CAPS

Physical Sciences
Grade 11
Electricity & Magnetism I

Electrostatics

Copyright of the GMMDC© 2020

Exam Guidelines: Electricity & Magnetism

ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM is examined in Paper 1 (3 hr)

Exam Weighting
• 50 marks out of 150 – 33%

Examinable Materials
• Electrostatics (Electricity & Magnetism I)
• Coulomb’s law, electric fields
• Electric Circuits (Electricity & Magnetism II)
• Ohm’s law, power & energy
• Electromagnetism (Electricity & Magnetism III)
• Magnetic fields associated with current-carrying
conductors, Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction
Coulomb’s Law
COULOMB’S LAW, in words …
The magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point
charges (here q1 and q2) is ..
• directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of
the charges (q1·q2), and …
• inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r2)
between them
The force acts along the straight line joining the two points.
• if the charges are the same, it is a repulsive force;
• if the charges differ, it is an attractive force.

q1 q2
r
As Formula
Coulomb’s Law, in mathematical form …

Coulomb’s constant, k charges (in coulomb)

9,0 × 109 N·m2·C-2

magnitude of the force

𝑞1 𝑞2
(in newtons)
𝐹=𝑘 distance between
𝑟2 the charges (m)
Remember: force is a
vector quantity – and thus has direction

Ignore the sign of the charges when calculating the magnitude

of the electrostatic forces between them …
• then, if the charges have the same sign (both + or – ), it is
a repulsive force, and …
• if the charges have opposite signs, it is an attractive force.
Example
Two point charges, A and B, are suspended
from a platform. Each carries a charge of
+2 μC. They are 3 cm apart.
a) Do the charges attract or repel? B on A
b) Calculate the magnitude of the force +
between them. A on B
a) Like charges repel – A repels B with
the same force that B repels A (Newton’s 3rd Law). The force
operates along the line connecting the two charges.
𝑞1 𝑞2
(b) 𝐹=𝑘
𝑟2
2 · 10 −6 × 2 · 10−6
= 9 · 109
3 · 10−2 2
= 40 𝑁 – a repulsive force
 Exploring the Relationships q1 q2
According to Coulomb’s Law … r
𝐹 ∝ 𝑞1 × 𝑞2 combined … as equation …
magnitude of force

𝑞 𝑞 𝑘𝑞1 𝑞2ൗ
𝐹 ∝ 1 2ൗ 2 𝐹=
𝑟 𝑟2

Note the similarity with Newton’s Universal

product of charges Law of Gravitation 𝑚 𝑚
𝐹=𝐺 1 2ൗ
𝑟2
𝐹 ∝ 1ൗ 2 Both are inverse-square laws …
𝑟
Differences …
magnitude of force
magnitude of force

• the applicable constant (k, G)

(note the size difference: G = 6,67×10-11, and
k = 9×109 – k is1,4×1020 times larger)
• applicable to interaction between
1/r 2 r2 charges as against masses
Considerations
The SI unit for charge is the COULOMB (C).
One coulomb is the charge of 6,24×1018 electrons or protons –
quite a large quantity, you will agree.
• A typical bolt of lightning carries 5 to 25 C of charge.
• The smallest charge – the elementary charge – is the charge
on an electron, equal to –1,6 × 10-19 C (neg. charge)
• The charge on a proton is the same as for an electron, only
positive.

When solving problems concerning electrostatic force ….

• sketch the relative position of charges, with distances, etc.
• diagram the vectors (remember, forces are vector quant.)
• use Coulomb’s Law to calculate the magnitude of the force
• use the vector diagram and what trigonometry might be
needed, to determine the direction of the relevant forces.
• add appropriate units to the final answer
Example
3 point charges (q1: +6 μC; q2: –3 μC q1: +6 μC q2: –3 μC
and q3: +1,5 μC) are arranged as in the
4 cm
diagram, with 4 cm from q1 to q2, and +y

3 cm
3 cm from q1 to q3.
q3: +1,5 μC +x
a) What is the force q1 exerts on q2?
b) What is the net force on q1?
Note the x and y directions chosen as positive …
a) Since q1 and q2 have opposite charges, q1 will attract q2, i.e.
the force on q2 will be in a negative x direction.
𝑞 𝑞 −6 −6
𝐹 = 𝑘 1 2ൗ 2 = 9 · 109 6 · 10 · 3 · 10 ൗ = 101,25 𝑁
𝑟 4 · 10−2 2
q1 exerts a force of –101,25 N on q2 (in neg. x direction, to left)
b) q1 is attracted by q2 – a force in the
positive x-direction, and repelled by q3 – a
force in the positive y-direction, resultant not to scale
force – approx. as shown …
Continued …
• The force q2 exerts on q1 is equal, but opposite in direction
to the force calculated in a), i.e. +101,25 N (to right)
• The force q3 exerts on q1 …
𝑞1 𝑞3 9 6·10−6 ·1,5·10−6
𝐹=𝑘 ൗ𝑟 2 = 9 · 10 ൗ 3·10−2 2 = +90 𝑁
• Resultant force …
(use Pythagoras’ theorem to calculate the size of the resultant force)
𝐹𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 101,252 + 902 = 𝟏𝟑𝟓, 𝟒𝟕 𝑵
(use trigonometry to calculate direction, as anti-clockwise angle from +x-dir)
𝐹𝑞3 𝑜𝑛 𝑞1
tan 𝜃 = ൘𝐹 = 90ൗ101,25
𝑞2 𝑜𝑛 𝑞1

F(q3 on q1)
therefore θ = 41,6°
Resultant force: 135,47 N, in a
direction 41,6° above x-axis. 𝜃 F(q2 on q1)
Another Example
+
Find the net (resultant) force 10 cm 0,15 m
on q2.
q1: –2 nC q2: 3 nC q3: –3,5 nC
Both q1 and q3 exert an
attractive force on q2 (in each case, the sign of the charges differ).
• exerted by q1 …
𝑞1 𝑞2 9 2 · 10−9 × 3 · 10−9
𝐹=𝑘 ൗ𝑟 2 = 9 · 10 ൗ 10 · 10−2 2

= – 5,4 × 10-6 N (to the left)

• exerted by q3 …
𝑞3 𝑞2 3,5 · 10−9 × 3 · 10−9
𝐹=𝑘 9 ൘
ൗ𝑟 2 = 9 · 10 0,15 2
= 4,2 × 10-6 N (to the right)
Net (resultant) force on q2 is the sum of these two forces
= – 5,4 × 10-6 + 4,2 × 10-6 = –1,2 × 10-6 N, (i.e. in a
negative direction (in the direction of q1)
 Electric Field

An ELECTRIC FIELD is a region in space in which an electric

charge will experience an electric force. The direction of the
field at a particular point is the direction in which a positive test
charge would move if placed at that point.

An electric field can be represented by field lines, e.g. …

Note: these field lines represent an
+q: pos. test charge
electric field – there are no actual field
lines, visible or invisible, around
a charge …
Some further notes – Gr 10 revision
• field lines never cross
• the closer together the lines are, the
stronger the field is there
• the field direction is given by the direction
a pos. test charge would move in at that point
Field Lines
Here the field around a negative charge …
+q: pos. – note the field line direction (the test
test charge
charge is attracted to the neg. charge)
Some more points to keep in mind
– about electric fields and field lines …
• field lines are always drawn perpen-
dicular to a charge / charged surface
• an electric field exists in 3 dimensions
– even if only drawn in two dim.
• for a positive charge, the field lines move
outwards, for a neg. charge they move inward (towards the charge)
• the greater the magnitude of the charge, the stronger the field, and
the more lines pass through surface.
Let’s now explore field lines around
two charged objects …
(arrows are left out in these two diagrams; lines,
depending on the sign of the charge, could flow inward or outward.)
 Two Charged Objects
Electric field lines around two charges with the same magnitude but
opposite sign. When field lines are drawn between two (or
more) charges, the lines represent the
net force a positive test charge would
experience at that point.
The test charge at A experiences the
following two electrostatic forces …
F2 F1 – a force of repulsion (like charges)
A F2 – a force of attraction (unlike charges)
resultant
force Determine the resultant (net) force in the
normal way. (complete the parallelogram … )
F1
At point A, the net force experienced by the test
charge is in the direction of the field line as shown in the diagram.
Note again: the field lines are drawn from the pos. charge to the neg.
charge – in the direction of the force a test charge would experience.
Between Like Charges
The field lines between two identical charges are as shown …
The charges in this case are
positive (with field lines moving
outward).
+Q +Q
If the charges were both neg.,
the lines would move inward –
following exactly the same
pattern.
A test charge placed right at the
centre would experience no resultant force, the forces from either
charge balancing perfectly.

When the magnitude of the charges differs significantly, the

patterns seen above will be distorted, with far more lines coming
from the larger charge (producing a stronger field), and fewer from
the smaller charge (a proportionally weaker field).
Between Charges with Different Magnitudes
Electric field lines between two charges (positive and negative)
with different magnitudes (QA > QB) (not for exam purposes)

We’ve looked at the shape and direction of

electric fields. There is still the question of
the strength of an electric field, defined as
… the force experienced by a charge (F) in an
electric field, per unit charge (q).
The strength of an electric field (ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH) (E) is equal to
the force on a positive test charge divided by the strength of the test charge.
𝐹 𝑜𝑛 𝑞 Do note: Electric field strength is a vector quantity,
𝐸=
𝑞 with magnitude and direction (the direction of force).
The formula is thus correctly written as ….
𝑬 = 𝑭𝒐𝒏 𝒒 ൗ𝒒 with the units of the electric field: newton per
coulomb (N·C-1)
Caution
Electrical charge, q, is a scalar quantity, and thus a negative
charge does not indicate direction.
As when calculating electrostatic force, so when calculating
electric field strength, the best way is to perform calculations
ignoring the signs of the charges. Only then decide on the
direction of the field.
We can combine the formulae for electrostatic force and electric
field strength …
𝐹 𝑄𝑞 1 𝑄
𝐸= =𝑘 2 ∙ =𝑘 2
𝑞 𝑟 𝑞 𝑟
where E = electric field strength in N·C-1, k = Coulomb’s constant,
Q the charge creating the electric field (in C), and r the
distance between the charge Q and the point at which the
field strength must be determined.
Note: E only depends on Q, not on the size of the test charge, q.
 Examples …
1) Determine the magnitude of the force experienced by a test
charge of 3 nC if placed in an electric field with a strength of 5
N·C-1.
E = F/q, ∴ 5 = F/ 3·10-9, ∴ F = 1,5·10-8 N
Nothing is given about the direction of the electric field, or the
sign of the charge causing the field, hence nothing can be said
about the direction of the force.
2) Calculate the electric field strength at point X which is 15 mm
from a charge of 5 μC.
E = kQ/r2 = (9·109)(5·10-6)/(15·10-3)2
= 2·108 N·C-1
3) A positive test charge of 3×10-6 C experiences a force of 0,12
N at an angle of 15° from the x-axis. What are the magnitude
and direction of the electric field at the point where the test
charge is?
Continued …
E = F / q = 0,12 / 3·10-6 = 4·104 N·C-1.
The electric field will have the same direction as the
electrostatic force, i.e. 15° from the x-axis.
Note: for a force as specified in this question, the force vector
starts at the origin, then moves outward, as in the diagram.
After solving a problem, always
ask yourself: Are the units correct?
Does the direction make sense?
Are the values realistic?
Doing so ensures that you pick up
careless mistakes and can rectify
them.
Exercises – Understanding: The End

Having studied this section on Electrostatics, work through as

many of the associated exercises as possible.
Remember, practice (and more practice) makes perfect.
Where you are uncertain about something, consult with your
teacher, or your classmates. Always try to clarify difficulties as
soon as possible.
And remember too: is
key – the right answer will then take care of itself.