A solid uncharged conducting sphere contains a spherical cavity. A point charge +Q is placed off-center inside this cavity. Consider the following four statements: (I) The induced charge on the inner surface of the cavity is -Q and is distributed uniformly. (II) The induced charge on the outer surface of the sphere is +Q and is distributed uniformly. (III) The net electric field inside the solid bulk of the conductor

Step-by-step solution

The point charge +Q is placed off-center inside the spherical cavity. To maintain a zero electric field inside the solid bulk of the conductor (Statement III is correct), the induced charge -Q on the inner surface of the cavity must distribute non-uniformly to cancel the asymmetric field of the off-center charge (Statement I is incorrect). The isolated conducting sphere is initially uncharged, so a net charge of +Q is induced on its outer surface. Since the outer surface is perfectly spherical and there is no exter