Year 13
Side B2a: Electric Fields
Extend field ideas into Coulomb's law, electric fields, and electric potential.
Part of Year 13 CIE Physics 9702.
Topic Overview
What students will cover
This topic builds directly on the gravitational fields topic. The comparison between electric and gravitational models should help you see what is shared and what changes when charge is involved.
You begin by defining electric field strength and representing electric fields with field lines. The next lessons use Coulomb’s law for point charges, develop point-charge field strength, and then connect electric potential, potential gradient, and potential energy before a focused practice lesson consolidates the comparison with gravitational fields.
Revision
Topic revision route
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Recall vocabulary
Electric field
a region where a charge experiences a force; electric field strength is force per unit positive charge.
electric field strength
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field lines
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positive test charge
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uniform field
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Coulomb's law
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point charge
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Electric potential
the work done per unit positive charge in bringing a small test charge from infinity to the point.
potential gradient
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electric potential energy
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parallel plates
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spherical conductor
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inverse square law
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permittivity of free space
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practice
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electric fields
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gravitational fields
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Resource bank
- Lesson resources
- 4
- Topic resources
- 0
Open the relevant lesson first, then use its linked slides, worksheets, simulations, or practice tasks.
Syllabus CIE 9702 coverage in this topic
12 points across 4 lessons
Show details
CIE 9702 coverage in this topic
12 points across 4 lessons
18.1.1
understand that an electric field is an example of a field of force and define electric field as force per unit positive charge
18.1.2
recall and use F = qE for the force on a charge in an electric field
18.1.3
represent an electric field by means of field lines
18.2.1
recall and use E = ∆V / ∆d to calculate the field strength of the uniform field between charged parallel plates
18.2.2
describe the effect of a uniform electric field on the motion of charged particles
18.3.1
understand that, for a point outside a spherical conductor, the charge on the sphere may be considered to be a point charge at its centre
18.3.2
recall and use Coulomb’s law F = Q1Q2 / (4πε 0 r 2) for the force between two point charges in free space
18.4.1
recall and use E = Q / (4πε 0 r 2) for the electric field strength due to a point charge in free space
18.5.1
define electric potential at a point as the work done per unit positive charge in bringing a small test charge from infinity to the point
18.5.2
recall and use the fact that the electric field at a point is equal to the negative of potential gradient at that point
18.5.3
use V = Q / (4πε 0 r) for the electric potential in the field due to a point charge
18.5.4
understand how the concept of electric potential leads to the electric potential energy of two point charges and use EP = Qq / (4πε 0 r)
Lessons
Lesson sequence
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Lesson
01Electric Fields
Introduce electric field strength, field lines, and uniform fields.
Lesson
02Coulomb's Law
Use Coulomb's law to model forces between point charges.
Lesson
03Electric Field Strength and Potential
Develop point-charge field strength, electric potential, and electric potential energy.
Lesson
04Practice
Consolidate electric fields and compare them with gravitational fields.