Electric Field (50% presentation, 50% class work lab report) Duration: 2h Level:

University Part 1

Theory

The idea of electric field is used to model how an electric charge exerts a force on another charge
located at some distance. The presence of a charge in space infuses the surrounding space with a
quality whereby a second charge placed in that space will experience a force. The first charge,
sometimes called the source charge, is said to have created an electric field in the surrounding
space. Besides this qualitative description, there is also a quantitative aspect of the electric field.

Electric field, E, is a vector quantity. In both its magnitude and direction, electric field at a point
in space is equal to the force that a unit positive charge would experience when placed at that point.
In practice, a unit charge (1 C) is so big that it would move the source charges and therefore alter
their field. So, in order to measure the electric field at a point a much smaller charge, q0, called a
test charge, is placed at the point. The measured force, F, experienced by the test charge can then
be used to calculate the electric field at the point using the equation:

E (1)
𝑞0

The direction of the electric field at a point in space is the direction of the force that a positive
charge would experience when place at that point. If a negative charge is placed at the point, it
would experience a force in the opposite direction.

The electric field created by a system of source charges is a vector sum of the field created by each
charge in the system. This is called the principle of superposition.

The magnitude of electric field due to a single charge, q, at a distance, r, from it is given by the
equation:

E (2)

Electric fields are commonly represented by lines or curves drawn in a two-dimensional plane, or
a three-dimensional space, with arrows on them. These are called electric field lines. At any point
in space, the direction of the electric field is along the tangent to the curve (or along the line) as
indicated by the arrow. The distribution of field lines is indicative of the magnitude of the field.
Sparser field lines indicate weaker field and denser field lines indicate stronger field. Electric field
lines originate at positive charges and terminate at negative charges. The image below, on the left,
shows the electric field lines for a single negative charge. The image on the right shows the electric
field lines for a single positive charge.

Pre-lab Questions

1. Think of Equation 2 as the equation of a straight line. What would be the slope of an E versus
q graph.

1
 Additional information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFz1g7yBllo: slope is

2. In what direction does the electric field point at a point in space?

For a positive source charge: The electric field points away from the charge.
For a negative source charge: The electric field points toward the charge.

3. What is the magnitude of the electric field at a point in space?

4. What does the density of electric field lines tell us about the magnitude of the field?

High density of field lines: This corresponds to a strong electric field, meaning the force
experienced by a charge placed in the field would be larger.
Low density of field lines: This corresponds to a weaker electric field, indicating a smaller force
on a charge.

Procedure Setup

1. https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/charges-and-fields/latest/charges-andfields_all.html

2
 2. Click on the Play button.
3. Click the Values and Grid boxes.

Dependence of Electric Field on Distance

4. Drag the +1.0 nC charge to a point where two major grid lines intersect. Do that two more
times so that the total charge is +3.0 nC. Record this value as q = 3.0 nC above the data
table below.
5. Drag the sensor to a point 1.0 m away from the charge along the horizontal direction. In
the table below, record the value of the electric field as measured by the sensor in the first
row.
6. Complete the rest of the table.

q−9 =3,047 *10

__________________

r( m ) E ( N/C=V/m )
1.0 27.4
2.0 6.84
3.0 3,04
4.0 1.71
5.0 1,09
6.0 0,76
7.0 0,56
8.0 0,428
9.0 0,338
10.0 0,2739

7. In Excel, plot a graph of E versus r and perform an Inverse Power fit. Record the values

E ( N/C=V/m )
30,00

25,00

20,00

15,00

10,00

5,00
y = 27,389x-2
R² = 1
0,00
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
o f the fit
parameters.

3
 10.0 10

Dependence of Electric Field on Charge

8. Click the reset button then click the Values and Grid boxes.
9. Drag the +1.0 nC charge to a point where two major grid lines intersect.
10. Drag the sensor to a point 3.0 m away from the charge along the horizontal direction.
Record that distance as r below.
11. In the table below, record the value of the electric field as measured by the sensor in the
first row.
12. Increase the charge, 1.0 nC at a time, and complete the rest of the table.

r = ___3_______________

q ( nC ) E ( v/m
)
1.0 1
2.0 2
3.0 3
4.0 4
5.0 5
6.0 6
7.0 7
8.0 8
9.0 9

13. Graph E versus q and perform a linear fit.

14. Record the value of slope from the linear fit.

m = _____1___________________________

15. Get your answer to Pre-Lab question 1 checked by the instructor. Then use the answer to
calculate the expecte

4
 E ( v/m )
9
8 y=x
R² = 1
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
d value of
slope. m=k/r^2=8.99*10^9/3^2=1*10^9
16. Calculate and record the percent error in slope.
17.

Expected value of slope = ____1*10^9

Percent Error in slope = __________0%_______________________

Sketching Electric Field Lines

18. Click the reset button and click the Grid button.
19. Place a +1.0 nC and a -1.0 nC charge 5.0 m away from each other. This arrangement of
a negative and a positive charge of equal magnitude placed near each other is called an
electric dipole.
20. Use the electric field vectors displayed by the simulation as a guide to sketch below the
electric field lines of the electric dipole as smooth and continuous curves.

5
6
 21. Repeat Steps 19 – 21 for two positive charges of

equal magnitude.

Post Lab Questions

1. A charge of −5.0 mC experiences a force of 23 N due east when placed at a point A in

space. Calculate the magnitude of the electric field at the point.

|E|=|23N/-5.0*10^-3C|=−4600N/C

2. In what direction is the field at A in the previous problem?

Since the charge at point A is negative (−5.0 mC-5.0 \, \text{mC}−5.0mC) and experiences a
force towards the east, the electric field at point A points towards the east. The electric field
always points towards the source of the negative charge and away from the source of a positive
charge.

3. What would be the magnitude and direction of the force that a + 10.0 mC charge would
experience when place at A. F=(10.0×10^−3C) (4600N/C)=46N

7
 Part 2

Use the Charges and Fields PhET lab to map the electric field around one or more point charges.

Beginning Observations

1) Open the Charges and Fields PhET simulation. What can you change about the simulation?
Type of charge: You can place positive or negative charges.
Position of charges: You can move the charges around to see how the electric field changes.
Number of charges: You can add multiple charges to see the combined electric field. Field
visualization: You can display the electric field lines or use sensors to measure the field
strength at different points.
Field sensors: You can place sensors to measure the electric field at different locations.

2) What do the “E-field sensors” show?

The E-field sensors show the magnitude and direction of the electric field at the point where the sensor is
placed. The sensor measures the strength of the electric field (in units of N/C) and the direction of the
field lines, indicating whether the field is pointing towards or away from the charge.

3) Select, show E-field. How does the color of the arrow relate to the strength of the field?
Bright or dark colors (like red or blue) indicate a stronger field.
Darker colors or lighter shades indicate a weaker field

4) How can you make a charge of +2q? -3q?

Select the charge tool and adjust the charge amount by using the options provided in the simulation to set
the charge to the desired multiple of the base charge (for example, double the base charge to get +2q, or
triple the base charge to get -3q).

Part 2.1 – Field around isolated point charges

5) Draw the field lines for the scenarios below. Make sure you are sketching continuous field
lines.

4q -2q

8
Part 2.2 – Field around two point charges in a line

6) Draw the field lines for the scenarios below. Make sure you are sketching continuous field
lines.

Two unequal, unlike point charges Two equal point charges

Place a test e-field sensor anywhere on the screen for both scenarios and draw what you
see.

7) When you have two like charges in a line – where is the electric field the greatest? Is there
ever a point where the field will be zero? The electric field is greatest near the charges
themselves because the strength of the field decreases with distance, yes, there is a point

9
 along the line between the two charges where their fields cancel out. This occurs closer to
the weaker charge if the charges are not equal.
8) When you have two unlike charges in a line – where is the electric field the greatest? Is there
ever a point where the field will be zero? The electric field is greatest near the stronger charge
because its field dominates due to its magnitude. No, the field is never zero between unlike
charges since their fields reinforce each other.
Part 2.3 – More complicated scenarios

9) For this part of the lab, create three arrangements of your choice and draw the field lines you
see.

3 point charges, equal, like charges 4 point charges, 2 positive, 5 point charges all unequal,
2 negative, all 3 positive,
unequal 2 negative

10
Place at least three field sensors in each of your scenarios above and draw what you

see on your diagrams. Part 2.4 – The field around charge distributions

10) Make a long line of positive charges by placing them very close together. How does the
field change as you move down the line of charges?

11
 when a long line of positive charges is placed very close together, the electric field near the line
is strong and points outwarf, perpendicular to the line at every point. As you move farther away
from the line, the field weakens

Conclusion his lab helped me understand how electric fields work and how charges interact to
create them. In Part 1, I saw how the strength of the electric field depends on the distance from a
charge and the size of the charge itself. The results matched the theory, showing that the field
decreases with distance and increases with charge.

In Part 2, I explored the field patterns around single charges, pairs of charges, and more complex
setups. I learned how field lines show the strength and direction of the field and where fields can
cancel out or reinforce each other. Using the sensor, I saw how the field gets stronger near
charges and weaker farther away.

Overall, this lab made it easier to visualize electric fields and understand how they behave in
different situations. The simulations were a great tool for learning and confirming the theory.

12