Foundations of

Physics

By: Jhen Miles

Borreros and
Grace Valentino

Unit 7: Electricity and

Chapter 21 Electric
Charges and Forces
Magnetism
21.1 Electric Charge
21.2 Coulombs Law
21.3 Capacitors

Chapter 21 Objectives
1. Describe and calculate the forces between like
and unlike electric charges.
2. Identify the parts of the atom that carry electric
charge.
3. Apply the concept of an electric field to describe
how charges exert force on other charges.
4. Sketch the electric field around a positive or
negative point charge.
5. Describe how a conductor shields electric fields
from its interior.
6. Describe the voltage and current in a circuit with
a battery, switch, resistor, and capacitor.
7. Calculate the charge stored in a capacitor.

Chapter 21 Vocabulary Terms

charge
electrically
neutral
static
electricity
positive charge
negative
charge
electric forces
charge by
friction
electroscope
protons

electrons
gravitational
field
charged
induction
Coulombs law
capacitor
parallel plate
capacitor
microfarad
coulomb
electric field

capacitance
charge
polarization
shielding test
charge
farad
field inverse
square law
discharged
field
lines

21.1 Electric Charge

Key Question:
How do electric
charges interact?

*Students read Section

21.1 AFTER
Investigation 21.1

21.1 Electric Charge

All ordinary matter
contains both positive
and negative charge.
You do not usually notice
the charge because most
matter contains the exact
same number of positive
and negative charges.
An object is electrically
neutral when it has equal
amounts of both types of
charge.

21.1 Electric Charge

Objects can lose or gain
electric charges.
The net charge is also
sometimes called excess
charge because a charged
object has an excess of either
positive or negative charges.
A tiny imbalance in either
positive or negative charge on
an object is the cause of static
electricity.

21.1 Electric Charge

Electric charge is a
property of tiny particles
in atoms.
The unit of electric
charge is the coulomb
(C).
A quantity of charge
should always be
identified with a positive
or a negative sign.

21.1 Electric forces

Electric forces are created between all electric
charges.
Because there are two kinds of charge (positive
and negative) the electrical force between
charges can attract or repel.

21.1 Electric forces

The forces between the two kinds of charge
can be observed with an electroscope.

21.1 Electric forces

Charge can be transferred by conduction.

21.1 Electric current

The direction of current was historically
defined as the direction that positive charges
move.
Both positive and negative charges can carry
In conductive liquids (salt
current.
water)
both positive and
negative charges carry
current.
In solid metal conductors,
only the electrons can
move, so current is
carried by the flow of
negative electrons.

21.1 Electric current

Current is the movement of electric charge
through a substance.
Current
(amps)

I=q
t

Charge that
flows
(coulombs)
Time (sec)

21.1 Calculate current

Two coulombs of charge pass through

a wire in five seconds.
Calculate the current in the wire.

21.1 Conductors and insulators

All materials contain electrons.
The electrons are what carry
the current in a conductor.
The electrons in insulators are
not free to movethey are
tightly bound inside atoms.

21.1 Conductors and insulators

A semiconductor has a few free electrons and
atoms with bound electrons that act as
insulators.

21.1 Conductors and insulators

When two neutral objects
are rubbed together,
charge is transferred from
one to the other and the
objects become oppositely
charged.
This is called charging by
friction.
Objects charged by this
method will attract each
other.

21.2 Coulomb's Law

Coulombs law relates the force between
two single charges separated by a distance.
Constant
9 x109 N.m2/C2
Force
(N)

F = K q1
q2

Charges (C)

Distance (m)

r2

21.2 Coulomb's Law

The force between two
charges gets stronger
as the charges move
closer together.
The force also gets
stronger if the amount
of charge becomes
larger.

21.2 Coulomb's Law

The force between two
charges is directed
along the line
connecting their centers.
Electric forces always
occur in pairs according
to Newtons third law,
like all forces.

21.1 Coulomb's Law

The force between charges
is directly proportional to
the magnitude, or amount,
of each charge.
Doubling one charge
doubles the force.
Doubling both charges
quadruples the force.

21.1 Coulomb's Law

The force between charges is
inversely proportional to the
square of the distance
between them.
Doubling the distance
reduces the force by a factor
of 22 = (4), decreasing the
force to one-fourth its
original value (1/4).
This relationship is called an
inverse square law because
force and distance follow an
inverse square relationship.

21.2 Calculating force

Two balls are each given a static electric charge

of one ten-thousandth (0.0001) of a coulomb.
Calculate the force between the charges when
they are separated by one-tenth (0.1) of a meter.
Compare the force with the weight of an average
70 kg person.

21.2 Fields and forces

The concept of a field is used to describe any
quantity that has a value for all points in space.
You can think of the field as the way forces are
transmitted between objects.
Charge creates an electric field that creates
forces on other charges.

21.2 Fields and forces

Mass creates a gravitational field that exerts
forces on other masses.

21.2 Fields and forces

Gravitational forces are far weaker than
electric forces.

21.2 Drawing the electric field

21.2 Electric fields and electric

On the Earths surface,force
the gravitational field creates
9.8 N of force on each kilogram of mass.

With gravity, the strength of the field is in newtons

per kilogram (N/kg) because the field describes the
amount of force per kilogram of mass.

21.2 Electric fields and electric

force
With the electric field,
the strength is in
newtons per coulomb (N/C).
The electric field describes the amount of
force per coulomb of charge.

21.2 Accelerators
An electric field can be
produced by maintaining a
voltage difference across
any insulating space, such
as air or a vacuum.
Electric fields are used to
create beams of high-speed
electrons by accelerating
them.
Electron beams are used in
x-ray machines, televisions,
computer displays, and
many other technologies.

21.2 Electric shielding

Electric fields are created all
around us by electric appliances,
lightning, and even static
electricity.
These stray electric fields can
interfere with the operation of
computers and other sensitive
electronics.
Many electrical devices and wires
that connect them are enclosed
in conducting metal shells to take
advantage of the shielding effect.

21.2 Coulombs Law

Key Question:
How strong are electrical forces?

*Students read Section 21.2 BEFORE

Investigation 21.2

21.3 Capacitors
A capacitor is a storage device for electric charge.

Capacitors can be connected in series or

parallel in circuits, just like resistors.

21.3 Capacitors
A capacitor can be charged by connecting it to a
battery or any other source of current.
A capacitor can be discharged by connecting it
to any closed circuit that allows current to flow.

21.3 Capacitors
The current flowing into or out of a
particular capacitor depends on
four things:
1. The amount of charge already
in the capacitor.
2. The voltage applied to the
capacitor by the circuit.
3. Any circuit resistance that
limits the current flowing in the
circuit.
4. The capacitance of the
capacitor.

21.3 How a capacitor works inside

The simplest type of
capacitor is called a
parallel plate capacitor.
It is made of two
conductive metal plates
that are close together,
with an insulating plate
in between to keep the
charges from coming
together.
Wires conduct charges
coming in and out of the
capacitor.

21.3 How a capacitor works inside

The amount of charge a capacitor can
store depends on several factors:
1. The voltage applied to the capacitor.
2. The insulating ability of the material
between the positive and negative plates.
3. The area of the two plates (larger areas can
hold more charge).
4. The separation distance between the plates.

21.3 Capacitance
The ability of a capacitor to store charge is called
capacitance (C).
Capacitance
(coulombs/volt)
Charg
e
(C)

q=C
V

Voltage
(volts)

Cameras use capacitors to supply quick

bursts of energy to flash bulbs.

21.3 Capacitance
Capacitance is measured in farads (F).
A one-farad capacitor can store one coulomb
of charge when the voltage across its plates is
one volt.
One farad is a large
amount of capacitance, so
the microfarad (F) is
frequently used in place
of the farad.

21.3 Calculate capacitance

A capacitor holds 0.02
coulombs of charge
when fully charged by
a 12-volt battery.
Calculate its
capacitance and the
voltage that would be
required for it to hold
one coulomb of charge.

21.3 Capacitors
Key Question:
How does a capacitor work?

*Students read Section 21.3 BEFORE

Investigation 21.3

Application: How a Television

Works

Thank you : ))))