LESSON II: ELECTRIC

FORCE & ELECTRIC

FIELD
OBJECTIVES:

A. Calculate the net electric force on a point charge exerted by a system of point
charges.

B. Describe an electric field as a region in which an electric charge experiences a

force.

C. Calculate the electric field due to a system of point charges using Coulomb’s law
and the superposition principle

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ELECTRIC FORCE
- is a non-contact force, a vector quantity: it exists despite the fact that the
interacting objects are not in physical contact with each other. The two objects can
act over a separation distance and exert an influence upon each other.

Now consider the case of the rubber balloons hanging on threads from the ceiling. If
each balloon is rubbed in the same manner (with polyester cloth), they each
become positively charged and exert a repulsive effect upon each other. This
charge interaction results in a force upon each balloon that is directed away from
the balloon with which it interacts.

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Direction of Electric Force
The direction of the electrical force is dependent upon the charge of the objects
and upon their spatial orientation. If the two objects have the same sign/charge, the
force on either object is directed away from the other (they repel each other).

If the two objects have opposite signs/charges, the force on one is directed toward the
other (they attract).

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Magnitude of Electric Force
- two charged objects will repel/ attract each other and the strength of their electric
force can be altered by changing three variables:
1. quantity of charge on object A
2. quantity of charge on object B
3. distance between the two objects

Coulomb’s Law
The magnitude of the electric force between two charged objects is directly
proportional to the product of the quantity of charge on the objects and inversely
proportional to the square of the separation distance between the two objects.

Coulomb’s constant ( unit is quantity of charge on object A and

k = 9.0 x 109 Nm2 / C2 B (unit is C)
𝑸𝟏𝑸𝟐
𝐅=𝐤
𝒅𝟐 5
Distance of separation (unit is m)
Example #1
Suppose that two point charges, each with a charge of +1.00 Coulomb are separated by a distance of
1.00 meter. Determine the magnitude of the electric force of repulsion between them.
Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.

Step 2: Solve the unknown.

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𝑭 =𝟗 .𝟎 𝒙 𝟏𝟎 𝟗 𝑵
Example #2
Determine the electric force of attraction between two balloons with separate charges of +3.5 x 10-8 C
and -2.9 x 10-8 C when separated a distance of 0.65 m.
Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.
C
-2.9 x 10-8 C

Step 2: Solve the unknown.

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𝑭 ≈ −𝟐.𝟐 𝒙 𝟏𝟎− 𝟓 𝑵
Example #3
A point charge is located 3.60 m from a point charge. Find the magnitude of electric force. Is the
force attractive or repulsive?
Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.

Step 2: Solve the unknown.

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𝑭 ≈ 𝟖.𝟒𝟔 𝒙 𝟏𝟎−𝟖 𝑵 ,𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞
Principle of Superposition of Electric Forces
If several charges are present, the net force on any one of them is the vector sum of
the forces due to each others. When several forces act on a single charge, the net force
( on a charge is the vector sum of all the forces acting on it:

Example #4
Three charged particles are arranged in a line, as shown in
Figure below. What is the net electric force exerted by on

Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.

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Step 2: Solve the unknown.

The net force on particle 3 is

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 y
Example #5
Three charged particles are aligned along the y-axis as shown in the 𝑄1=− 4.00 𝑛𝐶 -
figure. Find the net electric force experienced by charge .
0.500 m
Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values. 𝑄2 =5.00 𝑛𝐶 +

0.800 m

𝑄3 =3.00 𝑛𝐶 +

Step 2: Solve the unknown.

¿ −𝟕 . 𝟐 𝒙 𝟏𝟎−𝟕 𝑵

≈ 𝟐 . 𝟏𝟏 𝒙 𝟏 𝟎−𝟕 𝑵

The net force experienced by charge is

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ELECTRIC FIELD
- Electric field is a vector quantity and defined as the electric force per unit
charge. It can be visualized as arrows going toward or away from charges. The
lines are defined as pointing radially outward, away from a positive charge,
or radially inward, toward a negative charge.
The unit is N/C.
Electric Force

Strength of the Electric field

Test charge

A charged object creates an electric field - an alteration of the space in the region that
surrounds it. And if another charge gets near enough, that charge will sense that
there is an effect when present in that surrounding space.

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Revisiting Coulomb’s Law

where:
k = 9.0 x 109 Nm2 / C2
d – separation distance between charges
Q – charge on the source charge
q – test charge

Substitute the coulomb’s law to the previous equation.

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Example #1
Calculate the electric field that a test charge will experience if the distance from the source charge
of +5.02 x 10-13 C is 2.04 x 10-3 m.
Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.

Step 2: Solve the unknown using the given values.

¿ 𝟏 .𝟎𝟗 𝒙 𝟏𝟎𝟑 𝑵 /𝑪

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Example #2
A charge of +3.0 x 10-8 C experiences an electrostatic force of 6.0 x 10-8 N. Compute the force per
coulomb that the charge experiences.
Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.

Step 2: Solve the unknown using the given values.

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Example #3
Compute the electric field experienced by a test charge q = from a source charge Q = in a vacuum
when the test charge is placed 0.20 m away from the other charge.
Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.

Step 2: Solve the unknown using the given values.

≈ 𝟑 . 𝟑𝟖 𝒙 𝟏 𝟎𝟔 𝑵 /𝑪

or

( )( ( 1.50 𝑥 10 − 5 𝐶 )( 8.00 𝑥 10− 7 𝐶 )

)
2
𝑄𝑞 9 𝑁 𝑚
𝐹 =𝑘 2
= 9.0 𝑥 10 2
=2.7 𝑁
𝑑 𝐶 ( 0.20 𝑚 ) 2

𝐸=
𝐹
=
2.7 𝑁
≈ 𝟑 . 𝟑𝟖 𝒙 𝟏𝟎
𝟔
𝑵 / 17
𝑪
𝑞 8.00 𝑥 10 −7
𝐶
Superposition of Electric Field
If the electric field at a given point in space is due to more than one charge, the individual field

Example #4
Two point charges are separated by a distance of 0.1 m as shown in the figure below. One has a
charge of and the other Determine the electric field at a point a.

Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values.

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Step 2: Solve the unknown using the given values.

The net electric field at point a is

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Example #5
A point charge is located 0.05 m from a point charge as shown in the figure below. Find the net
electric field at point b.

𝑄1=1.45 𝑥 10− 9 𝐶 𝑄2 =8.40 𝑥 10− 9 𝐶 𝑏

𝑑 1=0.05 𝑚 𝑑 2=0.03 𝑚

Solution:
Step 1: Identify the unknown and the given values. The net electric field at point b is

Step 2: Solve the unknown using the given values.

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Electric Field lines
Since electric field is a vector, it can be represented by a vector arrow. These pattern of lines,
sometimes referred to as electric field lines, point in the direction that a positive test charge would
accelerate if placed upon the line.
Positive Source Charge - electric field vector would always be directed away from positively charged
objects

Negative Source Charge - electric field vectors are always directed towards negatively charged objects.

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Thank you! 

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