Chapter 2 : ELECTROSTATIC POTENTIAL

2. ELECTROSTATIC POTENTIAL AND CAPACITANCE

1) What do you mean by the conservative nature of electric field?
The conservative nature of electric field means that the work done to move a
charge from one point to another point in electric field is independent of path,
but it depends only on the initial and final positions of the charge.
2) Define Electrostatic Potential.
Electrostatic potential at a point in field is defined as the work done to move a
unit positive charge, without any acceleration from infinity to that point at
consideration.
If is the work done to move a charge from infinity to a point, then the
electric potential at that point is
SI Unit is J C-1 = volt (V)
3) What is the SI unit of Electric Potential?
SI Unit of Electric Potential is J C-1 = volt (V)
4) Derive the expression for electric potential at a point due to a point charge.
Consider a point charge Q at origin O. Let P be a point at a distance r from it.
Let A and B be two points at a distance and
from O along the line OP.

The force experienced by unit positive charge (+1C) at A

Where

is unit vector along OA

The work done to move a unit positive charge (+1C) from B to A is

Here,

and

are opposite, therefore

From eq (1), we get

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The potential at a point P is work done to move unit positive charge (+1C) from
infinity to P, therefore

5) How does the electric field and electric potential vary with distance from a point
charge?
The electric field
The electric potential

6) Write the expression for electric potential at a point due to an electric dipole
and hence obtain the expression for the same at any point on its axis and any
point on its equatorial plane.

Where
is the electric dipole moment.
= distance of the point from the centre of the dipole.
= the angle between and .
For any point on the dipole axis,

For any point on the equatorial plane,

2

we get

, we get
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7) How does the electric potential at a point due to an electric dipole vary with
distance measured from its centre? Compare the same for a point charge.
For an electric dipole (at large distances), we have

The electric potential varies inversely with the square of the distance.
For a point charge,

The electric potential varies inversely with the distance.

8) Using superposition principle, write the expression for electric potential at a
point due to a system of charges.

Where
are the point charges and
distances of the point from the respective point charges.

are the

9) What is an equipotential surface? Give an example.

An Equipotential surface is a surface with same potential at all points on it. The
surface of a charged conductor is an example.
10) What are the equipotential surfaces of a point charge?
The Equipotential surfaces of a point charge are the concentric spheres with
centre at the point charge.
11) Draw the Equipotential surfaces for a point charge.

12) Give the condition for equipotential surface in terms of the direction of the
electric field.
The electric field is always perpendicular to the equipotential surface.
13) Explain why the equipotential surface is normal to the direction of the electric
field at that point.
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If the Equipotential surface is not normal to the direction of the electric field at a
point, then electric field will have a non- zero components along the surface and
due to this work must be done to move a unit positive charge against this field
component. This means that there is potential difference between two points on
the surface. This contradicts the definition of equipotential surface.
14) Obtain the relation between the electric field and potential.
OR
Show that electric field is in the direction in which the potential decreases
steepest.
Consider two equipotential surfaces A and B with the potential difference
between them as shown in figure. Let be the perpendicular distance between
them and be the electric field normal to these surfaces.

The work done to move a unit positive charge from B to A against the field
through a displacement
is
This is equal to the potential difference , therefore

15) Define Electrostatic Potential energy of a system of charges.

Electrostatic potential energy of a system of charges is defined as the work done
to move the charges from infinity to their present configuration.
16) Derive the expression for potential energy of two point charges in the
absence of external electric field.
Consider a system of two point charges
separated by a distance
as
shown in figure.

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Chapter 2 : ELECTROSTATIC POTENTIAL

The work done to move

from infinity to A is,

(There is no initial electric field)

The work done to move

from infinity to B is,

WhereV1B is the electric potential at B due to q1, it is given by

The potential energy of this system of charge is equal to total work done to build
this configuration. Therefore

17) Write the expression for potential energy of two point charges in the absence
of external electric field.
Electrostatic potential energy is

Where
are the point charges and
is the distance between them.
18) Write the expression for potential energy of two point charges in the presence
of external electric field.
Electrostatic potential energy is

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Chapter 2 : ELECTROSTATIC POTENTIAL

Where

are the point charges, V1 and V2 are potentials at the positions of

respectively and
is the distance between them.

19) Mention the expression for potential energy of an electric dipole placed in an
uniform electric field. Discuss its maximum and minimum values.
Where

= dipole moment.
= Electric field.
= Angle between dipole axis and electric field.

When the dipole axis is perpendicular to the field

P E is minimum (zero).
When the dipole axis is parallel to the field
P E is maximum.
20) Explain why Electric field inside a conductor is always zero.
Otherwise free electrons would experience force and drift causing electric
current.
21) Explain why Electrostatic field is always normal to the surface of charged
conductor.
If is not normal, it will have component parallel to the surface causing surface
currents.
22) Explain why Electric charges always reside on the surface of a charge
conductor.
Because, If there are static charges inside the conductor, Electric field can be
present inside it which is not true.
23) Explain why Electrostatic potential is constant throughout the volume.
Because the Electric field inside the conductor is zero, therefore no work is done
to move a charge against field and there is no potential difference between any
two points. This means Electrostatic potential is constant throughout the
volume.
24) Write the expression for Electric field near the surface of a charge conductor.
Electric field at the surface of a charged conductor is
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is unit vector normal to the surface.

25) What is Electrostatic shielding? Mention one use of it.
The field inside the cavity of a conductor is always zero and it remains shielded
from outside electric influence. This is known as electrostatic shielding. This
property is used in protecting sensitive instruments from outside electrical
influence.
26) What are Dielectrics? Mention the types of Dielectrics.
Dielectrics are non-conducting substances. They have no charge carriers.
There are two types of Dielectrics, polar Dielectrics and non-polar Dielectrics.
27) What are non-polar Dielectrics? Give examples.
The non-polar Dielectrics are those in which the centers of positive and negative
charges coincide. These molecules then have no permanent (or intrinsic) dipole
moment.
Examples of non-polar molecules are oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2).
28) What are polar Dielectrics? Give examples.
The non-polar Dielectrics are those in which the centers of positive and negative
charges are separated (even when there is no external field). Such molecules
have a permanent (or intrinsic) dipole moment.
Examples of non-polar molecules are HCl and molecule of water (H2O).
29) What happens when Dielectrics are placed in an electric field?
Both polar and non-polar dielectrics develop a net dipole moment along the
external field when placed in it.
30) What is electric polarisation?
When Dielectric is placed in an external electric field, a net dipole moment is
developed along it. The dielectric is now said to be polarised.
The dipole moment acquired per unit volume is known as polarisation .
31) Define capacitance of a capacitor. What is SI unit?
Capacitance of a capacitor is defined ate ratio of the charge Q on it to the
potential difference V across its plates.
SI unit is

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32) What is Parallel plate capacitor?

Parallel plate capacitor is a capacitor with two identical plane parallel plates
separated by a small distance and the space between them is filled by an
dielectric medium.
33) Derive the expression for capacitance of a Parallel plate capacitor without any
dielectric medium between the plates. ( or Parallel plate air capacitor ).
Consider a parallel plate capacitor without any dielectric medium between the
plates.
Let be the area of the plates and be the plate separation.

We know that the electric field due to uniformly charged plate is E =

Where is the surface charge density of plates.
The electric field in outer region I :
The electric field in outer region II :
The electric field between the plates:

But,

We have

therefore

, therefore,

The capacitance is
Therefore,
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34) Mention the expression for capacitance of a Parallel plate capacitor without
any dielectric medium between the plates.
Where = Permittivity of free space.
A = Area of the plates.
D = Plate separation.
35) Mention the expression for capacitance of a Parallel plate capacitor with a
dielectric medium between the plates.
Where = Permittivity of free space.
K = dielectric constant of the medium between the plates.
A = Area of the plates.
D = Plate separation.
36) Define Dielectric constant of a substance.
Dielectric constant of a substance is defined as the ratio of the permittivity of the
medium to the permittivity of free space.

37) Derive the expression for effective capacitance of two capacitors connected in
series.
Consider two capacitors of capacitance and connected in series.

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In series combination charge is same on each capacitor and potential across

the combination is equal to sum of the potential across each. Therefore
But

If

is the effective capacitance of the series combination, then

Therefore,

Or

38) Derive the expression for effective capacitance of two capacitors connected in
parallel.
Consider two capacitors of capacitance and connected in parallel.

In parallel combination potential is same across each capacitor and Charge

the combination is equal to sum of the charges on each. Therefore
But

If

is the effective capacitance of the parallel combination, then

Therefore,

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39) Derive the expression for energy stored in a capacitor.

Consider a capacitor of capacitance .
At any intermediate stage of charging, let and be the charge on positive
and negative plate respectively and
be the p.d across the plates.

The work done

to move small charge

from

plate to

plate is

But,
Therefore,

The total work done to transfer

The work done is stored as energy

Therefore,

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charge from

to

plate

in the charged capacitor.

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Chapter 2 : ELECTROSTATIC POTENTIAL

40) What is Van De Graff generator? Write its labeled diagram. What is the
principle of its working? Mention its use.
Van De Graff generator is a machine which generates very high voltages of
the order of 106 V.
Labeled diagram:

Principle; A small conducting sphere when placed inside a large spherical shell is
always at higher potential irrespective of the charge on the outer shell. Thus the
charge supplied to the inner sphere always rushes to the outer shell building
very high voltages.
Use; The high voltage generated in Van De Graff generator is used to accelerate
charged particles (Particle accelerators).
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