Chapter 1:

Electric Charges and

Electric Fields
Engr. Angel Micah S. Foronda
Objectives:
• Discuss what an electric charge is with reference to subatomic
particles.
• Explain how bodies become electrically charged by rubbing,
conduction, and induction.
• Calculate the net electric force on a point charge exerted by a system
of point charges.
• Use Coulomb’s Law and the superposition principle to calculate the
electric field due to a system of point charges.
• Calculate electric flux.
• Use Gauss’s law to infer electric field due to uniformly distributed
charges on long wires, spheres, and large plates.
• Solve problems involving electric charges, dipoles, force, fields, and
flux.
Getting Recharged:
What are the subatomic particles?
1. Protons (+)
2. Electrons (–)
3. Neutrons (0)
Electric Charges
 (Q or q)
Electric Charges
• Determines the electric and magnetic
interaction between subatomic
particles and other charged particles.

• They are affected by

electromagnetism.
• Electromagnetism – physical attraction
that occurs between electric charges and
electric fields.
Electric Charges
(Q or q)
The table below shows the properties of the subatomic
particles in terms of mass, charge, and location.

Charge Location in
Particle Mass (in kg) (in Coulomb (C)) atom

Proton Nucleus

Electron Outside Nucleus

Neutron None Nucleus

 Example #1
Aluminum has an atomic number 13.
This means that it has 13 electrons and
13 protons. What is the total charge of
all electrons in an aluminum atom?

Solution:
 Example #2
Find the total charge of 5 electrons
and 3 Protons.
Solution:

)
Conductor and Insulator
In certain materials such as
aluminum, copper, and other metals, the
outermost or valence electrons are free to
move around the entire materials, such
materials are classified as conductor. In
other materials, such as glass and wood,
the electrons are more lightly bound to
atom that they do not easily move
around. These materials are insulators.
Charging Objects
1. By Rubbing
2. By Conduction
3. By Induction
Charging Objects
Charging Objects
Charging Objects
Triboelectric Series Materials:

TRIBOELECTRIC SERIES
1. Dry hand 6. Wool 11. Rubber
2. Leather 7. Fur 12. Polyester
3. Glass 8. Silk 13. Polystyrene
foam
4. Human hair 9. Wood 14. Polyurethane
5. Nylon 10. Amber 15. PVC
 Activity #1
1. What is the total charge of all
electrons in a potassium atom if it
has an atomic number of 19? Answer:
2. Find the total charge of 21 electrons
and 54 Protons. Answer:
3. A sphere has 10^10 electrons. Find
its charge. Answer:
Real-life Application:
Recap:
1. Electric charge determines the
electric and magnetic interaction
between subatomic particles.
2. Protons, electrons, and neutrons are
called subatomic particles.
3. “Like charges repel, unlike charges
attract.”
4. Charging methods include rubbing,
conduction, and induction.
Electric Force
Electric Force
Electric Force (F)
According to Charles Augustin de
Coulomb, the magnitude of force
decreases when the distance of separation
between the charges increases.
• Electric force between two charges is directly
proportional to the product of the magnitude of the
charges.
• Electric Force is inversely proportional to the square of
the distance.
Coulomb’s Law

Where:
F = electrostatic force between the two charges in
Newton (N)
k = (Proportionality Constant)
Q = point charges in Coulomb (C)
r = distance of separation of two charges in meter
(m)
 Example #1
Two-point charges are separated by a
distance of one meter. The two-point
charges have equal magnitudes of -
10^(-6) C. Find the electric force
between the two.

Answer:
 Example #2
You have two-point charges, Q₁ and Q₂,
3m away from each other. The value of
Q₁ is 3μC, and the force they both
experience is 0.024N. What is the value
of Q₂?

Answer:
 Board Work
Two-point charges are placed 0.5
meters apart. One charge is +5 μC, and
the other is −2 μC. What is the electric
force between them?

Answer:
 Example #3
Two charges lie on positive x-axis.
Charge A is 2.0 cm from the origin and
Charge B is 4.0 cm from the origin.
What is the total force exerted by these
two charges on Charge C located at the
origin?
Answer:
 Activity #2
1. Two charged spheres and are 10cm apart. Calculate
the force that each charge exerts on a third charge
which is 6cm away from Q2. Find the magnitude and
direction of the net force acting on Q3. Answer:
2. Two identical point charges, each of magnitude
2x10^(-6) C, are placed 3 meters apart. A third charge
of unknown magnitude Q3 is placed midway between
them, and it experiences no net force. Determine the
magnitude and sign of the third charge Q3. Answer:
Recap:
1. Coulomb’s law states that electric
force between two charges is directly
proportional to the product of the
magnitude of the charges and
inversely proportional to the square
of the distance.
Electric Fields
Electric Fields
Electric Fields
Electric Fields (E)
Aside from electric forces generated
from electric charges, it also creates an
electric field E. The electric field of charge
Q is the space surrounding the charge. It
also exerts a force F on any test charge q
placed within that region. Electric field is
represented by the equation:
or
Electric Fields
or

Where:
E = electric field in N/C or V/m
F = electric force in Newton (N)
Q = charge in Coulombs (C)
k = (Proportionality Constant)
r = distance of separation of two charges in meter (m)
Electric Field Lines
Electric Field Lines

PhET simulation
 Example #1
How much is the electric field intensity
at a point 3m away from a charge of 10-
10
C.

Answer:
 Example #2
Find the magnitude of the total electric
field at the origin of the coordinate
system due to the two-point charges,
and . The two charges are located at the
x-y coordinate position of (0, -2cm) and
(4cm, 0) respectively.

Answer:
 Activity #3
1. Determine the magnitude and direction of the
electric field at a point in the middle of two-
point charges of 6.77μC and −4.91μC
separated
Answer: ) by 5.20cm?

2. A charge of 2μC experiences a force of 0.01 N

when placed in an electric field. What is the
magnitude
Answer: of the electric field at the location of
the charge?
Recap:
1. Electric field is a vector quantity.
These are invisible lines showing
the direction and strength of an
electric field around charged
objects.
2. Electric field equation is given as:
Electric Flux
Electric Flux
Electric Flux ()
• A measure of the rate of flow of an
electric field through a given area. It is
the property of an electric field which
determines the number of electric field
lines that pass through an area.
• It is the total number of electric field
lines passing through a given area per
unit of time.
Electric Flux

Where:
= Electric flux in Volt-meter (V-m) or Nm²/C
E = Electric field in N/C
A = Area of the considered surface in m^2
θ = Angle (in degrees) between the electric field lines
and the line perpendicular to the surface.
Electric Flux

∅ 𝑬 =𝑬𝑨 ∅ 𝑬=𝑬𝑨𝒄𝒐𝒔 𝜽 ∅ 𝑬 =𝟎
Gauss’s Law
• Discovered by Carl Friedrich
Gauss, this law relates the electric
flux through any enclosed surface
to the total charge inside that
surface.
• A mathematical representation of
the electric flux over a surface.
Gauss’s Law

Where:
= Electric flux in Volt-meter (V-m) or Nm²/C
q = net charge inside the surface in Coulombs (C)
= permittivity of free space (8.85x10^(-12) F/m)
Gauss’s Law
The Gaussian surface does not
need to correspond to a real, physical
object; indeed, it rarely will. It is a
mathematical construct that may be of
any shape, provided that it is closed.
However, since our goal is to integrate
the flux over it, we tend to choose
shapes that are highly symmetrical.
 Example #1
An electric flux of 5Nm²/C passes
through a flat surface that is
perpendicular to a constant electric field
of strength E = 3N/C. What is the area
of the surface?

Answer:
 Example #2

What is the flux from a 12μC charge

inside of a sphere?
Answer:
 Board Work
A uniform electric field of 100 N/C is
directed along the positive x-axis. A flat
surface of area 0.5 m2 is placed
perpendicular to the electric field. Find
the electric flux through the surface.

Answer:
 Activity #4
1. A uniform electric field of E = 233 N/C passes through
a flat surface with an area of A = 0.4 m2 . The surface
is tilted at an angle of 30° with respect to the direction
of the electric field. What is the electric flux through
the surface? Answer:
2. You have a cube with a 6.71μC charge in the center.
Each of the cube's sides is 17.8cm long. What is the
flux through one of the faces of the cube? Answer:
Recap:
1. Electric flux is the product of the
electric field and the enclosed area of
the surface:

2. Gauss’s law state that the electric flux

through a gaussian surface is equal to
the net charge Q enclosed by the
surface divided by the permittivity of
free space:
THANK YOU!