Lab 2: Electric Field and Potential

Alexandria Renfro
24 June 2018

This study source was downloaded by 100000775171968 from CourseHero.com on 07-31-2022 21:38:29 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/32350036/Lab2TablesandQuestionsdocx/
 Pre-Lab Questions
1. How are electric potential and electric field similar? How are they different? Each of them

exists in the presence of a charge. Also, they both are related by E=-grad*V. Electric

potential is scalar and electric field is a vector.

2. Draw the equipotential lines for a single, positive, charge.

3. If you were to walk on an equipotential line, how would your electric potential change

over time? It wouldn’t change because it’s the same at all points.

4. What does it mean when equipotential lines are closer together? What does it mean

when they are farther apart? Close together means its strong, farther apart means it’s a

weak electric field.

5. What direction do electric fields travel? It is perpendicular to the equipotential line from

high to low potential.

This study source was downloaded by 100000775171968 from CourseHero.com on 07-31-2022 21:38:29 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/32350036/Lab2TablesandQuestionsdocx/
 6. How can you tell whether an electric field is strong or weak by observing an electric field

map? The more field lines means its stronger, less field lines means its weaker at that

location.

7. What would the electric field lines look like if the electric field was constant? They would

be parallel and uniform.

8. Can there be a point in space where there is an electric field but no electric potential?

Explain you answer. It is possible if the two charges of the same magnitude are

separated the midpoint joining their electric fields would cancel and be zero.

9. Use Figure 5 to answer the following questions:

Figure 5: Charged particles P (left) and Q (right).

a. Are charges P and Q negative or positive? How do you know? They are positive

since the electric charge is going away from them.

This study source was downloaded by 100000775171968 from CourseHero.com on 07-31-2022 21:38:29 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/32350036/Lab2TablesandQuestionsdocx/
 b. Which particle has the highest magnitude of charge? How do you know? Q does

because it has more electric field lines. The electric field lines determine the

magnitude of the charge.

10. In the following experiment you will create an electric field that contains charged objects

of various shapes. Given the two field maps below, if the left charge (blue rectangle or

circle) is positive and the right charge is negative, predict the electric field lines by

drawing them over the field maps. Either scan your drawings or take a digital photo that

you can insert into your report.

+ - + -

This study source was downloaded by 100000775171968 from CourseHero.com on 07-31-2022 21:38:29 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/32350036/Lab2TablesandQuestionsdocx/
 Experiment 1: Mapping Electric Potentials – Post-Lab Questions
1. Did your predictions from Pre-Lab Question 10 match with your data analysis? Use your

results to support your answer.

2. Use the data collected to draw your equipotential lines by drawing a “smooth” curve

connecting the 5 to 8 data points with the same potential as described in step 20, for

each equipotential. Label what potential each equipotential line represents. You may

simply complete your equipotentials on Figures 8b and 9b, or bnjjju clean with

Figures 10a and 10b. Insert your figures here by scanning or photographing them.

Figure 10: Equipotential mapping areas for post-lab questions 1 and 2.

3. Add electric field lines to the Figure 10 field maps. Don’t forget that electric fields are

vectors and need to have a direction. Insert your figures here by digitally scanning or

photographing them.

Hint: Use a different colored writing utensil to help make the distinction between

the equipotential lines and the electric field lines.

This study source was downloaded by 100000775171968 from CourseHero.com on 07-31-2022 21:38:29 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/32350036/Lab2TablesandQuestionsdocx/
 4. Did your predictions from Pre-Lab Question 10 match with your data analysis? Use your

results to support your answer. It did match , the equipotential is perpendicular to the

electric field lines. There is also a constant electrical potential with electrical force

potential decreasing

This study source was downloaded by 100000775171968 from CourseHero.com on 07-31-2022 21:38:29 GMT -05:00

https://www.coursehero.com/file/32350036/Lab2TablesandQuestionsdocx/
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)