Gauss’s Law and Work,

Potential energy, and

Electric field
•Work is positive when move in same
direction the force and displacement is
parallel and θ is zero.
•Work is negative when acting in opposite
direction friction and displacement
were opposite and θ is 180.
 Electric flux is a dot product too. It is the
dot product of electric field 𝐸⃑and the area
vector 𝐴⃑.
The vector product of two vectors A and B is
a vector quantity.
Φ𝐸 = 𝐸⃑ ∙ 𝐴 = 𝐸𝐴𝑐𝑜𝑠θ
A dot product of two perpendicular
vectors is always zero.
A Gaussian surface – a surface
enclosing a charge or charges, need
not have to correspond to a real,
physical object. It is a mathematical
construct of any shape, provided that it
is closed.
Gauss’s Law relates the ‘flow’ of
electric field lines (flux) to the
charges within the enclosed
surface/Gaussian. If there are no
charges enclosed by that surface,
then the net electric flux remains
zero.
What will be the sign of work done as the
charge moves to the right?
The electric field is doing positive work on the
positive charge since the electric field and the
displacement of the charge are the same.
What will happen to the potential
energy as the charge moves to the
right?

The potential energy of the charge

decreases as it moves to the right.
 Electric Potential
used to express the effect of an electric field
of a source in terms of the location within the
electric field
It is also the amount of work needed to
move a unit charge from a reference point to
a specific point against an electric field.
Potential energy is also associated with
work. If work done is positive, the
potential energy decreases.
Potential energy is also associated with
work. If work done is positive, the
potential energy decreases.
To compute for the work done in moving
the charge through a distance, the
equation below can be applied.
𝑊= 𝐹′ 𝑑 = −𝑞𝐸𝑑
Where:
W - work
F - electric force
d - distance
q - charge
E – electric field