Electric Field Intensity - Directions

How it Works:

The Electric Field Concept Builder is composed of three unique and independent activities. In the first activity, Ranking Tasks, you must rank three locations according to their electric field value (E). Ranking options include Smallest E, Middlest E, and Greatest E. You can rank each location using the buttons at the bottom of the Concept Builder. By defaul, they read Tap Me. Tapping these buttons will toggle through the three answer options. Once all three locations have a unique ranking, a Check Answer button appears. If you are satisfied with your answers, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

In the second activity, Case Studies, you must compare the electric field (E) at two locations when given the distance from a source charge and the amount of charge on the source charge. Begin by indicating which location - A or B - has the greatest E value. Then indicate how many times bigger the E value is at this location compared to the other location. You can indicate these answers by tapping on the buttons at the bottom of the Concept Builder. By default, the buttons say Tap Me. Tapping will toggle through the answer options. Once you have an answer for each of the two parts of the answer, a Check Answer button appears. If you are satisfied with your answers, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

In the third activity, Giving Value to E, you must calculate the electric field (E) value for location Y when given the electric field value for location X. Each location is marked an labeled on a grid. Each location's distance from the source charge's center is some whole number multiple of the source charge's radius - like 1•R, 2•R, 3•R, etc. You can ener your answer by typing into the answer field at the bottom of the Concept Builder. Alernatively (and especially handy for mobile devices), you can tap on the Number Pad icon and use the pop-up Number Pad to enter the answer. Answers should be entered with at least three significant digits. Entering the answer to the second decimal place is more than safe. When you are satisfied with your answers, tap on the Check Answer button. Your answers will be evaluated and your Progress Report will be updated.

Your goal is to earn "Stars" and to complete one or more activities. Stars are earned when you show success on a particular question. Once you show success on all the questions for a particular activity, you will earn the Trophy for that level.

 

Earning Stars

When you start up any of the activities the number of questions for that activity are shown in the Progress Report area of the Concept Builder. You will notice that there is either a Yellow or a Red background for each question number. When starting up an activity, the background color is Yellow. Answering a "Yellow" question correctly earns you a star for that question number. However, answering it incorrectly turns the background color to Red. A question number with a Red background must be correctly answered twice (without a miss) in order to earn a star. 

 

Getting Help

You will notice that there is a Help Me button underneath the Progress Report. You should learn to use this feature of the program. It's how you can turn an exercise in answering questions into an exercise in learning. Tapping on the Help Me button will open a page with help that is specific to each task. Of course, the Help pages are only helpful if you read them. So take the time to read them. Each Help page contains four sections: a discussion of the The Basic Idea, a display of the Question your are facing (or a similar question with different numbers), a section titled "How to Think About This Situation", and a set of links to resources in our Tutorial section. You should pay attention to the section titled How to Think About This Situation. You will find what you need to know in the three or four paragraphs of this section. You will also become a better Physics student for doing that. That is, after all, the goal of such an activity as Electric Field.
 

Thanks for being patient with the Directions. Happy learning!