density is placed between a parallel plate capacitor as shown in the figure. The net s2024 (Session 1)Electric Flux and Gauss Law
  5. 5An electric charge distribution produces an electric field . Here is a non-zero constant. The charge contained in a spherical region of radi2024 (Session 2)Electric Flux and Gauss Law
  6. 6A point object P of mass and charge is placed at a distance from a stationary object of mass and charge . Let be the time for to reach if it2023 (Session 1)Newton’s Law of Gravitation
  7. 7The electrostatic potential in the region between two long coaxial cylinders of radii and is given by , where and are constants. Here, and d2023 (Session 1)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  8. 8The following property is common to both charge and mass:2022 (Session 1)Electric Charge and Coulomb's law
  9. 9Three point charges are arranged in the plane as shown in the figure. Assuming that the potential at the infinity is zero, the approximate p2022 (Session 1)Electric Potential and Potential Energy
  10. 10An atom is modelled by a stationary central positive point charge surrounded by a spherical electron cloud (radius , total charge of ) of un2022 (Session 1)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  11. 11In an oil drop experiment, negatively charged droplets of equal mass are studied as they fall through vacuum. An electric field of magnitude2022 (Session 2)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  12. 12A hollow thin-walled glass tube of length , is open at one end while the other end is closed by a hollow thin-walled glass hemisphere of rad2022 (Session 2)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  13. 13A bead of mass and charge is constrained to move along a line. A charge of is kept at distance away from the line as shown in the figure. Th2022 (Session 2)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  14. 14A long wire with a uniform linear charge density is placed along the common axis of two long coaxial thin cylindrical shells of radii and (s2021 (Session 1)Electric Potential and Potential Energy
  15. 15Two point charges and are located at and respectively. Assume that the potential is vanishing at infinity. The correct statement about the s2021 (Session 2)Electric Potential and Potential Energy
  16. 16Consider a universe with modified electrostatics where like charges attract and unlike charges repel. Three positively charged point particl2021 (Session 2)Electric Charge and Coulomb's law
  17. 17The electric field due to an extended charge distribution spread over all space is given by Here and are positive constants and the electros2020 (Session 1)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  18. 18Consider a parallel plate capacitor filled with a dielectric of relative permittivity 2 . One of the plates has charge density while other h2020 (Session 1)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  19. 19The potential for a point charge placed at a distance from a grounded infinite conducting plate is Here is a constant. The maximum value of 2020 (Session 2)Electric Flux and Gauss Law
  20. 20Two point charges and in vacuum are located at the points and in the xy plane. Assume that and . Select the correct statement(s).2020 (Session 2)Electric Charge and Coulomb's law
  21. 21Consider a set of 12 equal charges each , arranged to form two concentric regular hexagons in the -plane, centred at origin. The edges of th2019 (Session 1)Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  22. 22A charge is distributed over a thin ring of radius with line charge density . Note that the ring is in the plane and is the angle made by wi2019 (Session 2)Electric Potential and Potential Energy
  23. 23Consider two semi-infinite flat plates lying parallel to the -plane at and , carrying uniform surface charge densities and , respectively. T2018Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  24. 24A ring of radius is uniformly charged with linear charge density . A unit test charge of opposite sign is released from rest at a height fro2017Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  25. 25A sphere, a cylinder and a very thin disk are made out of the same material. Each one of them carry the same amount of charge , spread unifo2016Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  26. 26An electrostatic field line leaves at an angle from point charge , and connects with point charge at an angle ( and are positive), as shown 2016Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  27. 27The variation of the magnitude of the electric field with radial distance due to a given configuration is depicted in the accompanying figur2015Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  28. 28Two positive equal charges are placed symmetrically about the origin on the -axis and kept fixed as shown. Another positive charge is placed2015Electric Charge and Coulomb's law
  29. 29A positive point charge is placed near a three dimensional isolated, neutral solid conductor with a cavity as shown. The possible electric l2014Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  30. 30A circular loop of radius , centered at origin has five positive charges equally spaced on it. All charges have a magnitude Q , except the o2013Electric Field and Electric Field Lines
  31. 31A uniformly charged sphere, of total charge , is expanding uniformly about its center. The magnitude of the electric field at a point from t2012Electric Field and Electric Field Lines

Frequently Asked Questions

1.How many questions are available for Electrostatics?

This chapter includes 31 questions compiled from NEST (NISER) papers spanning 2012 to 2026.

2.Are these questions only from NEST (NISER), or from other exams too?

These are NEST (NISER) questions specifically for the Electrostatics chapter. Questions from other exams like JEE Main or NTA Abhyas (JEE Main) are organised separately under their respective exam sections.

3.Is Electrostatics an important chapter for NEST (NISER) Physics?

Electrostatics has appeared in 15 of the 16 years of NEST (NISER) papers covered here, with 31 questions across 20 papers - about 2 per paper it appears in.

4.What is the difficulty level of Electrostatics questions in NEST (NISER)?

Of the 31 questions analysed for this chapter, 3% are easy, 61% moderate and 35% tough. 2022 had the most, with 6 questions.

5.Which topics in Electrostatics should I focus on?

These topics have carried the most weightage in Electrostatics:

  • Electric Field and Electric Field Lines - 16 questions (52%)
  • Electric Charge and Coulomb's law - 5 questions (16%)
  • Electric Potential and Potential Energy - 5 questions (16%)
  • Electric Field and Electric Field Lines has produced the most tough questions (7).
6.Is Electrostatics's weightage in NEST (NISER) going up or down?

Across all 20 papers analysed, Electrostatics has averaged about 1.6 questions per paper. In the last three years (2024–2026), that average has fallen, at about 1.3 questions per paper. Use the year-wise numbers on this page for the exact trend before you decide how much time to give it.