Why Pepper Jumps to a Plastic Spoon?

What happens when a plastic spoon is rubbed on a woollen cloth and held above a mixture of salt and pepper?

a) Air pushes the pepper towards the spoon.
b) The spoon temporarily gets magnetised.
c) The spoon temporarily gets charged with static electricity.
d) Gravitational attraction pulls the pepper to the spoon.

Answer:

c) The spoon temporarily gets charged with static electricity.

When a plastic spoon is rubbed on a woollen cloth and held above a mixture of salt and pepper, the pepper jumps to the spoon. The best reason for this phenomenon is that the spoon temporarily gets charged with static electricity.

Static electricity is the electric charge that arises on the material's surface. This happens when two positive and negative charges come in contact with each other. The electricity generated then finds an escape route from the object's surface. When the spoon is rubbed, it becomes negatively charged while the salt and pepper have a positive charge.

Between salt and pepper, it is the pepper that jumps to the spoon because it is lighter than salt. The static electricity on the spoon attracts the positively charged pepper, causing it to move towards the spoon.