NAME:______________________________________ SECTION:_____________WEEK 3

ELECTRIFIED!
PRETEST
Choose the letter of the BEST correct answer. Write the chosen letter in your notebook.
1. It provides a graphical representation of an electric field
A. graph
B. field lines
C. parabola
D. xy-coordinate

2. When two charges exert forces simultaneously on a third charge, the total force acting on that
charge is the vector sum of the forces that the two charges would exert individually. This principle is
known as the
A. interference of charge
B. Coulomb’s principle
C. superposition of forces
D. superposition of electric field

3. Which of the following will likely occur or happen to the electric field of force of an isolated
positive charge? It will move
A. radially outward
B. radially inward
C. parallel
D. perpendicular

4. An electron immersed in an electric field of 20 N/C. What force does it feel?

A. 3.2 X 10-18 N
B. 2.2 X 10-18 N
C. 1.2 X 10-18 N
D. 0.2 X 10-18 N

5. Two charged objects attract each other with a certain force. If the charges on both objects are
doubled with no change in separation, what will happen to the force between them?
A. quadruples
B. doubles
C. halves
D. increases, but can’t say how much

RECAP
An atom consists of electrically charged particles such as neutron which is neutrally charged, proton
which is positively charged, and electron which is negatively charged. The quantity of charge (q) can
be defined in terms of the number of electrons: The coulomb: 1 C = 6.25 x 1018 electrons
Therefore, the charge on a single electron is: 1 electron: e- = -1.6 x 10-19 C
Give a brief description of each illustration about an electric charge on the table below:

Interaction of Charges Description

Charging by Rubbing

Charging by Conduction

Charging by Induction
 Unlike charges attract

Like
charges repel

LESSON

Pairs of electrical charges interact with each other according to the Law of Electric Charge. The
attractive or repulsive interaction between any two charged objects is an Electric Force (F electric).

Reference: https://images.app.goo.gl/WHFzwDETgb8FY3766

The electric force between two charges is given by Coulomb’s Law. Coulomb’s law states that the
electric force between two charges is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.

A shorter distance between chargers will experience a greater electric force, the farther the distance
gives weaker electric force. The proportionality constant k for Coulomb’s law depends on the choice
of units for a charge. 𝑭 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 = 𝒌 𝒒𝟏𝒒𝟐 /𝒓𝟐
 When the charge q is in coulombs, the distance r is in meters and the force F is in newtons, we have:

𝒌 = 𝟖.𝟗𝟗 𝐱 𝟏𝟎𝟗 𝐍.𝐦𝟐 𝐂𝟐

GREATER FORCE WEAKER FORCE

Therefore, the unit of electric force is in Newton: 𝑭 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 = 𝑵 (𝑵𝒆𝒘𝒕𝒐𝒏)

Sample Problem:

The electron and proton of a hydrogen atom

are separated (on average) by a distance of
approximately 5.3 x 10 11 m. Find the
magnitude of the electric force.

Given:
Q e = 1.60 x 10-19 C q = 1.60 x 10-19 C
r = 5.3 x 10 -11 m
k = 8.99 x10 9 (N.m2)/C2
F electric=?

If there are multiple point charges, the forces add by superposition. According to this
superposition principle, the total force acting on a given charge is equal to the vector sum of forces
exerted on it by all the other charges.
Consider a system of n charges, namely q1, q2, q3 ….qn. The force on q1 exerted by the
charge q2,

Here ^r21 is the unit vector from q2 to q1along the line joining the two charges and r21 is the
distance between the charges q 1 and q2. The electrostatic force between two charges is not affected by
the presence of other charges in the neighbourhood.
All charged particles will experience a force around them. And that region around an electrical
charge particle where force is detected is called Electric Field. The strength of the electric field is
defined to be the force per unit charge experienced by any test point charge.

Electric Field Strength:

Unit of Electric Field:

 Combining the equation of electric field strength and Coulomb’s law, the electric field
strength around a charge is,

A convenient aid for visualizing electric

field patterns is to draw electric field lines. They
consist of lines drawn tangent to the electric field
vector at any point. The number of lines drawn
being proportional to the magnitude of the field
strength.
Electric Field Lines are imaginary lines
drawn in such a way that their direction at any
point is the same as the direction of the field at
that point.
Field lines go away from positive charges
and toward negative charges.

Rules for drawing field lines:

 Field lines must begin on positive charges or at infinity and must terminate on
negative charges or at infinity.
 The number of lines drawn leaving a positive charge or approaching a negative
charge is proportional to the magnitude of the charge.
  No two field lines from the same field can cross each other.

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Examples of electric field lines between two equal but opposite charges and two
equal of the same charges:

Notice that lines leave positive (+) charges and enter negative (-) charges. Also,
E is strongest where field lines are most dense.

Sample Problem:
A charge of 1.5 C present in an
electric field produces a force of 0.06 N.
What is the intensity of the electric field?

Given:
q = 1.5 C Fe = 0.06 N
E =?

Just as electric forces can be superposed, electric fields can as well. The resultant
field E net in the vicinity of several point charges is equal to the vector sum of the fields due
to each charge taken individually.

The magnitude of electric field on each vector:

Activity 2 – Coulomb’s Law and Net Electric Field
Solve the following word problems. Show complete solutions to your answers.
1. Find the electrostatic force between charges of +2.0 C and +5.0 C separated by a
distance of 75 m in a vacuum.
2. Two charges of +8.0 mC and -6.0 mC attract each other with a force of 3.0 x 103
N in a vacuum. What is the distance between the charges?
3. A charge of 12 C when placed in electric field experiences a force of 648 N.
What is the magnitude of the electric field strength?
4. What happens to the force between two charged metal spheres in a vacuum if the
charge on each is doubled and the distance between them is multiplied by three?

EXIT SLIP!
Nickname:

One thing I learned:

What I want to know?

ELECTRIC FIELDS AND ELECTRIC FORCES IN DAILY LIFE:

Describe how electric forces and electric fields interact in each photo.
Name other phenomena that show the presence of electric fields and electric forces.

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter in your notebook.
1. In Coulomb’s law, increasing the distance between particles by a factor of 2
keeping all other factors the same, electric force will:
A. cause the force to decrease by a factor of 4
B. cause the force to decrease by a factor of 2
C. cause the force to increase by a factor of 4
D. cause the force to increase by a factor of 2
2. Decreasing the charge on both particles by a factor of 2 while leaving all
other factors the same will:
A. cause the force to decrease by a factor of 4
B. cause the force to decrease by a factor of 2
C. cause the force to increase by a factor of 4
D. cause the force to increase by a factor of 2
3. By how much does the electric force between two charges change
when the distance between them is doubled?
A. 4
B. 2
C. 1/2
D. 1/4
4. A positive charge of 3.0 x 10 -7 C is located in a field of 27 N/C directed
toward the south. What is the force acting on the charge?
A. 4.1 x 10 -6 N B.6.1 x 10 -6 N
C. 8.1 x 10 -6 N
D. 10.1 x 10 -6 N

5. A positive test charge of 5.0 x 10 -6C is in an electric field that exerts a force
 of 2.0 x 10 -4 N on it. What is the magnitude of the electric field at the
location of the test charge?
A. 2.0 x 10 1 N/C
B. B.4.0 x 10 1 N/C
C. C.6.0 x 10 1 N/C
D.8.0 x 10 1 N/C

R E F E R E N CE S

Physics a First Course Teacher Resource CD-Rom, 2005. CPO Science.

Tony Wayne. Physics Students Workbook.Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0
United States License.
Faughn, J. S.; Serway, R. A. Holts Physics, Teacher’s Edition Textbook, 2006. Pages 160-
163.
Tom Strong. Honors Physics Review Notes. 2009. Mt. Lebanon High School
Tony Wayne. Physics Students Workbook. Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial
3.0 United States License.
Walker, James S., Physics, Fourth Edition. 2010. Lecture Outline, Chapter 7.
Pearson Education, Inc.