Bill Dunkerton's List: Electric Fields Project

Introduction

After going through the websites and essential questions here, you should have a better understanding of the purpose of electric field lines, how to diagram them correctly, and how to calculate electric field strength.

Website #1: What are electric fiels?

What is the purpose of electric fields? The video clip on this site gives a good description of electric fields and how to visualize them. Watch the video that is on this sight and as you watch the video consider the following questions:
1. How are electric fields similar to gravitational fields?
2. What does "action at a distance" mean?
3. What properties of field lines make them good for describing electric fields?
4. What is the purpose of a "test charge"?
5. What is used to determine the direction of electric field lines?

Website #2: How to draw electric fields around charge

This site gives an excellent summary of how to diagram electric fields. Read through this website. At the bottom of the site are review questions. Work through these when you complete the reading. As you go through the sight consider the following questions:
1. What determines the density of field lines around a charge?
2. When there are multiple charges producing a field, what must be done to determine the net electric field?
3. What are some possible scenarios that could cause the electric field to be zero at some point in space?

Website #3: Viewing properties of simple electirc fields

Open this simulation site and try out its features focusing particularly on the features which allow you to create and vary electric field lines. As you do this consider the following questions: (Do not spend too much time on the features involving equipotential lines)
1. What does this simulation do differently compared to the rules used for diagramming electric field lines?
2. What is the difference in the electric field when two like charges produce it versus two opposite charges?
3. What does the field sensor tell you about the electric field as you move it around your charge configuration?

Website #4: Viewing electric fields in 3 dimensions

As you read earlier, electric field lines actually exist in 3 dimensional space. Open the simulation below and try out the various settings and available options it offers. While experimenting with the simulation consider the following questions:
1. Besides being in 3 dimensions, what about this simulation is different than the field lines that would be drawn using standard field rules?
2. Why do you think the author of this simulation chose to have these differences?
3. How does viewing the field lines in 3 dimensions change your understanding of field lines?

Website #5: Playing with electric fields

Using what you know about electric fields and charge interactions can be fun! Open the simulation below and try it out.....see if you can score! As you do consider the following questions:
1. What factors in this game determine how the "puck" moves?
2. Can this game be done with just positive charges? Leaving the puck unchanged, can the game be done with just negative charges? Explain.
3. How does including the field lines help you accomplish the task faster?

Website#6: Who is Coulomb and what did he do?

Go to the link, click on "General Physics", in the topic column that opens scroll down to the electrostatics section and click on "Coulomb's Law". Watch the video and consider the following questions:
1. Given that the force between two charged particles is directly proportional to the product of the charge on each, what happens to the size of the force between two charged objects if the charge on each doubles? Explain your reasoning.
2. Given that the force between two charged particles is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, what happens to the size of the force between two charged objects if the distance between them doubles? Explain your reasoning.
3. What does the sign on the force derived from using Coulomb's indicate?

Website #7: How to calculate electric field strength

There is a difference between electric field strength and forces caused by electric fields. Read through this website. At the bottom of the site are review questions. Work through these when you complete the reading. As you go through the sight consider the following questions:
1. What factors determine the strength of an electric field?
2. What is the difference between electric field strength and the force exerted by a charge?
3. What is it about electric fields that requires the distance factor to be squared in Coulomb's Law?

Website #8: A practicle application of electric fields

Click on the link below to open the simulation. Consider the following questions while you try out the simulation:
1. What practical application of electric fields does this simulation demonstrate.
2. What variables in this simulation determine the strength of the electric field produced?
3. What might be some factors that could interfere with the transmitted signal?
4. How might you over come the factors you listed in #3?