Group No.

:12
Name of Students Evangelista, Lester John     Date of Submission
Hernandez, Odrhey

Activity No.2
Electric Fields

Objectives:

● Verify the formula for the electric field of a point charge

● Describe the electric field lines of a point charge
● Use the superposition principle in calculating the electric field of multiple point charges

Simulation Guide:
Simulation Procedures:

Go to the following site:

[Link]

Part I: Electric field of the point charge

1. Click on “Grid”. Place one positive charge in the middle of the screen as shown below.

2. Click on “Electric Field.” Can the arrows that the program uses to visualize the electric
field be called field lines? How are they similar and different from the field lines?
Yes, the arrows in the simulation depict the field lines of the positive charge
enabling us to envision the vector field present. Just like field lines, it shows that the
direction of the electric field is pointing away from the positively charged particle.
However, it does not show the magnitude of the electric field present. The arrows are
just fading as it goes farther away from the particle.
 3. Click on “Values”. Place electric field sensors (yellow circles) on five various points on
the grid. (For convenience, choose points on the intersections of the major grid lines.)
Assuming the point charge is placed in the origin of the coordinate system, record the
following information in the table below. Note the scale on the grid and make sure to use
the correct units.

Sensor # x y θ = tan 1 y |E| Electric | E | x r2

r= √ x2+y2 x
Field Angle

1 1 1 1.41 0.79 6.98V/M 63.3 ° 13.88

2 0.5 0.5 0.71 0.79 18.1V/M 45.5 ° 9.12

3 1 -0.5 1.12 -0.46 7.15V/M -26.2 ° 8.97

4 - 0.5 -1 1.12 1.11 7.57V/M -117.5 ° 9.50

5 -1 0 1 0 9.17V/M 179.1 ° 9.17

Note that the information in the columns 2 – 5 pertains to the location of the sensors and the
information in the columns 6 – 7 is magnitude and direction of the electric field calculated by the
simulator.

Questions:

a. Prove that the electric field of the point charge is radial by comparing your values in
column 5 (position angle) and in column 7 (electric field angle). Explain.

The result is -14 N/C, to the right. It is clear that they are both close or almost the
same. The entries for the position angles were calculated using the following fórmula:θ=
tan-1(y/x) 
Furthermore, we can see that the data in “electric field” is inversely proportional to
the distance squared, as well as the data being nearly the same.

b. Calculate the value of |E| x r2 for all five sensors. Add another column to the table
above to record your results. Do they show that the magnitude of the electric field of the
point charge is inversely proportional to the distance squared? Explain. Use the values
you found and the value of the point charge 1nC to find constant k experimentally.

To prove that the magnitude of the electric field is inversely proportional to the squared
distance, the value of the constant, k, is accumulated by deriving the formula from the
electric charge of a point charge.
 2
|E| = kQ
→ k = |E| r

r2 Q

where Q is equal to 1nC or 1x10-9 C.

2
|E| r2 |E| r
k= Q

The table shows that ...

4. Click Reset. Using the same setting from step 1, instead of a positive charge, place one
negative charge in the middle of the screen as shown below.

Look at the data you recorded in the table – which of the columns would change, and how? Use
the simulator to check your answer.

Part II: Electric Field of Multiple Charges

1. Place 3 charges as shown below:

Questions:

a. Using physics law, determine the magnitude and direction of the electric field at the
location of the yellow dot.
Given θ = tan 1 ( 1.5 )
: 1.5
2
k = 9 x 109 Nm 2 θ = 45
C

q = 1nC = 1 x 10-9 C Solving for components of E3:

(9x109)(1x10 9)
x = 150 cm = 1.5 m E3x = cos(45)
2.1212
y = 150 cm = 1.5 m
E3x = 2 N
C
Solving for components of E1: (9x109)(1x10 9)
kQ E3y = sin(45)
E= 2.1212
r2
2 N
E1x = E3y =
(9x109)(1x10 9) C
1.52

E1x Solving for Ex:

= 4 CN
E Ex = E1x + + E3x
=0 N E2x
1y C 2
Ex = 4 N + 0 N
+ N
C C C
Solving for components of E2:
(9x109)(1x10 9) Ex = 4 + 2 N
C
E2y =
1.52 Solving for Ey:
N
E 2y = C Ey = E1x + + E3x
4 E2x
E = 4N
2y C Ey = 0 N 4 N
+ N

N
C C 2 C
E 2x =
0
C
Ey = 2 4 CN
Solving for r:
Solving for Enet:
r=√ x2 + y2
√(E )
2
E net = x
2
+ (E y
r= √(1.50 m) 2
+ (1.50 )
2
m)
r = 2.121
√
2 2
m
Solving for θ: θ = tan 1( y )
x
Enet = (4 + 2 )
+ ( 4) 2
N
net C E =
6
 Determining the direction of Electric θ = tan 1( 2 4 )
4+ 2
Field, Enet:
θ= 25.53
θ = tan 1( EEyx)

The total electric field on the yellow dot is 6.00 NCwith a -25.53o as the direction.

b. Use the sensor button to measure the electric field at this point and compare it to your
results. How close did you come? (Note: Check the Value option to determine the value
on the sensor)
The accumulated electric field on the sensor button is 6.00 V/m. If we will compare
it to the m V total value of the electric field using the physics law, there is no difference
between the two. Converting 6 N/C to V/m , the calculated electric field magnitude will be
6.00 V/m giving a 0 percentage error. The calculated direction of the electric field is also
identical to the acquired direction from the simulation having -25.5o as its value.

2. Click Reset. Using the same setting from step 1, place the following three charges on the
screen as shown below:

Questions:

a. Using physics law, determine the magnitude and direction of the electric field at the
location of the yellow dot.
The magnitude is -15.75 N/C and the direction is to the right.

b. Use the sensor button to measure the electric field at this point and compare it to your
results. How close did you come?
The result is 15.75 N/C and the simulation result is 15.5 so it is off by .25 N/C
3. Check the Electric Field Box under settings.

4. What does the direction of the electric fields tell? Check a few of the arrows for accuracy.
Were they correct?
The direction of the electric field shows the direction of the force exerted on a
positive test charge. It also presents how the electric field behaves if another charge is
placed near it. The simulation shows an accurate depiction of the direction of how
positive charges’ electric field is directed away, while negative charges point towards the
source charge.

5. Move around the sensors button. Where is the electric field strongest? Explain conceptually
why this is the strongest location.

Because the electric field weakens the further it is away from one charge,
whether positive or negative, the site with the strongest electric field is precisely at the
center of charge. This can be shown in the formula E= kq/r^2 where the smaller the r
the the result of the E.

Post-Laboratory Questions:
1. During the laboratory simulation, arrows used to visualize the electric field lines. Can
these arrows be called field lines? How are they similar and different from the field lines?

Yes, because the arrow indicates the direction of the field's force. The field lines,
on the other hand, would show continuous lines rather than shorter lines.

2. Would life be different if the electron were positively charged and the proton were
negatively charged? Does the choice of signs have any bearing on physical and
chemical interactions?
There wouldn’t be much of a difference if electrons were positively charged and when
protons would be negatively charged. The positive charge and the negative charge will
still be present. Though these changes happen, there will still be an attraction and
repulsion between charges. Opposite charges attract, while like charges repel. The
 physical and chemical interactions wouldn’t be affected if signs were designated.
“Positive” and “negative” signs are merely a convention or definition.

3. In fair weather, there is an electric field at the surface of the Earth, pointing down into the
ground. What is the sign of the electric charge on the ground in this situation?
The charge on the ground is negative because it points to the ground.

Conclusions:
Through the laboratory experiment, the researchers were able to simulate and collect
data in relation to its electric field. The following conclusions were formulated according to the
learning objectives, results in the simulation, and discussion above:
1. The electric field of a point charge is directly proportional to the electrostatic constant, k,
and the charge of the particle, hence it is inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them.
2. The electric fields of a point charge are represented by the arrows which depict the
direction of how a charged particle affects other charges in the simulation. A positive
charged particle’s electric field is directed away, while the negatively charged particle’s
electric field is directed towards it (both occurring radially).
3. If multiple charges are present, the net electric field at a given point is the summation of
all the electric fields of the charges involved in the system. If the charges are not
collinear to each other, accumulation of its x and y components is necessary to be able
to calculate the total electric field.