Electric Potential in a Uniform Electric Field

Electric Potential in a Uniform Electric Field

By Rachel Wampler

Electric Field vs Electric Potential

• Both electric field and electric potential can be used to describe charges

• Electric potential (V)

  • Deals with energy

  • Scalar quantity

• Electric Field (E)

  • Deals with force

  • Vector quantity​

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Uniform Electric Field

Uniform Electric Field

Field Lines

Field lines and equipotential lines are like a topographic map where altitudes are equipotentital lines and slopes are like field lines

Multiple Choice

How far apart are two conducting plates that have an electric field strength of 4.50 x 10³ V/m between them, if their potential difference is 15.0 kV?

• 1.00 m

• 0.300 m

• 3.33 m

• 0.100 m

Multiple Choice

A doubly charged ion is accelerated to an energy of 15.0 keV by the electric field between two parallel conducting plates separated by 3.00 nm. What is the electric field strength between the plates?

• 2.5 x 10⁶ N/C

• 2.4 x 10^-15 N/C

• 4.0 x 10^-7 N/C

• 4.2 x 10¹⁴ N/C