Electric Charge and

Electric Field
PREPARED BY QUENNIE S. BROCA
Atoms – fundamental building blocks of the matter.

Protons +𝑒 - positively charged particle

Electron −𝑒 - negatively charged particle

Neutron – no charge / electrically neutral

Charge of proton ≈ charge of electron = 1.6022 × 10−19 𝐶

➢ Electric Charge
Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter that causes matter to
experience a force when placed in an electromagnetic field.

2 types of electrical charges:

❑ Positive charge
❑ Negative charge

Law of Charges:
Like charges repel, unlike charges
attract.

An experiment using a glass rod and a rubber rod shows that like
charges repel each other, and unlike charges attract each other.
➢ Charging by Induction
➢ Electrostatic Force: Coulomb's Law
𝑟
𝑞1 𝑞2

Coulomb’s Law:
The force exerted by two charged objects on another is proportional to the product of the
magnitude of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them.

Mathematically,
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹=𝑘 2
𝑟
where F is the force, and k is the proportionality constant having a value of 9 ×
109 𝑁𝑚2 Τ𝐶 2 . Thus, we can now rewrite the equation as:
9 2 2
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹 = 9 × 10 𝑁𝑚 Τ𝐶
𝑟2
 9
𝑞 𝑞
2Τ 2 1 2
𝐹 = 9 × 10 𝑁𝑚 𝐶
𝑟2

𝐹 is in Newtons 𝑁 , 𝑟 is in meters 𝑚 , and 𝑞1 and 𝑞2 are in coulombs 𝐶 .

Sample Problem #1
Two point charges are separated by a distance of one meter. The two point charges have equal
magnitudes of −10−6 𝐶. Find the electric force between the two.
Given: 𝑞1 = 𝑞2 = −10−6 𝐶
𝑟 = 1𝑚
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹= 𝑘 𝑟2

9 2 Τ 2 𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹 = 9 × 10 𝑁𝑚 𝐶 𝑟 2

Solution:
−6 −6
9 2 Τ 2 −10 𝐶 −10 𝐶
𝐹 = 9 × 10 𝑁𝑚 𝐶 1𝑚 2

𝑭 = 𝟎. 𝟗 𝑵
Sample Problem #2
a. What is the electrostatic force of attraction between a −6.0 × 10−6 𝐶 and a 4.0 × 10−6 𝐶
charges if they are separated by a distance of 3 𝑚?
Given: 𝑞1 = −6.0 × 10−6 𝐶
𝑞2 = 4.0 × 10−6 𝐶
𝑟 = 3𝑚
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹= 𝑘 𝑟2

9 2 Τ 2 𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹 = 9 × 10 𝑁𝑚 𝐶 𝑟 2

Solution:
−6 −6
9 2 Τ 2 −6.0×10 𝐶 4.0×10 𝐶
𝐹 = 9 × 10 𝑁𝑚 𝐶 3𝑚 2

𝑭 = −𝟎. 𝟎𝟐 𝑵
b. Two identically charged one-peso coins are 1.5 𝑚 apart on the table. What is the charge of
the coins one of the coins if each of them experiences a repulsive force of 2.0 N?
Given: 𝐹 = 2.0 𝑁
𝑟 = 1.5 𝑚
𝑞1 = 𝑞2 = 𝑞
𝑞2
𝐹= 𝑘 2
𝑟
2
𝑞
𝐹= 9 2
9 × 10 𝑁𝑚 Τ𝐶 2 2
𝑟
𝐹 𝑟 2
𝑞= 9×109 𝑁𝑚2 Τ𝐶 2

Solution:

2.0 𝑁 1.5 𝑚 2
𝑞= 9×109 𝑁𝑚2 Τ𝐶 2

𝒒 = 𝟐. 𝟐𝟒 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟓 𝑪