Unit 8: Static Charge and Electric Potential Difference

The Study of electric charges that can be collected and held in one place

• Electrostatics

• Insulators

• Electroscope

• Coulomb's Law

The process of removing excess charge by touching an object to Earth

• Electrostatics

• Charging by Conduction

• Grounding

• Equipotential

The work needed to move a positive test charge from one point to another, divided by the magnitude of the test charge; also called potential difference.

• Electric Potential Difference

• Electroscope

• Electric Field Line

• Electric Field

States that the force between two point charges varies directly with the product of their charge and inversely with the square of the distance between them.

• Capacitance

• Electroscope

• Coulomb

• Coulomb's Law

The process of charging a neutral object by touching it with a charged object.

• Elementary Charge

• Charging by Conduction

• Grounding

• Charging by Induction

The process of charging an object without touching it, which can be accomplished by bringing a charged object close to a neutral object, causing a separation of charges, then separating the object to be charged, trapping opposite but equal charges.

• Charging by Conduction

• Grounding

• Charging by Induction

• Capacitance

The magnitude of the charge of an electron; approximately 1.602 x 10^-19 C.

• Charging by Conduction

• Elementary Charge

• Equipotential

• Electrostatics

A line that indicates the direction of the force due to the electric field on a positive test charge; the spacing between the lines indicates the field's strength; a closer line spacing indicates a stronger field; the lines never cross and they are directed toward negative charges and away from positive charges

• Electric Field Line

• Electric Potential Difference

• Electric Field

• Electroscope

The ratio of the magnitude of charge on one capacitor plate to the electric potential difference between the plates; the slope of the line of a net charge versus potential difference graph.

• Capacitance

• Capacitor

• Electroscope

• Electrostatics

the potential difference of zero between two or more positions in an electric field

• Electrostatics

• Grounding

• Equipotential

• Elementary Charge