This problem explores the behavior of charge on conductors. we take as an example a long conducting rod suspended by insulating strings. assume that the rod is initially electrically neutral. for convenience we will refer to the left end of the rod as end a, and the right end of the rod as end b. in the answer options for this problem, "strongly attracted/repelled" means "attracted/repelled with a force of magnitude similar to that which would exist between two charged balls.

a small metal ball is given a negative charge, then brought near (i. e., within about 1/10 the length of the rod) to end a of the rod. what happens to end a of the rod when the ball approaches it closely this first time?