Static Electricity - Detailed Help

Assignment SE11: Electric Field Equation

Objectives:
  • The student should be able to use the inverse square law to predict the effect that an alteration of the distance from a charged object would have upon the electric field intensity.

 

Reading:

The Physics Classroom - Static Electricity Unit, Lesson 4, Part b

 

 

A charge Q creates an electric field; a test charge q is placed a distance d away in order to measure the strength of the electric field at that location. Which of the following alterations would INCREASE the electric field strength as measured by the test charge q?


The electric field strength (E) is defined as the amount of force exerted upon a test charge per unit of charge on the test charge (q). That is,

E = F / q

The electric force (F) depends upon a number of variables as described by Coulomb's law.

Felect = k • Q1 • Q2 / d2

In the above equation, Q1 might be the source charge Q and Q2 might be the test charge q. If the expression for force as given by the Coulomb's law equation is substituted in for F in the electric field strength equation, then the equation for electric field strength becomes

E = k • Q / d2


The electric field strength (E) is defined mathematically as the amount of force per charge on the test charge (see first equation in the Formula Fix section above). This equation may give the false impression that the electric field strength of a source depends on the quantity of charge on the test charge. Don't be fooled! As the quantity of charge on the test charge (q) is increased, the force exerted on it is increased by the same factor. Thus, the ratio of force per charge (F / q) remains the same. Changing the quantity of charge on the test charge will not change the electric field strength. The electric field strength of a source depends on two factors as displayed in the last equation in the Formula Fix section above.


What variables effect the strength of an electric field?

 

 

A charge Q creates an electric field; a test charge q is placed a distance d away in order to measure the strength of the electric field (E) at that location. A doubling of the amount of charge on Q would ___.


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source charge is dependent upon the quantity of charge on the source charge (Q) and the distance that the location is from the source (d). The dependency between electric field strength, the quantity of charge on the source charge, and the distance from the source is expressed by the equation

E = k • Q / d2


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source is directly proportional to the quantity of charge on the source (Q). See Formula Fix section above. An increase in the quantity of charge leads to an increase in the electric field strength. In fact, the electric field strength will increase by the same factor that the quantity of charge on the source increases.


How does the amount of charge on the source charge effect the strength of the electric field?

 

 

A charge Q creates an electric field; a test charge q is placed a distance d away in order to measure the strength of the electric field (E) at that location. A doubling of the amount of charge on the test charge q would ___.


The electric field strength (E) is defined as the amount of force exerted upon a test charge per unit of charge on the test charge (q). That is,

E = F / q

The electric force (F) depends upon a number of variables as described by Coulomb's law.

Felect = k • Q1 • Q2 / d2

In the above equation, Q1 might be the source charge Q and Q2 might be the test charge q. If the expression for force as given by the Coulomb's law equation is substituted in for F in the electric field strength equation, then the equation for electric field strength becomes

E = k • Q / d2


The electric field strength (E) is defined mathematically as the amount of force per charge on the test charge (see first equation in the Formula Fix section above). This equation may give the false impression that the electric field strength of a source depends on the quantity of charge on the test charge. Don't be fooled! As the quantity of charge on the test charge (q) is increased, the force exerted on it is increased by the same factor. Thus, the ratio of force per charge (F / q) remains the same. Changing the quantity of charge on the test charge will not change the electric field strength.


How does the amount of charge on a test charge effect the strength of another charge's electric field?

 

 

A charge Q creates an electric field; a test charge q is placed a distance d away in order to measure the strength of the electric field (E) at that location. A doubling of the distance between Q and test charge q would ___.


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source charge is dependent upon the quantity of charge on the source charge (Q) and the distance that the location is from the source (d). The dependency between electric field strength, the quantity of charge on the source charge, and the distance from the source is expressed by the equation

E = k • Q / d2


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source is inversely proportional to the square of the distance (d) from that given location. See Formula Fix section above. The dependency of electric field strength upon distance follows an inverse square law pattern. The inverse means that an increase in the distance will decrease the electric field strength. The inverse square means that by whatever factor the distance is increased, the electric field strength will be decreased by the square of that factor.


Equations such as the one shown in the Formula Fix section are often used as algebraic recipes for problem-solving. But equations can also be powerful guides for thinking about how a variation in one variable would affect another variable. In this question, we have to think about how a variation in d affects the E. The question can be answered by thinking in terms of factors of change. Suppose the distance is increased by a factor of 2. According to the equation, the electric field strength depends inversely on the square of this change. Thus, E is decreased by a factor of 22. Thinking of equations as guides to predicting how one variable affects another variable provides a qualitative feel for relationships.


How does the distance from a source charge effect the strength of its electric field?

How can the inverse square law be used to predict the effect of changing distance upon the electric field strength?

 

 

A charge Q creates an electric field; a test charge q is placed at various labeled locations from the charge Q as shown in the diagram below. Rank the five locations in order of increasing electric field strength, beginning with the smallest. List the letters in increasing order with no commas or spaces between letters.


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source charge is dependent upon the quantity of charge on the source charge (Q) and the distance that the location is from the source (d). The dependency between electric field strength, the quantity of charge on the source charge, and the distance from the source is expressed by the equation

E = k • Q / d2


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source is inversely related to the distance of that location from the source (d). See Formula Fix section above. An increase in the distance leads to a decrease in the electric field strength. So the electric field strength is weakest (smallest) when the distance is greatest. So the ranking of locations in increasing order of their electric field strength is the same as ranking the locations in decreasing order of their distance from the source.


How does the distance from a source charge effect the strength of its electric field?

 

 

The electric field strength at a distance of 2.0 meters from a charged Van de Graaff sphere is 32 N/C. The electric field strength a distance of 4.0 meters from the same sphere is ____ N/C.


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source charge is dependent upon the quantity of charge on the source charge (Q) and the distance that the location is from the source (d). The dependency between electric field strength, the quantity of charge on the source charge, and the distance from the source is expressed by the equation

E = k • Q / d2


Equations such as the one shown in the Formula Fix section are often used as algebraic recipes for problem-solving. But equations can also be powerful guides for thinking about how a variation in one variable would affect another variable. In this question, we have to think about how a variation in d affects the E. The question can be answered by thinking in terms of factors of change. According to the equation, the electric field strength depends inversely on the square of this change. Whatever change is made in d, the inverse change is made in E. And the factor by which the change is made of E is the square of the factor by which the d changes.

In this question, the distance is increased by a factor of two. That is, the new distance is two times bigger than the original distance. Thus, E is decreased by a factor of 22. The new electric field strength is four times smaller than (or one-fourth) the original electric field strength.


How can the inverse square law be used to predict the effect of changing distance upon the electric field strength?

 

 

The electric field strength at a distance of 2.0 meters from a charged Van de Graaff sphere is 32 N/C. The electric field strength a distance of 6.0 meters from the same sphere is ____ N/C.


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source charge is dependent upon the quantity of charge on the source charge (Q) and the distance that the location is from the source (d). The dependency between electric field strength, the quantity of charge on the source charge, and the distance from the source is expressed by the equation

E = k • Q / d2


Equations such as the one shown in the Formula Fix section are often used as algebraic recipes for problem-solving. But equations can also be powerful guides for thinking about how a variation in one variable would affect another variable. In this question, we have to think about how a variation in d affects the E. The question can be answered by thinking in terms of factors of change. According to the equation, the electric field strength depends inversely on the square of this change. Whatever change is made in d, the inverse change is made in E. And the factor by which the change is made of E is the square of the factor by which the d changes.

In this question, the distance is increased by a factor of three. That is, the new distance is three times bigger than the original distance. Thus, E is decreased by a factor of 32. The new electric field strength is nine times smaller than (or one-ninth) the original electric field strength.


How can the inverse square law be used to predict the effect of changing distance upon the electric field strength?

 

 

The electric field strength at a distance of 2.0 meters from a charged Van de Graaff sphere is 32 N/C. The electric field strength a distance of 1.0 meters from the same sphere is ____ N/C.


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source charge is dependent upon the quantity of charge on the source charge (Q) and the distance that the location is from the source (d). The dependency between electric field strength, the quantity of charge on the source charge, and the distance from the source is expressed by the equation

E = k • Q / d2


Equations such as the one shown in the Formula Fix section are often used as algebraic recipes for problem-solving. But equations can also be powerful guides for thinking about how a variation in one variable would affect another variable. In this question, we have to think about how a variation in d affects the E. The question can be answered by thinking in terms of factors of change. According to the equation, the electric field strength depends inversely on the square of this change. Whatever change is made of d, the inverse change is made in E. And the factor by which the change is made of E is the square of the factor by which the d changes.

In this question, the distance is decreased by a factor of two. That is, the new distance is two times smaller than the original distance. Thus, E is increased by a factor of 22. The new electric field strength is four times bigger than the original electric field strength.


How can the inverse square law be used to predict the effect of changing distance upon the electric field strength?

 

 

The electric field strength at a distance of 2.0 meters from a charged Van de Graaff sphere is 32 N/C. The electric field strength a distance of 0.50 meters from the same sphere is ____ N/C.


The electric field strength (E) at a given location about a source charge is dependent upon the quantity of charge on the source charge (Q) and the distance that the location is from the source (d). The dependency between electric field strength, the quantity of charge on the source charge, and the distance from the source is expressed by the equation

E = k • Q / d2


Equations such as the one shown in the Formula Fix section are often used as algebraic recipes for problem-solving. But equations can also be powerful guides for thinking about how a variation in one variable would affect another variable. In this question, we have to think about how a variation in d affects the E. The question can be answered by thinking in terms of factors of change. According to the equation, the electric field strength depends inversely on the square of this change. Whatever change is made in d, the inverse change is made in E. And the factor by which the change is made of E is the square of the factor by which the d changes.

In this question, the distance is decreased by a factor of four. That is, the new distance is four times smaller than the original distance. Thus, E is increased by a factor of 42. The new electric field strength is sixteen times bigger than the original electric field strength.


How can the inverse square law be used to predict the effect of changing distance upon the electric field strength?