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Choose the incorrect statement about a conductor in electrostatic equilibrium.

1. The electric field within a charged or uncharged conductor is zero.
2. At the surface of a charged conductor, the electrostatic field must be tangent to the surface at every point.
3. No net charge exists at any point inside the conductor.
4. The electrostatic potential remains the same throughout the conductor's volume.

Correct answer: At the surface of a charged conductor, the electrostatic field must be tangent to the surface at every point.

Solution

At the surface of a charged conductor the electrostatic field is perpendicular (normal) to the surface, not tangent to it. That statement is the incorrect one; the others are all true.

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