Question

Which of the following is the best insulator?
A). Carbon
B). Paper
C). Ebonite
D). Graphite

Answer 1

Hint: A material in which the flow of electrons does not happen freely or the atom of the insulator must have tightly bound electrons whose internal electric charges do not flow freely, as they are tightly bounded to atom, this type of material is known as insulator material.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Carbon allows free flow of electrons, and we know that graphite is a compound of carbon so it also allow free flow of electrons, now we also know that paper is a too thin material to be an insulator and in case a set of paper is layered one over another, then it can act as an insulator, but we can’t call it a proper insulator as a thin sheet cannot help in that case. Whereas Ebonite is a very good material for insulators as it does not allow free flow of electrons and acts as a very good material for an insulator.
Hence option C ebonite is the correct option.

Additional Information:
Water is supposed to be a bad conductor of electricity but it is not , because water contains added minerals and impurities which makes it a very good conductor of electricity.

Note: We have to check in the materials given that if the material is a good conductor of electricity or a bad conductor, does it allow free flow of electrons or not, does the substance is a metal or nonmetal, generally metals are a good conductor of electricity. If all the criteria matches then it is an insulator.