Chapter 21 Reading Quiz

Electric Potential
1. What are the units of potential difference?
Topics:
• Electric potential energy
• Electric potential
• Conservation of energy
• Potential and field
• Capacitors and capacitance

Sample question:
Shown is the electric potential meeasured on the surface of a patient.
This potential is caused by electric
trical signals originating in the beating
heart. Why does the potential have this pattern, and what do these
measurements tell us about the heart’s condition?
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Reading Quiz Answer

2. New units of the electric field were introduced in this 2. New units of the electric field were introduced in this
chapter. They are: chapter. They are:
A. V/C
B. N/C
C. V/m C. V/m
D. J/m2
E. Ω/m
F. J/C

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 Reading Quiz Answer
3. The electric potential inside a parallel-plate
parallel capacitor 3. The electric potential inside a parallel-plate
parallel capacitor
A. is constant.
B. increases linearly from the negative to the positive plate. B. increases linearly from the negative to the positive plate.
C. decreases linearly from the negative to the positive plate.
D. decreases inversely with distance from the negative plate.
E. decreases inversely with the square of the distance from
the negative plate.

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Reading Quiz Answer

4. The electric field 4. The electric field
A. is always perpendicular to an equipotential surface. A. is always perpendicular to an equipotential surface.
B. is always tangent to an equipotential surface.
C. always bisects an equipotential surface.
D. makes an angle to an equipotential surface that depends
on the amount of charge.

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 Electric Potential Energy Potential Energy

WAB = mghA − mghB = GPE A − GPE B

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Potential Energy Potential Energy

WAB = EPE A − EPE B

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 The Electric Potential Difference
The Electric Potential Difference
DEFINITION OF ELECTRIC POTENTIAL

The electric potential at a given point is the electric potential energy

of a small test charge divided by the charge itself:
WAB EPE A EPE B
= − EPE
qo qo qo V=
qo

The potential energy per unit charge

SI Unit of Electric Potential: joule/coulomb = volt (V)
is called the electric potential.
EPE B EPE A − WAB
VB − VA = − =
qo qo qo

∆(EPE ) − WAB
∆V = =
qo qo

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Electric Potential Exercise

Is the change ∆U of the particle positive, negative, or

U elec = qV; V = U elec / q zero as it moves from i to f?

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 A Topographic Map Graphical Representations of Electric Potential

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Checking Understanding

Rank in order, from largest to smallest, the electric

potentials at the numbered points.

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 Example Example
A proton has a speed of 3.5 x 105 m/s at a point where the A proton is released from rest att p
point a. It then travels past point b.
electrical potential is 600 V. It moves through a point where the What is its speed at point b?
electric potential is 1000 V. What is its speed at this second point?

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The Potential Inside a Parallel-Plate

Parallel Capacitor Example
A parallel-plate
plate capacitor is held at a potential difference of 250 V.
A proton is fired toward a small hole in the negative plate with a
speed of 3.0 x 105 m/s. What is its speed when it emerges through
the hole in the positive plate? (Hint: The electric potential outside
of a parallel-plate
plate capacitor is zero).

Q ∆V
V = Ex = x= C x
ε0 A d

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 Electric Potential of a Point Charge Electric Potential: Charged Sphere
Outside of a sphere of charge Q the
th potential has the same form as
for a point charge Q:

1 Q
V=
4πε
π 0 r

If the sphere has radius R and the potential at its surface is V0, then
the potential a distance r from its center can also be written

q 1 q
V=K =
r 4πε 0 r R
V= V0
r

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Example Example
For the situation shown in the figure, find A 2.0-mm-diameter
diameter plastic bead is charged to –1.0 nC.
A. A proton is fired at the bead from far away with a speed of
1.0 x 106 m/s, and it collides head-on.
head What is the impact
speed?
B. An electron is fired at the bead from far away. It “reflects,”
with a turning point 0.10 mm from the surface of the bead.
What was the electron’s initial speed?
A. The potential at points a and b.The potential difference between
a and b.
B. The potential energy of a proton at a and b.
C. The speed at point b of a proton that was moving to the right at
point a with a speed of 4.0 x 105 m/s.
D. The speed at point a of a proton that was moving to the left at
point b with a speed of 4.0 x 105 m/s.

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 Connecting Potential and Field Potential and Field for Three Important Cases

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Example A Conductor in Electrostatic Equilibrium

Source charges create the electric

potential shown.
A. What is the potential at point
A? At which point, A, B, or C,
does the electric field have its
largest magnitude?
B. Is the magnitude of the electric
field at A greater than, equal
to, or less than at point D?

C. What is the approximate magnitude of the electric field at

point C?
D. What is the approximate direction of the electric field at
point C?

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 Exercise Capacitance and Capacitors
The charge ±Q on each electrode
is proportional to the potential
difference ∆VC between the
electrodes:

Q = C∆VC

What is Q2?

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Charging a Capacitor The Capacitance of a Parallel-Plate

Parallel Capacitor

ε0 A
C=
d

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 Dielectrics and Capacitors Dielectric Constant
With a dielectric between its
plates, the capacitance of a
parallel-plate capacitor is
increased by a factor of the
dielectric constant κ:

κε 0 A
C=
d

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