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GENERAL PHYSICS 2
Topic: COULOMB’S LAW and ELECTRIC FIELD Week
Teacher: AMAYA S. TOBIAS, LPT 5-6
Date: February 25, 2021- March 25, 2021

Student Name: ____________________________Grade: _____Section: __________

TARGET GUIDE

1. Calculate the net electric force on a point charge exerted by a system of point charges
2. Describe an electric field as a region in which an electric charge experiences a force
3. Draw electric field patterns due to systems with isolated point charges
4. Calculate the electric field due to a system of point charges using Coulomb’s law and the
superposition principle.
THINGS TO LEARN

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

1. explain Coulomb’s law
2. Understand electric force and its relationship to electric field
3. Calculate problem relate to coulomb’s law.
4. Analyze the interaction between types of object involving the distance.

THINK ABOUT IT

List down similarities

and difference
between these types of
field.
TEACHING POINTS

ELECTRIC FIELD
The electrostatic force, like the gravitational force, is a force that acts at a distance, even when
the objects are not in contact with one another. To justify such the notion we rationalize action at
a distance by saying that one charge creates a field which in turn acts on the other charge. An
electric charge q produces an electric field everywhere. To quantify the strength of the field
created by that charge, we can measure the force a positive “test charge” q0 r experiences at
some point. The electric field E is defined as:

ELECTRIC FIELD LINES

Electric field lines provide a convenient graphical representation of the electric field in space.
The field lines for a positive and a negative charges are shown in Figure below.

Notice that the direction of field lines is radially outward for a positive charge and radially
inward for a negative charge. For a pair of charges of equal magnitude but opposite sign (an
electric dipole), the field lines are shown in Figure 2
Figure 2. Field lines for an electric dipole.

The pattern of electric field lines can be obtained by considering the following:

1. Symmetry: For every point above the line joining the two charges there is an equivalent
point below it. Therefore, the pattern must be symmetrical about the line joining the two
charges.
2. Near field: Very close to a charge, the field due to that charge predominates. Therefore,
the lines are radial and spherically symmetric.
3. Far field: Far from the system of charges, the pattern should look like that of a single
point charge of value Q = ∑i Qi . Thus, the lines should be radially outward, unless Q= 0
4. Null point: This is a point at which E=0 , and no field lines should pass through it.

The properties of electric field lines may be summarized as follows:

 The direction of the electric field vector E at a point is tangent to the field lines.
 The number of lines per unit area through a surface perpendicular to the line is devised
to be proportional to the magnitude of the electric field in a given region.
 The field lines must begin on positive charges (or at infinity) and then terminate on
negative charges (or at infinity).
 The number of lines that originate from a positive charge or terminating on a negative
charge must be proportional to the magnitude of the charge.
 No two field lines can cross each other; otherwise the field would be pointing in two
different directions at the same point.

ELECTRIC FIELD DUE TO POINT CHARGE

Consider the electric field due to a point charge Q. According to Coulomb’s law, the force it
exerts on a test charge q is F=k(qQ)/d2. Thus the magnitude of the electric field, E for a point
charge q is:
The electric field is thus seen to depend only on the charge Q and the distance d; it is completely
independent of the test charge q.

EXAMPLE:
Calculate the strength and direction of the electric field E due to a point charge of 2.00 nC
(nanoCoulomb) at a distance of 5.0mm from the charge.

Strategy: We can find the electric field created by a point charge by using the equation:

Solution:

Here, Q= 2.00x10-9 C and d=5.00x10-3 m. Entering those values into the above equation.

Discussion: This electric field strength is the same at any point 5.00mm away from the charge Q that
creates the field. It is positive, meaning that it has a direction pointing away from the charge Q.
PROPERTIES OF ELECTRIC FIELD LINES

 Field lines must begin on positive charges and terminate on negative charges or at infinity in the
hypothetical case of isolated charge.
 the number of field lines leaving a positive charge or entering a negative charge is proportional
to the magnitude of the charge
 The strength of the field is proportional to the closeness of the field lines-more precisely, it is
proportional to the number of lines per unit area perpendicular to the lines.
 the direction of the electric field is tangent to the field at any point in space

COULOMB’S LAW
The force between two point charges is…
 directly proportional to the magnitude of each charge (q1, q2)
 inversely proportional to square of the separation between their centers (r)
 directed along the separation vector connecting their centers (r̂)

This relationship is known as Coulomb's Law. Charles-Augustin Coulomb (1736–1806)

France. As an equation it is usually written in one of two forms…
Charges (C)

Distance (m)
EXAMPLE:
Two 40 gram masses each with a charge of 3μC are placed 50cm apart.
. TASK TO DO

CALCULATE THE FOLLOWING.

1. Two point charges, QA = +8 μC and QB = -5 μC, are separated by a distance r = 10 cm.
What is the magnitude of the electric force.
2. Calculate the force between charges of 5.0 x 10 8 C and 1.0 x 10 7 C if they are 5.0 cm
apart.
3. Two charged particles as shown in figure below. QP = +10 μC and Qq = +20 μC are
separated by a distance r = 10 cm. What is the magnitude of the electrostatic force
4. Two equal charges of magnitude 1.1 x 10 7 C experience an electrostatic force of 4.2 x
10 4 N. How far apart are the centers of the two charges?
5. Two spheres; 4.0 cm apart, attract each other with a force of 1.2 x 10 9 N. Determine the
magnitude of the charge on each, if one has twice the charge (of the opposite sign) as the
other.
THINGS TO PONDER

CALCULATE THE FOLLOWING.

1. In the vicinity of point charge q, we place a 0.2μC-charge so that a force
of 5×10−5N applied on it due to the charge q. Find the electric field produced by this
unknown charge q? 
2. What is the magnitude and direction of an electric field that exerts a 2.00x10-5 N upward
force on a -1.75microcoulombs charge?
3. What is the magnitude and direction of the force exerted on a 3.00micorcoulomb by a
250N/C electric field that points due east.
4. What is the repulsive force between two pith balls that are 8.00cm apart and have equal
charge of -30.0C?
5. Three charges, lie along the x axis as shown: q
6. 1
7. = 6 µC, q
8. 2
9. = -2 µC. Determine the magnitude
10. and direction of the net force on q
11. 3
12. = 1.5 µC.

TEST YOURSELF

Sketch the electric field around the following arrangements of "small" charged objects.
a) an isolated positive charge
b) an isolated negative charge
c) two positive charges of equal magnitude
d) two negative charges of equal magnitude
e) an electric dipole (one positive and one negative charge of equal magnitude)

TRUSTED REFERENCES
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/elefor.html
https://physics.info/coulomb/
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1007&context=calculusbasedphysics
https://web.njit.edu/~janow/Physics%20121%20Spring%202020/Review%20Material/Common
%20Exam%201/Common%201%20Problem%20Solutions%20and%20Notes.pdf