GENERAL

PHYSICS 2
Chapter 2
Lesson 2.1
Introduction
•Gravitational force and electrostatic
force are both conservative forces.
•For a conservative force, there is an
associated potential energy U.
Electric Potential Energy in a
Uniform Electric Field

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Example 2.1
A point charge of 3.0 nC with a mass of 4.0g is moved from
x =1.0 m to x=1.5 m in an electric field of 5.O N/C with the
same direction as the motion of the charge.
(a)How much work is done on the charge by the electric
force?
(b) What is the change in the potential energy of the
charge?
(c) Assuming that the charge started from rest, what is its
speed at x=1.5 m?
Electric Potential and Potential
Difference
• The electric potential (also called electrostatic
potential or simply potential) at any point in an
electric field E is electric potential energy per unit
charge at that point.
• Electric potential is designated as
• Electric potential is a scalar quantity.
• Its SI unit is the volt named after Alessandro Volta
who devised one of the first electric cells.
• Considering point A at infinity or ground (zero potential
energy), potential is also defined as the work done to move a
unit charge from infinity to an arbitrary point B.
• On the other hand, if point A is neither the ground nor infinity,
then the work done by the electric force in moving unit
positive test charge from point A to point B is called the
potential difference between points A and B.
• The potential difference between A and B, designated as
VABs is determined by subtracting the potential at point A
from the potential at point B.

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Example 2.2
•A charge of 6x 10^-7 C is transferred
from infinity to point B. If the work
done by the electric force to do this is
1.2x10^-5 J, what is the potential at
point B?
Calculating Electric Potential and
Potential Difference
• The electric potential at a point is a scalar quantity.
• It could be negative, positive, or zero, depending
on the sign of the charge.
• At a point near a positive charge, the potential is
positive; near a negative charge, it is negative.
Example 2.3
A point charge of -6.00x 10^-9 C is 3.00 m
from point A and 5.00 m from point B.
(a) Find the potential at point A and point B.
(b) How much work is done by the electric
field in moving a 2.00 nC particle from point
A to point B?
Example 2.4
•Four charges, q1=5.00x 10^-7 C,
q2 =-3.00x 10^-7 C,
q3 =-2.00 x 10^-7 C and q4=6.00x 10^-
7 C, are situated at the corners of a
square of side 4.00 m. Find the
potential at the center of the square.
Equipotential Surfaces and Field
Lines
• An equipotential surface is a three-dimensional
surface on which the potential is the same every
point on that space.
• Since the potential energy does not change as a
charge is moved over an equipotential surface,
the electric field cannot do work on such charge.
• Thus, the electric field lines and equipotential
surfaces are always perpendicular to each other. 12
Example 2.5
A conducting sphere of radius 3.25 cm has a
total charge of 4.50x 10^-9 C distributed
uniformly on its surface area. Find the
potential at
(a)its surface,
(b) any point inside the sphere, and
(c) a distance of 5.0 cm from the center of the
sphere.
Example 2.6
An insulating sphere of radius 4.0 cm
has a total charge of 4.0x10^-9 C
distributed uniformly over its volume.
Find (a) its volume charge density and
(b) the potential at its surface.
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General Physics 2
Lesson 2.2
Why is there energy in a camera flash?

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 Capacitor
• A capacitor is a device for storing
charges.

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• There are several types of capacitors.
• A capacitor is usually named after
the dielectric material plate
connected to it and transfers them
to the other plate.
• Common dielectric materials used in
a capacitor are mica, glass, air,
ceramic, and paper.
Capacitance
• the ability of a capacitor to store charges.
• Capacitance is mathematically defined as the

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ratio of the amount of charge in one plate to the
potential difference V between the plates.
• The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (F)
namedafter Michael Faraday.
• Note that 1 farad is equal to 1 coulomb per volt.
Symbol of Capacitors

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The capacitance of a parallel plate
capacitor isaffected by the following factors:
1.The area of plates. The bigger the area of the
plates, the greater the capacitance.

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2.The distance between the plates. The closer the
plates to one another, the greater the
capacitance.
3.The insulating material or dielectric between
them. The capacitance is determined in terms of
the material's permittivity constant ε the higher
the ε , the greater the capacitance.
Example 2.7
• A capacitor consists of two square metal

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plates, each measuring 5.00x 10-2 m on a
side. In between the plates is a sheet of
mica measuring 1.00x 10-4 m thick.
• (a) What is the capacitance of this capacitor?
If the charge in one plate is 2.00x 10-8 C,
what is the (b) potential difference and (c)
electric field between the plates?
Capacitors in Series

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Capacitors in Parallel

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Combination of Capacitors
SERIES PARALLEL

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q1=q2=q3=qn qT=q1+q2+q3
VT=V1+V2+V3... VT=V1=V2=V3
1/CT = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + 1/C3 CT=C1+C2+C3
Example 2.8
• Given that C1= 10.0F C2=5.0F and C3=4.0F,

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Find the total capacitance for each
connection shown.
Example 2.9
• A parallel plate capacitor is made up of two

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plates, each having an area of 8.0x10-4 m and
separated from each other by 5.0 mm. Half of
the space berween the plates is filled with glass
and the other with mica. Find the capacitance of
this capacitor.
Activity 2: Capacitors in series and in parallel

C1=6.0μF C2=3.0μF and Vab= 18 V.

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Find the equivalent capacitance and the
charge when the capacitors are
connected
(a) in series and
(b) in parallel
Energy Storage in Capacitors
and Electric-Field Energy
• We can calculate the potential energy of a charged capacitor by calculating the
work required to charge it.

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 Electric-Field Energy
• We can charge a capacitor by moving electrons directly
from one plate to another.
• This requires doing work against the electric field

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between the plates.
• Thus we can think of the energy as being stored in the
field in the region between the plates.
• To develop this relationship, let’s find the energy per
unit volume in the space between the plates of a
parallel-plate capacitor with plate area and separation
• We call this the energy density, denoted by u
Electric-Field Energy

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