All Flashcards
Label the following diagram of a point charge electric field.
Field lines radiate outward for positive charge, inward for negative charge.
Label the following diagram of an electric field between two parallel plates.
1: Positive Plate, 2: Negative Plate, 3: Uniform Electric Field Lines (pointing from + to -)
Label the following diagram of the electric field around two opposite charges.
Field lines curve from the positive charge to the negative charge.
Compare and contrast electric fields and gravitational fields.
Electric fields can be attractive or repulsive, while gravitational fields are always attractive. Both fields exert forces on objects (charge or mass) and diminish with distance.
Compare the behavior of conductors and insulators in electric fields.
Conductors allow charges to move freely, resulting in zero electric field inside at electrostatic equilibrium. Insulators resist charge movement and can be polarized by electric fields.
How do you find the net electric field due to multiple charges?
Use the principle of superposition: calculate the electric field due to each charge individually as vectors, then add the vectors to find the resultant electric field.
Describe the head-to-tail method of adding electric field vectors.
Place the tail of one vector at the head of the other. The resultant vector is drawn from the tail of the first vector to the head of the last vector.
Describe the parallelogram method of adding electric field vectors.
Place the vectors at the same starting point, complete the parallelogram, and draw the resultant vector as the diagonal.