LECTURE NOTE

COURSE CODE: PHY 102

COURSE TITLE: GENERAL PHYSICS II

(Electricity, Magnetism and Modern Physics)

Course Outline

1. Electrostatics;
2. Capacitors and Capacitance; Dielectrics;
3. Current Electricity, Ohm’s Law, Resistance and Resistivity, Cells and arrangement of
Cells,
4. Electrical Energy and Power.
5. Magnetic Field due to current-carrying conductors,
6. Electromagnetic Induction,
7. Maxwell’s equations; electromagnetic oscillations and waves;
8. Applications.

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1.0 Electrostatics
Electrostatics is the branch of Physics which deals with the study of electric charges
at rest.
1.1 Electric charge
Electric charge is a physical property of matter that causes it to experience a force
when near other electrically charged matter. There exist two types of electric charges,
called positive and negative charges.
1.2 Properties of electric charge
(i) It is a fundamental physical quantity measured in coulomb (C)
(ii) It exists in two forms. It can either be a positive or negative charge
(iii) It is quantized. This means that any charge found in nature exist in discrete
form (ne), where n is a positive or a negative integer and e is a constant of
nature called the elementary charge.
(iv) Like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other.
(v) Electrical charge is conserved i.e the net charge of an isolated system of charges
does not change no matter what interactions occur within the system.
1.3 Methods by which charges can be produced
(i) By friction
(ii) By induction
(iii) By contact
1.3.1 Charging by Friction
This occurs when one object is rubbed against another during which charge transfer
occurs. For example, if a hard rubber is rubbed with hair and brought near a piece of
paper, the paper is attracted by the rubber. This is because there is a spontaneous
transfer of electrons from the hair to the rubber. The rubber therefore acquires an
excess electron and become negatively charged, while the hair having lost some
electrons becomes positively charged.

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1.3.2 Charging by Induction:
Electric charges can be obtained on an object without touching it, by a process called
electrostatic induction.
Consider a negatively charged rubber rod brought near a neutral (uncharged)
conducting sphere that is insulated so that there is no conducting path to ground as
shown below. The repulsive force between the electrons in the rod and those in the
sphere causes a redistribution of charges on the sphere so that some electrons move
to the side of the sphere farthest away from the rod (fig. 1.3a). The region of the
sphere nearest the negatively charged rod has an excess of positive charge because of
the migration of electrons away from this location. If a grounded conducting wire is
then connected to the sphere, as in (fig. 1.3b), some of the electrons leave the sphere
and travel to the earth. If the wire to ground is then removed (fig 1.3c), the conducting
sphere is left with an excess of induced positive charge.
Finally, when the rubber rod is removed from the vicinity of the sphere (fig. 1.3d), the
induced positive charge remains on the ungrounded sphere and becomes uniformly
distributed over the surface of the sphere.

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1.3.3 Charging by Contact:
Consider the diagram below, a negatively charged rubber rod brought into contact
with a neutral conducting sphere that is insulated so that there is no conducting path
for charges to leave the sphere. As a result, some electrons on the rubber rod are now
able to move onto the sphere, as in fig 1.4a. When the rubber rod is removed, the
sphere is left with a negative charge (fig. 1.4b).

1.4 Coulomb’s Law

Law of universal gravitation states that the force of attraction between two masses
𝑚1 and 𝑚2 is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance of separation between them.
Mathematically,
𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹∝
𝑟2
𝐺𝑚1 𝑚2
𝐹=
𝑟2
where G is the gravitational constant.
The magnitude of the force between the two point charges obeys a similar inverse
square relationship with distance as in gravitational force.
Coulomb’s law otherwise known as the inverse square law therefore, states that the
force of attraction or repulsion exerted on one charged body by another is
proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square

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of the distance of separation between the two charge bodies. It can be expressed
mathematically as
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹∝
𝑟2
𝑘𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹=
𝑟2
where 𝑘 is the electrostatic constant given as
1
𝑘= = 8.9875 × 109 𝑁𝑚2 /𝐶 2
4𝜋𝜀𝑜
𝐹 = 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒, 𝑞1 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦, 𝑞2 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦
𝑟 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠

By illustration, the diagram below explain coulomb’s law

q1 q2
r
F21 F12

F21 F12
r

1.5 Similarities between Electrostatic and Gravitational Force

(i) The mathematical form of the Coulomb force is the same as that of the
gravitational force
(ii) They both obey an inverse square law.
(iii) They are both examples of a force field
1.6 Differences between Electrostatic and Gravitational Force
i. Electric forces can either be attractive or repulsive, but gravitational
forces are always attractive.
ii. Gravitational forces are considerably weaker than electrostatic forces.

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Example 1: The electron and proton of a hydrogen atom are separated by a distance
of about 5.3 × 10-11m. Find the magnitudes of the electric force and the gravitational
force that each particle exerts on the other.
Hint:
Particle Charge (C) Mass (kg)
Electron −1.60 × 10-19 9.11 × 10-31
Proton +1.60 × 10-19 1.67 × 10-27
Neutron 0 1.67 × 10-27

Solution:
From Coulomb’s law,
𝐾𝑞𝑒 𝑞𝑝 (9 × 109 𝑁𝑚2 𝐶 2 )(1.6 × 10−19 𝐶)(−1.6 × 10−19 𝐶)
𝐹𝑒 = =
𝑟2 (5.3 × 1011 𝑚)2
𝐹𝑒 = 8.2 × 10−8 𝑁
Also from Newton’s universal law of gravity
𝐺𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑝 (6.67 × 10−11 𝑁𝑚2 𝐾𝑔−2 )(9.11 × 10−31 𝐾𝑔)(1.6 × 10−27 𝐾𝑔)
𝐹𝑔 = =
𝑟2 (5.3 × 1011 𝑚)2
𝐹𝑔 = 3.6 × 10−47 𝑁
Therefore,
𝐹𝑒 8.2 × 10−8 𝑁
=
𝐹𝑔 3.6 × 10−47 𝑁
𝐹𝑒
= 2.3 × 1039
𝐹𝑔
This implies that the electrostatic force is about 2.3 × 1039 times greater than the
gravitational force.
Example 2: Find the values of two equal charges which will repel each other with a
force of 0.1𝑁 when situated 50𝑐𝑚 apart in a vacuum. (Take 𝑘 = 9 × 109 N m2 ⁄C 2 )
Solution:
Given that; 𝐹 = 0.1𝑁, 𝑟 = 50𝑐𝑚 = 0.5𝑚

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From Coulomb’s law
𝑘𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹= … (1)
𝑟2
𝐹𝑟 2
𝑞1 𝑞2 = … (2)
𝑘
0.1𝑁 × (0.5𝑚)2
𝑞1 𝑞2 =
9 × 109 𝑁𝑚2 𝐶 −2
𝑞1 𝑞2 = 2.78 × 10−12 𝐶 2
𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑞1 = 𝑞2
𝑞12 = 2.78 × 10−12 𝐶 2

𝑞1 = √2.78 × 10−12 𝐶 2
𝑞1 = 𝑞2 = 1.67 × 10−6 𝐶

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2.0 THE SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE
The principle of superposition states that the resultant force on any one charge is
equal to the vector sum of the forces exerted by the other individual charges that are
present. For example, if we have n point charges, which interact independently in
pairs, the force on any one of them, say 𝑞 1 is given by the vector sum.
𝐹⃗1 = 𝐹⃗12 + 𝐹⃗13 + 𝐹⃗14 … … … + 𝐹⃗1𝑛
Where 𝐹⃗12 is the force acting on particle 1 due to the presence of particle 2 and so on
and so forth.
Example 1: Consider three point charges at the corners of a triangle, as shown below.
Where 𝑞1 = 6 × 10−9 C, 𝑞2 = −2 x 10−9 C, 𝑞3 = 5 x 10−9 C, 𝑟13 = 5𝑚, 𝑟23 = 4𝑚, 𝑟12 =
3𝑚. Find the resultant force on 𝑞3 .
F31
F32
q2 370

q3

q1
Solution
Given that 𝑞1 = 6 × 10−9 𝐶, 𝑞2 = −2 × 10−9 𝐶, 𝑞3 = 5 × 10−9 𝐶, 𝑟1,3 = 5𝑚, 𝑟2,3 =
4𝑚, 𝑟1,2 = 3𝑚.
Recall from Coulomb’s law that
𝑘𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹= … (1)
𝑟2
Therefore, the magnitude of the force exerted on 𝑞3 by 𝑞1 is
𝑘𝑞3 𝑞1 9 × 109 × 5 × 10−9 × 6 × 10−9
𝐹31 = 2 =
𝑟31 52
𝐹31 = 1.08 × 10−8 𝑁
Also, the magnitude of the force exerted on 𝑞3 by 𝑞2 is

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 𝑘𝑞3 𝑞2 (9 × 109 )(5 × 10−9 )(2 × 10−9 )
𝐹32 = 2 =
𝑟32 42
𝐹32 = 5.62 × 10−9 𝑁
Vector Angle X-Component Y-Component
𝑭𝟑𝟏 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟖 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟖 𝐍 370 𝐹31 cos 37 = 8.6 × 10−9 𝑁 𝐹31 sin 37 = 6.5 × 10−9 𝑁
𝑭𝟑𝟐 = 𝟓. 𝟔𝟐 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟗 𝑵 00 −𝐹31 cos 0 = −5.62 𝐹31 sin 0 = 0𝑁
× 10−9 𝑁

∑ 𝐹𝑋 = 3.01 × 10−9 𝑁 ∑ 𝐹𝑌 = 6.5 × 10−9 𝑁

The magnitude of the resultant force on the charge 𝑞3 is therefore

𝐹3 = √∑ 𝐹𝑥2 + ∑ 𝐹𝑦2

𝐹3 = √(3.01 × 10−9 𝑁)2 + (6.5 × 10−9 𝑁)2

𝐹3 = 7.16 × 10−9 𝑁
The angle the vector makes with the X-axis is
|𝐹𝑦 | 6.5 × 10−9
tan 𝜃 = = = 2.1595
|𝐹𝑥 | 3.01 × 10−9
𝜃 = tan−1 (2.1595)
𝜃 = 65.2𝑜

Example 2: The figure below shows the three charged particles held in place by
forces not shown. What electrostatic force owing to the other two charges acts on q1.
Take q1=-1.2µC, q2=+3.7µC, q3=-2.3µC, r12=15cm, r13=10cm, k=9 x 109Nm2/C2 and 𝜃 =
320.

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 q3

 q2
F12
q1
F13

Solution:
Given that, q1=-1.2µC, q2=+3.7µC, q3=-2.3µC, r12=15cm, r13=10cm, k=9 x 109Nm2/C2
and 𝜃 = 320
Recall from coulombs law that the magnitude of the force exerted on 𝑞1 by 𝑞2 is
𝑘𝑞1 𝑞2 (9 × 109 )(1.2 × 10−6 )(3.7 × 10−6 )
𝐹12 = 2 = = 1.77𝑁
𝑟12 0.152
Similarly,
The magnitude of the force exerted on q1 by q3 is

𝑘𝑞1 𝑞2 (9 × 109 )(1.2 × 10−6 )(2.3 × 10−6 )

𝐹12 = 2 = = 2.48𝑁
𝑟12 0.12
Vector Angle X-Component Y-Component
𝐹 12=1.77N 00 𝐹 12Cos 00=1.77N 𝐹 12Sin 00=0N
𝐹 13=2.48N 580 𝐹 13Cos580 =1.3142N 𝐹 13Sin 580=-2.1032N
∑ 𝐹x=3.08N ∑ 𝐹y=-2.1032N

The magnitude of the resultant force on the charge q1 is therefore

F1 = Fx2 + Fy2

F1 = (3.08) 2 + (−2.1032) 2
F1 = 9.4864 + 4.4235
F1 = 13.9099
F1 = 3.73N

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The angle the vector force makes with the x-axis is

Fy 2.1032
tan  = = = 0.6829
Fx 3.08
 = tan −1 (0.6829) = 34.330

Exercise
1. Each of two small spheres is charged positively, the combined charge being
5.0 × 10−5 𝐶. If each sphere is repelled from the other by a force of 1.0N when
the sphere are 2.0m apart, calculate the charge on each sphere.
Ans: 𝑞2 = 3.89 × 10−5 𝐶, 𝑞1 = 1.11 × 10−5 𝐶 or vice versa.
2. Three charges were positioned as shown in the figure below. If Q 1 = Q2 =8µc
and d= 0.5m, determine q if the charge at p is zero.

Q2 Q1

Ans. q = -11µc

3.0 ELECTRIC FIELD

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An electric field is a region of space in which an electric charge will experience an
electric force.

3.1 ELECTRIC FIELD STRENGTH OR ELECTRIC FIELD INTENSITY

Suppose we place a test charge q0 at a point in an electric field, the test charge
experiences a force F. Therefore, the electric field strength (intensity) E, can be
defined as the force per unit charge. Mathematically the magnitude of the field is given
by
𝐹(𝑁)
𝐸= … (1)
𝑞𝑜 (𝐶)
It is measured in Newton per coulomb (𝑁/𝐶). The direction of the electric field
intensity 𝐸 at a point in space is the same as the direction of the force a positive test
charge would experience if it were placed at that point.

We must however note the following;

i. Since force is a vector quantity, the electric field is also a vector quantity.
ii. The dimensions of E are 𝑀𝐿𝑇 −3 𝐼 −1.
iii. The magnitude of 𝑞𝑜 must be small enough to affect the distribution of
the charges that are responsible for 𝐸.
iv. 𝐸 is numerically equal to the force acting on unit charge placed at a point.

3.2 Calculation of Electric Field

Consider the following charge distributions;
(a) Electric field due to a point charge:

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We have defined electric field at a point due to a test charge as the ratio of the force
on it to the charge. i.e
𝐹
𝐸=
𝑞
In addition the electric field at a point may also be computed from coulomb’s law, if
the magnitudes and position of all charges contributing to the field are known. For
example, if we want to find the electric field intensity at a point 𝑃 distance 𝑟 from a
point charge 𝑄 (fig 2.1),

q0 E
r P
Q

We will assume that a test charge q0 is placed at a point P.So that the force on the
charge by coulomb’s law is
𝑘𝑄𝑞𝑜
𝐹= … (2)
𝑟2
𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙
1
𝑘= … (3)
4𝜋𝜀𝑜
𝑃𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (3)𝑖𝑛 (2), 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑𝑠
𝑄𝑞𝑜
𝐹= … (4)
4𝜋𝜀𝑜 𝑟 2
But the electric field at P is
𝐹
𝐸= …. (∗)
𝑞𝑜
𝑃𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (4) 𝑖𝑛 (∗), 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒

𝑄𝑞𝑜
𝐸= ÷ 𝑞𝑜
4𝜋𝜀𝑜 𝑟2

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 𝑄𝑞𝑜 1
𝐸= ×
4𝜋𝜀𝑜 𝑟2 𝑞𝑜
𝑄
𝐸=
4𝜋𝜀𝑜 𝑟2

(b) Electric Field due to Several Point Charges:

E3
Q1
Ep

E2
P Q2

E1
Q3

Suppose we have several point charges as shown above, then we can evaluate ‘E’ by
using the principle of superposition and vectorial addition. For example, if a number
of point charges 𝑄1 , 𝑄2 , and 𝑄3 are at distances 𝑟1 , 𝑟2 , and 𝑟3 from a given point 𝑃, as in
fig. 2.2. The resultant field is the vector sum of the contributions due to each charge
considered independently. i.e
𝐸⃗⃗𝑝 = 𝐸⃗⃗1 + 𝐸⃗⃗2 + 𝐸⃗⃗3

More generally, 𝐸⃗⃗ = 𝐸⃗⃗1 + 𝐸⃗⃗2 + 𝐸⃗⃗3 + ⋯ + 𝐸⃗⃗𝑛

Example 1: Find the electric force on a proton placed in an electric field of
2.0 × 104 N/C that is directed along the positive x axis.
Solution
𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝐸 = 2.0 × 104 𝑁⁄𝐶 , 𝑞𝑝 = +1.6 × 10−19 𝐶, 𝐹 =?
𝐹
𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝐸 =
𝑞
𝐹 = 𝐸𝑞
𝑁
𝐹 = 2 × 104 × 1.6 × 10−19 C
𝐶
𝐹 = 3.2 × 10−15 𝑁

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Example 2: Consider the diagram below, let 𝑞1 = 7𝜇𝐶, 𝑞2 = −5𝜇𝐶. Find the electric
field at point P.

E1
E

P


E2

q1  q2

Solution
Given that, 𝑞1 = 7𝜇𝐶, 𝑞2 = −5𝜇𝐶, 𝑟1 = 0.4 𝑚, 𝑟2 = 0.5 𝑚
Then, the magnitude of 𝐸1 and 𝐸2 are
−6
kq1 2 (7  10 C )
E1 = = (9  10 9
Nm 2
/ C )
r12 (0.4m) 2
63,000
E1 = = 3.94 105 N / C
0.16
kq (5  10 −6 C )
E2 = 22 = (9  109 Nm 2 / C 2 )
r2 (0.5m) 2
45000
E2 = = 1.80 105 N / C
0.25

VECTOR ANGLE X-COMPONENT Y-COMPONENT

𝐸1 = 3.94 × 105 𝑁/𝐶
𝐸2 = 1.80 × 105 𝑁/𝐶
900 𝐸1𝑋 = 3.94 × 105 cos 900 𝐸1𝑌 = 3.94 × 105 𝑠𝑖𝑛900
𝐸1𝑋 = 0 𝐸1𝑌 = 3.94 × 105 𝑁/𝐶
53.10 𝐸2𝑋 = 1.80 × 105 𝑐𝑜𝑠53.1 𝐸2𝑌
= −1.80 × 105 𝑠𝑖𝑛53.10
𝐸2𝑋 = 1.08 × 105 𝑁/𝐶 𝐸2𝑌 = −1.44 × 105 𝑁/𝐶
∑ 𝐸𝑋 = 1.08 × 105 𝑁/𝐶 ∑ 𝐸𝑌 = 2.49 × 105 𝑁/𝐶

The magnitude of the resultant electric field E at point P is

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 E = E x2 + E y2

E = (1.08 105 ) 2 + (2.49 105 ) 2

E = 2.72 105 N / C
To get the direction of E field

Ey 2.49  105
tan  = = = 2.3056
Ex 1.08  105
 = tan −1 (2.3056) = 66.550
Therefore, E has a magnitude of 2.72 × 105 𝑁/𝐶 and makes an angle of 66.60 with e
positive x axis.

(c) Continuous Charge Distribution

To calculate the electric field due to a continuous charge distribution (e.g. a uniformly
charged ring, a uniformly charged disk, the axis of a rod etc). The continuous charged
distribution is divided into infinitesimal charge disk contained in a volume element
𝑑𝑉 or area element 𝑑𝐴, or length element 𝑑𝐿. Thus, the electric field at point P due to
each charge element 𝑑𝑄 is given by Coulomb’s law.

1 𝑄 1 𝑑𝑄
𝐸= ⇒ 𝑑𝐸 = … (1)
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟 2 4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟 2
Note
𝑑𝑄
(i) Volume charge density, 𝜌 = 𝑑𝑉 → 𝑑𝑄 = 𝜌𝑑𝑉
𝑑𝑄
(ii) Surface charge density, 𝜎 = 𝑑𝐴 → 𝑑𝑄 = 𝜎𝑑𝐴
𝑑𝑄
(iii) Linear charge density, 𝜆 = → 𝑑𝑄 = 𝜆𝑑𝐿
𝑑𝐿

Using the superposition principle, the total electric field 𝐸 is the vector sum (integral)
of all these infinitesimal contributions.
1 𝑑𝑄
𝐸= ∫ 2 … (2)
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟
where 𝑟 is the distance from 𝑑𝑄 to point 𝑃.

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Example: Show that the electric field due to a uniformly charged ring can be given as:
𝑄𝑥
𝐸𝑥 = 3⁄
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 ) 2

Solution

dQ

 dEx
dE
dEy

𝑑𝑄
Consider a uniformly charged ring with linear charge density 𝜆 = as shown above,
𝑑𝐿
from Coulomb’s law

1 𝑑𝑄
𝑑𝐸 = … (1)
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟 2

𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑑𝑄 = 𝜆𝑑𝐿 … (2)

Putting equation (2) in (1), we have:

1 𝜆𝑑𝐿
𝑑𝐸 = … (3)
4𝜋𝜖0 𝑟 2

The components of 𝑑𝐸 are

𝑑𝐸𝑥 = 𝑑𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
𝑑𝐸𝑦 = 𝑑𝐸𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

From symmetry, the resultant field E must be along the axis of the ring. Thus, the axial
component of dE is:
𝑑𝐸𝑥 = 𝑑𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃

𝐸 = ∫ 𝑑𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 … (4)

Substituting equation (3) in (4), we have

1 𝜆𝑑𝐿
𝐸𝑥 = ∫ 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 … (5)
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 2

Page | 17
From the diagram,
𝑟2 = 𝑅2 + 𝑥 2
𝑥 𝑥
cos 𝜃 = = … (∗)
𝑟 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 )1⁄2
Put equation (∗) in (5)
1 𝜆𝑑𝐿 𝑥
𝐸𝑥 = ∫ .
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑅 + 𝑥 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 )1⁄2
2 2

1 𝜆𝑥𝑑𝐿
𝐸𝑥 = ∫
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 )3⁄2
1 𝜆𝑥
𝐸𝑥 = ∫ 𝑑𝐿
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 )3⁄2
𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑟𝑐 = 2𝜋𝑅
Then,
2𝜋𝑅
1 𝜆𝑥
𝐸𝑥 = ∫ 𝑑𝐿
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 )3⁄2 0
2𝜋𝑅
𝐵𝑢𝑡 ∫ 𝑑𝐿 = 2𝜋𝑅
0

1 𝜆𝑥
∴ 𝐸𝑥 = × 2𝜋𝑅 … (7)
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 )3⁄2
2𝜋𝑅
𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑄 = 𝜆𝑑𝐿 → 𝑄 = 𝜆 ∫ 𝑑𝐿 = 𝜆2𝜋𝑅
0

𝑄
𝜆= … (∗∗)
2𝜋𝑅
Substitute for equation (∗∗) in (7), we have
𝑄 1 𝑥
𝐸𝑥 = × 2𝜋𝑅
2𝜋𝑅 4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 )3⁄2
𝑄𝑥
𝐸𝑥 = 3⁄
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 ) 2

𝑆𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦, 𝐸𝑦 = ∫ 𝑑𝐸𝑦 = 0

Page | 18
 𝑄𝑥
∴𝑬= 3⁄
4𝜋𝜀0 (𝑅 2 + 𝑥 2 ) 2

EXERCISE
1. Calculate the electric field at one corner off a square 80𝑐𝑚 on a side if the other
three corners are occupied by charges each of magnitude 18.2 x 10 -4C.
Ans: |𝐸| = 4.8 x 107N/C.
2. A positive charge 𝑞1 = +8𝑛𝐶 is at the origin, and a second positive charge
𝑞2 = 12𝑛𝐶 is on the 𝑥-axis at 𝑥 = 4𝑚.
Find (𝑖) The net electric field at a point 𝑃 on the 𝑥-axis at 𝑥 = 7𝑚
(𝑖𝑖) The electric field at a point 𝑄 on the 𝑦 axis at 𝑦 = 3𝑚 due to the
charges
Ans: (𝑖) 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 13.5𝑁/𝐶
(𝑖𝑖) 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 11.2𝑁/𝐶
(𝑖𝑖𝑖) Calculate the angle the resultant field in (𝑖𝑖) above makes with the
𝑥-axis.
(𝑖𝑣) Sketch the directions of 𝐸𝑥 , 𝐸𝑦 and 𝐸𝑧 in 3(𝑖𝑖) on a Cartesian plane.
3. Two point charges, 𝑞1 = −6𝑛𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑞2 = +8𝑛𝐶, 𝑎𝑟𝑒 12𝑐𝑚 apart, as shown in
the figure below. Determine the electric field intensity at point A and at point
B, using the information provided in the figure. Ans. (i)𝐸 = −4.50 ×
104 𝑁⁄𝐶 , (𝑖𝑖)𝐸 = 5.39 × 103 𝑁⁄𝐶 , 𝜃 = 61.6𝑜 .
E2

E1

E2
E1

q1 q2

Page | 19
Page | 20
4.0 ELECTRIC POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE
The electric potential difference between two points in an electric field can be defined
as the work done per unit charge against electrical forces when a charge is
transported from one point to the other. It is measured in Volt (𝑣) or Joules per
Coulomb (𝐽/𝐶). Electric potential difference is a scalar quantity.

q0 E

Consider the diagram above, suppose a test charge 𝑞𝑜 is moved from point 𝐴 to point
𝐵 along an arbitrary path inside an electric field 𝐸. The electric field 𝐸 exerts a force
𝐹 = 𝑞𝑜 𝐸 on the charge as shown in fig 3.1. To move the test charge from 𝐴 to 𝐵 at
constant velocity, an external force of 𝐹 = −𝑞𝑜 𝐸 must act on the charge. Therefore,
the elemental work done 𝑑𝑊 is given as:
𝑑𝑊 = 𝐹. 𝑑𝐿 … (1)
But
𝐹 = −𝑞0 𝐸 … (2)
Substituting equation (2) in (1) yields
𝑑𝑊 = −𝑞0 𝐸𝑑𝐿 … (3)
Then total work done in moving the test charge from 𝐴 to 𝐵 is:
𝐵
𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐴𝑔 = −𝑞0 ∫ 𝐸𝑑𝐿 … (4)
𝐴

From the definition of electric potential difference, it follows that:

𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐴𝑔
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = … (5)
𝑞0
Putting equation (4) in (5) yields

Page | 21
 𝐵
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = − ∫ 𝐸𝑑𝐿 … (6)
𝐴

Example 1: If the electric potential difference between points 𝐴 and 𝐵 is equal to

42 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠. Find the work done by an external agent in carrying a charge 𝑞𝑜 =
5.0 × 10−5 𝐶 from 𝐴 to 𝐵 at a constant speed.
Solution
Given that, 𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = 42𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠, 𝑞𝑜 = 5.0 × 10−5 𝐶
Recall that,
𝑤(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐴𝑔
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 =
𝑞0
𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐴𝑔 = (𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 )𝑞0 = 42 × 5 × 10−5 = 2.1 × 10−3 𝐽

4.1 Change in Potential Energy

We can also define the change in potential energy as equal to the negative of the work
done on the particle by the electric field. Note however that the work done by the
electric field 𝑊(𝐴 − 𝐵)𝐸 is equal to the negative of the work done by the external
agent 𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐴𝑔 .
∴ ∆𝑈 = −𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐸 … (7)
Since 𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐸 = −𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐴𝑔
∆𝑈 = 𝑊(𝐴 → 𝐵)𝐴𝑔 … (8)
Substituting equation (4) in (8) yields
𝐵
∆𝑈 = −𝑞0 ∫ 𝐸𝑑𝐿
𝐴

But
𝐵
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = − ∫ 𝐸𝑑𝐿
𝐴

∴ ∆𝑈 = 𝑞0 (𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 ) … (9)

Page | 22
 ∆𝑈 𝑈𝐵 − 𝑈𝐴
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = = … (10)
𝑞0 𝑞0
Hence, we can then define potential difference as the potential energy per unit
charge.
Example: Find the potential difference required to give a helium nucleus
(𝑄 = 3.2 × 10−19 𝐶) 48 × 103 𝑒𝑉 of kinetic energy.
Solution:
Given that, Q = 3.2 x 10-19C
K.E = 4.8 x 103ev = 48 x 103 x 1.6 x 1019J= 7.68 x 10-15J
From law of conservation of energy, Potential energy (ΔU) = Kinetic energy
ΔU = 7.68 x 10-15J
∆𝑢 7.68×10−15 𝐽
Recall that,𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = = = 2.4 × 104 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠
𝑞0 3.2×10−19 𝐶

4.2 Electric Potential due to a Single Point Charge

The electric potential energy in moving a test charge 𝑞𝑜 from point 𝐴 to point 𝐵 is
given as:
𝑄 1 1
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = [ − ] … (1)
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟𝐵 𝑟𝐴
where 𝑄 is the point charge
𝑟𝐵 is the distance of Q to point B
𝑟𝐴 is the distance of Q to point A
Note: Q is the point charge which creates the electric field while q0 is the test charge
which is being moved.

Example: Consider a point A which is 85cm north of a point charge -45x10-3C and a
point B which is 60cm west of the charge. Determine VB – VA.
Solution:

Page | 23
 Q = −45 10−3 C
Recall that,
𝑄 1 1
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = =[ − ]
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟𝐵 𝑟𝐴
−45 × 10−3 1 1
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = =[ − ]
4𝜋𝜀0 0.60 0.85
= -1.98 x 108 volts
4.3 Electric Potential due to Several Point Charges
The electric potential (v) at a point p due to several point charges is given by:
𝑛 𝑛
1 𝑄𝑖
𝑉 = ∑ 𝑉𝑖 = ∑ … … … … … … (1)
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟𝑖
𝑖=1,2… 𝑖=1,2….

Where 𝑄𝑖 is the value of the 𝑖th charge and 𝑟𝑖 is the distance of this charge from point
𝑃.
Example: Four point charges Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 are placed at the four corners of a
square 3cm on a side. Find the electric potential at the centre of the square. Each
charge has a magnitude of 2.1µc.
Solution
Q4 Q3
r4 r3

r1 r2

Q1 Q2

1 𝑄1 𝑄2 𝑄3 𝑄4
𝑉𝑃 = =[ + + + ] … … … … … (1)
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟1 𝑟2 𝑟3 𝑟4
But 𝑟1 = 𝑟2 = 𝑟3 = 𝑟4 = 𝑟

Page | 24
 𝑄1 = 𝑄2 = 𝑄3 = 𝑄4 = 𝑄
1 4𝑄
Therefore, 𝑉𝑃 = = [ ] … … … … … . (2)
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟

From the diagram,

𝑥 2 = (0.03)2 + (0.03)2 = 0.04
Since𝑥 = 2𝑟
𝑥 0.0424
𝑟= = = 0.0212𝑚
2 2
1 4𝑄 9 × 109 × 4 × 2.1 × 10−6
𝑉𝑃 = ×[ ] =
4𝜋𝜀0 𝑟 0.0212
𝑉𝑃 = 3.6 × 106 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠
EXERCISE
1. Two point charges Q1 = 10µc and Q2 = -2µc are arranged along the x-axis at x =
0 and x =4m respectively. Find the positions along the x-axis where v = 0.
2. Find the change in electrical potential energy of an electron as it moves from a
distance r1=1.0cm to r2=3.0cm from a point charge of 0.5µc. Ans.
∆𝑢 = 4.8 × 10−14 𝐽

Page | 25
5.0 CAPACITANCE AND DIELECTRIC
Capacitance is the ability of a capacitor to hold or store an electric charge. The more
charge stored for a given voltage, the higher the capacitance, the symbol for
capacitance is C, and it is measured in Farad (F).
5.1 CAPACITOR
A capacitor is a device used in a variety of electric circuits for storing charges. It
consists of an insulator (also called dielectric) between two conductors.

The two conductors are totally isolated from objects in their surroundings and they
carry equal and positive charges +Q and –Q.
If the electrical potential difference between the two conductors is V, it is found that
the charge in a capacitor is proportional to the potential difference between the
conductors, i.e.
𝑄∝𝑉
𝑄 = 𝐶𝑉
𝑄
𝐶=
𝑉
where 𝐶 is constant of proportionality called capacitance of the capacitor,
𝑄 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, V is the potential difference between the
conductors
5.2 Determination of Capacitance
(A) PARALLEL PLATE CAPACITOR

Page | 26
The figure above shows a parallel plate capacitor with plates of area A separated by
distance d. By Gauss law, the electric flux EA between the capacitor plates is given as:
𝑄
𝐸𝐴 = … (1)
𝜀0
𝑄
𝐸= … (2)
𝐴𝜀0
𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑉 = 𝐸𝑑 … (3)
Substituting equation (2) in (3), we have
𝑄
𝑉= 𝑑 … (4)
𝐴𝜀0
𝑄
𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐶 = … (5)
𝑉
Equation (4) becomes
𝑄
𝐶= 𝑄𝑑
(𝐴𝜀 )
0

𝐴𝜀0
𝐶=𝑄×
𝑄𝑑
𝐴𝜀0
𝐶= … (6)
𝑑
Equation 6 is the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor where:
𝐴 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠,
𝑑 = 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠; 𝑎𝑛𝑑
𝜀0 = 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 = 8.85 × 10−12 𝐶 2 ⁄𝑁𝑚2

Example 1: A 2.0𝐹 capacitor is desired. What should the area of the plate be if they
are to be separated by 4.5𝑚𝑚 air gap?

Page | 27
Solution
Given that, 𝐶 = 2.0𝐹, 𝑑 = 4.5𝑚𝑚 = 4.5 × 10−3 𝑚
Recall that
𝐴𝜀0 𝐶𝑑
𝐶= →𝐴=
𝑑 𝜀0
2 × 4.5 × 10−3
𝐴=
8.85 × 10−12
𝐴 = 1 × 109 𝑚2
Example 2: A parallel-plate capacitor has an area of 2cm2 and a plate separation of
1mm. Find the capacitance.
Solution:
Given that, A = 2cm2 = 2 x 10-4m2
d = 1mm = 1 x 10-3m
From eqn 6,
−4 2 −12 𝐶 ⁄ 2
𝐴𝜀0 (2 × 10 𝑚 )(8.85 × 10 𝑁𝑚 2)
𝐶= =
𝑑 1 × 10−3 𝑚

𝐶 = 1.77 × 10−12 𝐹 𝑜𝑟 𝐶 = 1.77𝑝𝐹

(b) Cylindrical Capacitor
A cylindrical capacitor consists of an inner conductor that is a cylinder of radius 𝑎 and
coaxial outer conductor of radius b as shown below in fig 4.3 below. The length L is
as much greater than their separation (𝐿 >> 𝑏 − 𝑎)

The capacitance of a cylindrical capacitor is given as:

Page | 28
 2𝜋𝜀0 𝐿
𝐶= 𝑏 … (8)
𝐼𝑛(𝑎)

Where 𝐶 is Capacitance, 𝐿 is Length of the capacitor, 𝑏 is radius of the outer conductor,

𝑎 is radius of the inner conductor

The coaxial cable used from the aerial to a television set can be thought of as a
cylindrical capacitor.

Example 3: A coaxial cable of length 2𝑚 consists of a wire of diameter 1𝑚𝑚 and an

outer shell of diameter 3𝑚𝑚. Find the capacitance of the cable.
Solution:
𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐿 = 2𝑚, 𝑑 = 1𝑚𝑚 = 1 × 10−3 𝑚 ⇒ 𝑎 = 0.5 × 10−3 𝑚
𝑑𝑏 = 3𝑚𝑚 = 3 × 10−3 𝑚 ⇒ 𝑏 = 1.5 × 10−3 𝑚
Recall that for cylindrical capacitor
2𝜋𝜀0 𝐿 2𝜋 × 8.85 × 10−12 × 2
𝐶= 𝑏
= 1.5×10−3
ln (𝑎) ln (0.5×10−3)

𝐶 = 101.2 × 10−12 𝐹 𝑜𝑟 101.2𝑝𝐹

EXERCISE
1. A parallel plate capacitor has circular plate of 10cm radius and 2mm
separation.
(i) Calculate the capacitance
(ii) What charge will appear on the plates if a potential difference of 200V is
applied? Ans. (𝑖). C=1.39 x 10-10F, (𝑖𝑖) q = 2.78 x 10-8C
2. The space between the conductors of a long coaxial cable used to transmit TV
signals has an inner diameter 𝑎 = 0.15𝑚𝑚 and an outer diameter 𝑏 = 2.1𝑚𝑚.
What is the capacitance per unit length of this cable? Ans: 𝐶 ⁄𝐿 = 2.11 ×
10−11 𝐹𝑚−1 .
6.0 ELECTRIC CURRENT

Page | 29
6.1 Flow of Electric Charge
The electric current is defined as the net rate of charge flow, or the net charge flow
per unit time. Thus, if a net charge ∆𝑄 flows through a conductor in time ∆𝑡, the
electric current (I) is given by
∆𝑄
𝐼=
∆𝑡
The unit of current is coulomb per second (C/s) which is called the ampere (A). When
charges flow through a surface, they can be positive, negative or both. It is
conventional to give the current the same direction as the flow of positive
charge. It is common to refer to a moving charge (whether it is positive or negative)
as a mobile charge carrier.
Example 1
The amount of charge that passes through the filament of a certain light bulb in 2𝑠is
1.67𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑠. Find (a) the current in the lightbulb and (b) the number of electrons
that pass through the filament in 1𝑠.
Solution
∆𝑄 1.67𝐶
(a) 𝐼= = = 0.835𝐴
∆𝑡 2.0𝑠

(b) 0.835𝐴 = 0.835 𝑐⁄𝑠

(𝑖. 𝑒. 0.835𝐶 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 1𝑠
𝑄(𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡)
= 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 (𝑁) × 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛
𝑄 = 𝑁𝑞
𝑄 0.835𝐶
𝑁= = = 5.22 × 10−18 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠
𝑞 1.6 × 10−19 𝑐/𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛
6.2 Current and Drift Speed

Page | 30
The Figure above shows a schematic representation of the zigzag motion of a charge
carrier in a conductor. The sharp edges are due to collisions with atoms in the
conductor.

∆𝑥

𝑣𝑑 A
𝑣𝑑 ∆𝑡

The figure above shows a section of a uniform conductor of cross-sectional area A.

The charge carriers move with a speed 𝑣𝑑 , and the distance they travel in the time ∆𝑡
is given by ∆𝑥 = 𝑣𝑑 ∆𝑡. The number of mobile charge carriers in the section of length
∆𝑥 is given by
𝑁 = 𝑛𝐴𝑣𝑑 ∆𝑡 … (1)
where𝑛 is the number of mobile carriers per unit volume. We can write ∆𝑄 as
∆𝑄 = (𝑛𝐴𝑣𝑑 ∆𝑡)𝑞 … (2)
∆𝑄
𝐼= = 𝑛𝐴𝑣𝑑 𝑞 … (3)
∆𝑡
The speed of the charge carriers,𝑣𝑑 is an average speed called the Drift Speed.

6.3 Current density 𝑱

Current density 𝐽 is the current per unit area of cross section. It is defined as
a vector whose magnitude is the electric current per cross-sectional area at a given
point in space. The unit of current density is amperes per square metre i.e 𝐴⁄𝑚2 .
Thus,
𝐼 𝑛𝐴𝑣𝑑 𝑞
𝐽= =
𝐴 𝐴
𝐽 = 𝑛𝑣𝑑 𝑞
Example 2: A wire of 1mm carries a current of 20A. What is the current density in
the wire?
Solution: 𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒, 𝐴 = 𝜋𝑟 2

Page | 31
 2 2
1 × 10−3 1 × 10−3
𝐴 = 𝜋( ) = 3.142 × ( ) = 7.85 × 10−7 𝑚2
2 2
𝐼 20𝐴
𝐽=
= = 2.55 × 107 𝐴𝑚−2
𝐴 7.85 × 10−7 𝑚2
Example 3: 1020 electrons per cm participate in conducting electric current in a wire.
What is the average speed of the electrons when there is a current of 1𝐴 in the wire?
Take the charge on an electron as 1.6 × 10−19 𝐶.
𝐼
Solution: 𝐽 = 𝐴 , 𝐼 = 𝐽𝐴 = 𝑛𝑣𝑑 𝑞𝐴 ….. (*)

𝑛 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒

𝑛′ = 𝑛𝐴 = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (∗), 𝐼 = 𝑛′ 𝑣𝑑 𝑞
𝐼 1𝐴
𝑣𝑑 = =
𝑛′ 𝑞 (10 × 10 ) × (1.6 × 10−19 𝑐)
20 2

1
𝑣𝑑 = = 6.25 × 10−4 𝑚/𝑠
1.6 × 103

6.4 Potential Difference

The word ‘Potential’ means the electric state of a body. Therefore, potential
difference is the difference between two points or bodies as regards their electric
state. The unit of potential or potential difference is Volt.

6.5 Electromotive Force (e.m.f)

Electromotive force is the force which creates the pressure that causes current to flow
through a conductor and is defined as equal to the potential difference between the
terminals of the cell in an open circuit i.e. when no current is drawn from the cell. The
unit of e.m.f is volt.

6.6 Resistance

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Resistance is the property of a conductor due to which it resists the flow of the
current. A good conductor will have low resistance and a poor conductor will have
high resistance. The unit of resistance is Ohm (Ω).

6.7 Ohm’s Law

The Ohm’s law states that the current flowing through a conductor is always
proportional to the potential difference between its ends, provided the physical
conditions (temperature etc) of the conductor are constant. Thus,
𝑽 ∝ 𝑰 𝑜𝑟 𝑽 = 𝑰𝑹
where 𝑅 is a constant known as the electrical resistance of the conductor.

6.8 Resistivity
Law of resistance states that, if the temperature of a conductor remains constant, its
resistance is directly proportional to its length and inversely proportional to its area
of cross-section. Thus,
𝒍 𝒍
𝑹 ∝ 𝑜𝑟 𝑹 = 𝝆
𝑨 𝑨
The constant ρ depends on the nature or material of the conductor and is called
resistivity. We have, 𝜌 = 𝑅𝐴⁄𝑙 . The unit of resistivity is Ω𝑚. If 𝐴 = 1 and 𝑙 = 1, 𝜌 = 𝑅.
Therefore, the specific resistance of a material is the resistance of a material of unit
length and unit area of cross-section.

6.9 Conductance
Conductance of a conductor is a measure of the ease with which the current will flow
through a substance and is reciprocal of the resistance. The conductance is denoted
by 𝐺.
𝐺 = 1⁄𝑅
The unit of conductance is mho.

Page | 33
Example 4: The resistance of a copper wire of 5 meters is 0.5 ohm. If the diameter of
the wire is 0.045cm, determine its specific resistance.
Solution: 𝑅 = 0.5Ω, 𝑙 = 5𝑚, 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒 = 2.25 × 10−4 𝑚
∴ 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝐴 = 𝜋𝑟 2 = 3.142 × (2.25 × 10−4 )2
𝐴 = 1.59 × 10−7 𝑚
Recall, 𝜌 = 𝑅𝐴⁄𝑙

0.5 × 1.59 × 10−7

𝜌= = 1.59 × 10−8 Ω ∙ 𝑚
5
6.10 Effect of temperature on resistance
Resistance of all substances is affected by the temperature. In the case of insulators,
the resistance usually decreases with an increase in temperature. However, in the
case of conductors the resistance increases with the increase in temperature.
The resistance 𝑅 of a conductor varies linearly with temperature according to the
approximate expression:
𝑅 = 𝑅𝑜 [1 + 𝛼(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑜 )]
where 𝑅𝑜 is the resistance at a reference temperature 𝑇𝑜 , 𝑇 is the temperature in 𝑜𝐶
and 𝛼 is the temperature coefficient of resistance.

Example 5: The resistance of a field coil measures 55ohm at 25 𝑜𝐶 and 65ohm at

75 𝑜𝐶 . Find the temperature coefficient of the conductor at 𝑇𝑜 = 0.
Solution:
𝑅 = 𝑅𝑜 [1 + 𝛼(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑜 )]
𝑅25 = 55 = 𝑅𝑜 [1 + 𝛼(25 − 0)] … (1)
𝑅75 = 65 = 𝑅𝑜 [1 + 𝛼(75 − 0)] … (2)
Dividing equation (2) by equation (1)
65 𝑅𝑜 [1 + 75𝛼] [1 + 75𝛼]
= =
55 𝑅𝑜 [1 + 25𝛼] [1 + 25𝛼]
65 + 1625𝛼 = 55 + 4125𝛼

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 65 − 55 = 4125𝛼 − 1625𝛼
10 = 2500𝛼
10
𝛼= = 0.004 𝑜𝐶 −1
2500
Exercise: A copper wire has a resistance of 2.0Ω at 0 𝑜𝐶 and 2.26Ω at 30 𝑜𝐶 . What is
the resistance at 50 𝑜𝐶 ?
6.11 Electric Energy and Power
Electrical Power is the rate at which energy is transformed. It can also be defined as
the product of potential difference and current and the S.I. unit is watt. i.e.
𝑃 = 𝐼𝑉 … (∗∗)
Using Ohm’s law 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅, equation (∗∗) can be expressed in the following ways
𝑉2
𝑃 = 𝐼 2 𝑅 or 𝑃= 𝑅

The total energy used by any appliance is simply its power consumption multiplied
by the time it is on. NEPA usually specify energy with a much larger unit, the kilowatt-
hour.
1𝐾𝑊ℎ = (103 𝑊)(3600𝑠𝑒𝑐) = 3.6 × 106 𝐽
Example 6: The wiring in a house must be thick enough so it does not become so hot
as to start a fire. What diameter must a copper wire be if it is to carry a maximum
current of 40𝐴 and produce no more than 1.8𝑊 of heat per meter of length? Take the
resistivity of copper to be 1.67 × 10−8 Ω. 𝑚.
Solution:
𝑃 = 𝐼2𝑅
𝑙 𝑙
𝑅=𝜌 =𝜌 ,
𝐴 𝑑 2
𝜋 (2 )

where 𝑑 is the diameter of the wire

4𝑙
∴ 𝑃 = 𝐼2𝜌 ,
𝜋𝑑 2

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 1⁄2
4𝐼 2 𝜌𝑙
𝑑=[ ]
𝜋𝑃
1 ⁄2
(4)(40𝐴)2 (1.67 × 10−8 Ω. 𝑚)(1𝑚)
𝑑=[ ]
(3.14)(1.8𝑊)
𝑑 = 4.4 × 10−3 𝑚
Example 7: The resistivity of seawater is about 25Ω. 𝑐𝑚. The charge carriers are
chiefly 𝑁𝑎+ and 𝐶𝑙 − ions, and of each there are about 3.0 × 1020 /𝑐𝑚3. If we fill a
plastic tube 2 meters long with sea water and connect a 12𝑣 battery to the electrodes
at each end, what is the resulting average drift speed of the ions, in cm/s?
Solution: The current in a conductor of cross-sectional area 𝐴 is related to the drift
speed 𝑣𝑑 of the charge carriers by:
𝐼 = 𝑛𝐴𝑣𝑑 𝑞
𝑙
From Ohm’s law 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅, also 𝑅 = 𝜌 𝐴
𝑙
𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅 = (𝑛𝐴𝑣𝑑 𝑞) (𝜌 ) = 𝑛𝑣𝑑 𝑞𝜌𝑙
𝐴
𝑉 12𝑣
∴ 𝑣𝑑 = =
𝑛𝑞𝜌𝑙 (6 × 1020 𝑐𝑚−3 )(1.6 × 10−19 𝐶)(25Ω. 𝑐𝑚)(200𝑐𝑚)
𝑣𝑑 = 2.5 × 10−5 𝑐𝑚/𝑠

6.12 Series and Parallel Connections of Resistors

𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3
𝐼
𝑬 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3

𝐼1 𝐼2 𝐼3
𝐼𝐸 Fig (a)
Fig (b)

Resistors may be combined in an electric circuit, either in series [as in Fig (a)] or in
parallel [Fig (b)].
For series connection, the following should be noted:

Page | 36
(i) Current (I) is the same in each of the resistors.
(ii) The potential difference (v) across each resistor is different.
(iii) The total p.d. is equal to the sum of the p.d.’s across each of the resistors i.e.
𝑉 = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2 + 𝑉3 = 𝐼𝑅1 + 𝐼𝑅2 + 𝐼𝑅3 = 𝐼(𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 ) = 𝐼𝑅𝑠
where 𝑅𝑠 is the equivalent resistance of the series circuit, i.e.
𝑅𝑠 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3
For parallel connection, the following should be noted:
(i) Current (I) supplied by the cell is partitioned into 𝐼1 , 𝐼2 , 𝐼3 through each of the
three resistors
(ii) The p.d. across each of the resistor is the same.
(iii) The total current is equal to the sum of the currents across each of the resistors
i.e.
𝑉 𝑉 𝑉 1 1 1 1
𝐼 = 𝐼1 + 𝐼2 + 𝐼3 = + + = 𝑉[ + + ] = 𝑉[ ]
𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3 𝑅𝑝
Where 𝑅𝑝 is the equivalent resistance of the parallel circuit, i.e.
1 1 1 1
= + +
𝑅𝑝 𝑅1 𝑅2 𝑅3
Example 8: Find the current delivered by the battery in the circuit shown below:
𝑅1 = 4Ω

𝐸 = 20𝑉
𝑅𝐸 = 0.4Ω 𝑅2 = 6Ω 𝑅4 = 18Ω 𝑅6 = 2Ω

𝑅3 = 3Ω 𝑅5 = 7Ω

Solution:
𝑅5 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑅6 are in series
𝑅5,6 = 𝑅5 + 𝑅6 = 7 + 2 = 9Ω, 𝑅5,6 = 9Ω
𝑅4 and 𝑅5,6 are in parallel

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 1 1 1 1 1 1
= + = + =
𝑅4,5,6 𝑅4 𝑅5,6 18 9 6
𝑅4,5,6 = 6Ω
𝑅3 and 𝑅4,5,6 are in series
𝑅3,4,5,6 = 𝑅3 + 𝑅4,5,6 = 3 + 6 = 9Ω
𝑅3,4,5,6 = 9Ω
𝑅2 and 𝑅3,4,5,6 are in parallel
1 1 1 1 1 5
= + = + =
𝑅2,3,4,5,6 𝑅2 𝑅3,4,5,6 6 9 18
𝑅2,3,4,5,6 = 3.6Ω
𝑅1 and 𝑅2,3,4,5,6 are in series
𝑅1,2,3,4,5,6 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2,3,4,5,6 = 4 + 3.6 = 7.6
𝑅1,2,3,4,5,6 = 7.6Ω
𝑅𝐸 and 𝑅1,2,3,4,5,6 are in series
𝑅𝑇 (𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒) = 𝑅𝐸 + 𝑅1,2,3,4,5,6 = 0.4 + 7.6 = 8Ω
𝐸 20
𝐵𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 = = = 2.5𝐴
𝑅𝑇 8
Exercise 1: Find the equivalent resistance which can be obtained by combining three
100Ω resistors in all possible ways.
Exercise 2: For the circuit shown below 𝑅1 = 5Ω, 𝑅2 = 9Ω, 𝑅3 = 𝑅4 = 𝑅5 = 𝑅6 =
𝑅7 = 4Ω 𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑅8 = 10Ω . Calculate (a) the equivalent resistance, and (b) the current
and power delivered by the battery.

𝑅2 𝑅3 𝑅4

𝑅5
𝑅1 𝑅6

𝑅7

𝑅8

𝐸 = 36𝑉

Page | 38
7.0 MAGNETISM AND MAGNETIC FIELDS
7.1 Magnetism defined
The word magnetism is derived from magnesia, a district in Asia Minor where
magnetic iron ore was first discovered. The magnetic iron ore also known as
magnetite or lodestone, have the property of attracting small pieces of iron and point
in N-S direction when freely suspended. Lodestone is an iron oxide with configuration
Fe3O4.
7.1.1 Angle of declination and Angle of dip
The angle of declination is the angle between the earth’s geographical N-S axis and
the magnetic N-S axis. This varies from place to place on the earth’s surface and it also
varies with time. The angle of dip is the angle which the earth’s magnetic N-S axis
makes with the horizontal.
7.2 Magnetic Field
The field is defined as a region of space under the influence of some physical agency
such as gravitation, magnetism, and electricity. However, the magnet is a material
that has the ability to attract or repel such materials called magnetic substances. The
ability of the magnet to attract is called magnetism. “Magnetic field is the region or
space around a magnet in which the influence of the magnet can be felt or detected”.
7.2.1 Experimental demonstration of the magnetic field
This concept explains that the magnetic field of the magnet is an area around a magnet
in which it can attract or repel objects or which a magnetic force can be detected or
felt. These fields are imaginary lines or cannot be seen, its presence can be
demonstrated and mapped out using a magnetic compass which its needle when
placed near the magnet will swing around and settle in a definite direction showing
that a sort of force is present. However, magnetic field is therefore an example of a
force field and the force is a vector field, that is, such a field has both magnitude and
direction. “Magnetic lines of force are imaginary lines along which a free north pole

Page | 39
would tend to move if placed in the field’. Figure 1.0a features the magnetic field lines
of a bar magnet.

Fig. 7.2: A feature of a bar magnet showing the magnetic field lines
7.3 MAGNETIC FORCE ON A MOVING CHARGE
A charge moving in a magnetic field of a magnet experiences a magnetic force. This
force is due to the motion of the charge. Examples of moving charges are:
(i) Electric current in a wire
(ii) Electrons rotating about the nuclei of a (Bohr) atom
(iii) Beam of electrons in a cathode ray tube.
Figure 7.3 shows some examples of moving charges and the magnetic fields they
create. The direction of the field is given by pointing the thumb of the right hand along
the "current" (i.e. the direction of negative charge movement) and then the fingers
curl around the direction of the field.

Fig.7.3: Showing examples of moving charges and the magnetic fields created.

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Let us consider now the magnetic force𝐹⃗𝐵 on a charge particle moving with a
⃗⃗⃗⃗in the presence of a magnetic field.
velocity 𝑉
𝐹⃗𝐵

⃗⃗
𝐵
𝜃

⃗⃗
𝑉

From the diagram, the magnetic force 𝐹⃗𝐵 is mutually perpendicular to the magnetic
⃗⃗ and the charge particle velocity 𝑉
field𝐵 ⃗⃗ . Thus, by definition of cross product, we
have
𝐹⃗𝐵 = 𝑞𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗ × 𝐵
⃗⃗ (1)
However, the force experienced by the particle charge moving in the magnetic field is
given by
𝐹⃗𝐵 = |𝑞|𝑉𝐵 sin 𝜃 (2)
where 𝑞 is the charge moving with velocity 𝑉 in a field of magnetic induction 𝐵 and 𝜃
is the angle between the magnetic induction 𝐵 and the direction of the motion of the
particle moving with the velocity 𝑉.
From equation (2), we see that 𝐹⃗𝐵 is zero, when 𝑉
⃗⃗ is parallel or antiparallel to𝐵
⃗⃗
⃗⃗ is perpendicular to 𝐵
(i.e.θ = 00 or 1800) and maximum when 𝑉 ⃗⃗ (θ = 900).

7.3.1 Properties of the magnetic force on a charge Moving in a Magnetic Field

(i) The magnitude of the magnetic force exerted on the particle charge is
proportional to the charge 𝑞 and to the speed 𝑉 of the particle.
(ii) When a charge particle moves parallel to the magnetic field vector, the
magnetic force acting on the particle is zero.

Page | 41
(iii) When the particle velocity vector makes an angle θ ≠ 0 with the magnetic field,
⃗⃗ and 𝐵
the magnetic force acts in a direction perpendicular both to 𝑉 ⃗⃗.
(iv) The magnetic force exerted on a positive charge is in the direction opposite the
direction of the magnetic force exerted on a negative charge moving in the
same direction.
(v) The magnitude of the magnetic force exerted on the moving particle is
proportional to sin 𝜃, where θ is the angle the particle velocity vector makes
⃗⃗ .
with the direction of 𝐵
Application Problems
1. A charge of 1.6 × 10−19 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑏 enters a magnetic field of flux density
2.0𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠/𝑚2, with a velocity of 2.5 × 107 𝑚/𝑠 at an angle of 300 with the
field. Calculate the force on the charge.
Solution
𝐹⃗𝐵 = 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = ?, 𝑞 = 1.6 × 10−19 𝐶, 𝐵 = 2.0𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠/𝑚2, θ = 300, 𝑉 =
2.5 × 107 𝑚/𝑠
𝐹⃗𝐵 = |𝑞|𝑉𝐵 sin 𝜃 (*)
𝐹⃗𝐵 = (1.6 × 10−19 𝐶) (2.5 × 107 𝑚/𝑠 )(2.0𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠/𝑚2 ) sin 300
= 1.6 × 10−19 × 2.5 × 107 × 2.0 × 0.5
= 4.0 × 10−12Newton
2. Find the magnetic force experienced by an electron projected into a magnetic
field of flux density 10tesla with a velocity of 5.0 x 10 7m/s and in a direction
(i) 900
(ii) 600
(iii) Parallel to the field
(Assume charge on an electron = 1.6 x 10-19C
Solution
Given :𝐹⃗𝐵 = 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = ?,𝑞 = 1.6 × 10−19 𝐶, 𝐵 = 10.0 𝑇𝑒𝑠𝑙𝑎, 𝑉 =
5.0 × 107 𝑚/𝑠

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(i) When θ = 900,
𝐹𝐵 = |𝑞|𝑉𝐵 sin 𝜃
𝐹𝐵 = (1.6 × 10−19 𝐶) (5 × 107 𝑚/𝑠 )(10𝑇) sin 900
= 1.6 × 10−19 × 5 × 107 × 10 × 1 = 8.0 × 10−11 Newton
(ii) When θ = 600,
𝐹𝐵 = (1.6 × 10−19 𝐶) (5 × 107 𝑚/𝑠 )(10𝑇) sin 600
= 1.6 × 10−19 × 5 × 107 × 10 × 0.8660 = 6.9 × 10−11 Newton
(iii) When V and B are parallel, θ =00
𝐹𝐵 = |𝑞|𝑉𝐵 sin 00
𝐹𝐵 = 0 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑡𝑜𝑛
7.4 Motion of a Charge Particle in a Uniform Magnetic Field
A positively charged particle is moving in a uniform magnetic field with the initial
velocity vector of the particle perpendicular to the field, the particle moves in a
circular path in a plane perpendicular to B. The magnetic force 𝐹𝐵 acting on the charge
is always directed toward the centre of the circle. As the particle changes the direction
of its velocity in response to the magnetic force, 𝐹𝐵 , the magnetic force remains
perpendicular to the velocity.
However, the particle moves in a circle because the magnetic force 𝐹𝐵 is
perpendicular to 𝑣 and 𝐵 and has a constant magnitude 𝑞𝑣𝐵. The figure below shows
the illustration for the motion of a charged particle in the uniform magnetic field, the
rotation is counterclockwise for a positive (+ve) charge in a magnetic field directed
into the page. If 𝑞 were negative (-ve), the rotation would be clockwise.

𝑞 𝑩𝒊𝒏
𝑣

𝐹𝐵
𝑣
𝐹𝐵
𝐹𝐵 𝑞

Page | 43
The net force experienced by the charge particle, by Newton second law is

∑ 𝐹 = 𝐹𝐵 = 𝑚𝑎 (1)

Because the motion of the charge particle is a uniform circular motion, we replace the
𝑣2
acceleration𝑎 with centripetal acceleration .
𝑟

𝑚𝑣 2
𝐹𝐵 = 𝑞𝑉𝐵 = (2)
𝑟
This expression leads to the following equation for the radius of the circular path
𝑚𝑣
𝑟= (3)
𝑞𝐵
The indication of the equation (3) is that the radius of the path is proportional to the
linear momentum ‘𝑚𝑣’ of the particle and inversely proportional to the product of the
charge on the particle and the magnetic field. The angular speed of the particle is
𝑣 𝑞𝐵
𝜔= = (4)
𝑟 𝑚
The period of the motion (the time interval the particle requires to complete one
revolution) is equal to the circumference of the circle divided by the speed of the
particle.
2𝜋𝑟 2𝜋 2𝜋𝑚
𝑇= = = (5)
𝑣 𝜔 𝑞𝐵
The angular speed 𝜔 is often referred to as the cyclotron frequency because the
charge particle circulates at this angular frequency or angular speed in the type of
accelerator called cyclotron.
Application Example
(1) A proton is moving in a circular orbit of radius 14.0cm in a uniform 0.35tesla
magnetic field perpendicular to the velocity of the proton. Find the speed of the
proton. (take the mass of proton =1.67 x 10-27kg)

Page | 44
Solution:
𝐹𝐵 = 𝑞𝑉𝐵𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜃 = 900
∴ 𝐹𝐵 = 𝑞𝑉𝐵
𝑚𝑣 2
𝐹𝐵 = 𝑞𝑣𝐵 =
𝑟
Since the proton moves in a circular orbit, therefore equation (3) becomes,
𝑚𝑝 𝑣 = 𝑞𝐵𝑟
𝑞𝐵𝑟
𝑣=
𝑚𝑝
1.60 × 10−19 𝐶 (0.35𝑇) (0.14𝑚)
𝑣 = = 4.7 × 106 𝑚/𝑠
1.67 × 10−27 𝑘𝑔

Hence, the angular speed is

𝑞𝐵 1.60 × 10−19 𝐶 (0.35𝑇)
𝜔= == = 3.357 × 107 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠
𝑚𝑝 1.67 × 10−27 𝑘𝑔

Exercise
An electron with a rest mass of 9.11 x 10 -31kg moves in a circular orbit of radius 1.4
x 10 -7 m in a uniform magnetic field of 3.5 x 10 -1 tesla, perpendicular to the speed of
light with which electron moves. Find the cyclotron frequency of the moving electron.

Page | 45
8.0 THE BIOT – SAVART LAW
8.1 The Biot-Savart Law is based on the following observations for the magnetic
⃗⃗ at a point 𝑃 associated with a length element 𝑑𝑙̂ of a wire carrying a
field 𝑑𝐵
steady current 𝐼. See figure 8.1.

⃗⃗ (𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒)
𝑑𝐵
𝑖𝑑𝑙̂
𝜃
𝑑𝑙 𝑟⃗ 𝑃

Fig 8.1: Descriptive components for the Biot- Savart Experiment

8.1.1 Observations from the Biot- Savart Experiment

⃗⃗ is perpendicular both to 𝑑𝑙̂ (which points in the direction of the
1. The vector 𝑑𝐵
current) and to the unit vector 𝑟̂ directed from 𝑑𝑙⃗toward 𝑃.
⃗⃗ is inversely proportional to 𝑟 2 , where 𝑟 is the distance from
2. The magnitude of 𝑑𝐵
𝑑𝑙⃗ to 𝑃.
⃗⃗ is proportional to the current I and to the magnitude of the
3. The magnitude of 𝑑𝐵
length element 𝑑𝑙⃗.
⃗⃗ is proportional to 𝜃 , where 𝜃 is the angle between 𝑟̂ and 𝑑𝑙.
4. The magnitude of 𝑑𝐵
These observations are summarized in the mathematical expression known as Biot-
savart Law.

𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑑𝑙⃗ × 𝑟̂
⃗⃗ =
𝑑𝐵 (1)
4𝜋 𝑟 2
where 𝜇𝑜 is a constant called Permeability of free space.
𝜇𝑜 = 4𝜋 × 10−7 𝑇. 𝑚/𝐴

Page | 46
 ⃗⃗ defined in equation (1) is the field created at some point
Note: the magnetic field 𝑑𝐵
by the current in only a small length 𝑑𝑙⃗ of the conductor.
⃗⃗ created at some point by a current I of the finite
Therefore, the total magnetic field𝐵
size is given by integrating equation(1) , thus;
𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑑𝑙⃗ × 𝑟̂
⃗⃗ =
𝐵 ∫ (2)
4𝜋 𝑟2
The magnitude of the magnetic field is given as
𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑑𝑙 sin 𝜃
𝐵= ∫ (3)
4𝜋 𝑟2
Although the Biot – Savart law was discussed for a current-carrying wire, it is also
valid for a current consisting of charge flowing through space such as the electron
beam in a television picture tube.

8.1.2 Magnetic Field of a Straight Current Carrying Conductor

Fig 1: A section of a Straight Current Carrying Conductor

⃗⃗
Applying the Biot-Savart law, we find the magnitude of the field 𝑑𝐵
𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑎 𝑑𝑙 sin 𝜑
𝐵= ∫
4𝜋 −𝑎 𝑟 2
𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜋 – 𝜑) = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑎 𝑑𝑙𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜋 − 𝜑)
∴𝐵= ∫
4𝜋 −𝑎 𝑟2
From diagram, 𝑟 2 = 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 (𝑃𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑚)
𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑎 𝑑𝑙𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜋 – 𝜑)
𝐵= ∫ … (∗)
4𝜋 −𝑎 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2

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 𝑥 𝑥
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑖𝑛(𝜋 − 𝜑) = = … (∗∗)
√𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 ) 1⁄2

Substituting (∗∗) into (∗), we have

𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑎 𝑥
𝐵= ∫ 𝑑𝑙 2
4𝜋 −𝑎 (𝑥 + 𝑦 2 )(𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )1/2

𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑎 𝑥
𝐵= ∫ 𝑑𝑙 2
4𝜋 −𝑎 (𝑥 + 𝑦 2 )3/2
Recall 𝑑𝑙 = 𝑑𝑦
𝜇𝑜 𝐼 𝑎 𝑥
𝐵= ∫ 𝑑𝑦
4𝜋 −𝑎 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )3⁄2
𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑥 𝑎 1
𝐵= ∫ 𝑑𝑦 … (∗∗∗)
4𝜋 −𝑎 (𝑥 + 𝑦 2 )3/2
2

Using special integrals:

𝑑𝑦 1 𝑦
∫ = 2 2
(𝑥 2 2
+ 𝑦 ) 3/2 𝑥 (𝑥 + 𝑦 2 )1/2
Equation (∗∗∗) therefore becomes
𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑥 𝑦 𝑎
𝐵= [ ]
4𝜋 𝑥 2 (𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 )1⁄2 −𝑎
𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑥 2𝑎
𝐵= ( 2 2 )
4𝜋 𝑥 (𝑥 + 𝑎2 )1⁄2
𝜇𝑜 𝐼 2𝑎
𝐵= ( 2 )
4𝜋𝑥 (𝑥 + 𝑎2 )1⁄2
When the length 2𝑎 of the conductor is very great in comparison to its distance 𝑥
from point P, we consider it infinitely long. That is, when 𝑎 is much largerthan 𝑥,
(𝑥 2 + 𝑎2 )1/2 ≅ 𝑎, 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 → ∞
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
∴𝐵=
2𝜋𝑥
In a physical situation, we have axial symmetry about the y- axis. Thus, at all points
in a circle of radius 𝑟, around the conductor, the magnitude of B is

Page | 48
 𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵= … (#)
2𝜋𝑟
Equation (#) defines the magnitude of the magnetic field of flux density B near a
long, straight current carrying conductor.
Application Problem
A long straight conductor carries a 1.0A current. At what distance from the axis of the
conductor does the resulting magnetic field have magnitude 𝐵 = 0.5 ×
10−4 𝑇𝑒𝑠𝑙𝑎?(About that of the earth’s magnetic field in Pittsburgh).
Solution
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵= (1)
2𝜋𝑟
The distance from the axis of the conductor is equal to the radius. Therefore, equation
(1) becomes:
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝑟= (2)
2𝜋𝐵
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒: 𝜇𝑜 = 4𝜋 × 10−7 𝑇. 𝑚⁄𝐴 = Permeability of free space
4𝜋 × 10−7 × 1.0𝐴
𝑟=
2 × 3.142 × 0.5 × 10−4 𝑇
𝑟 = 4 × 10−3 𝑚 = 4𝑚𝑚
Note: For a semi-infinite straight wire, the magnetic field at P (see figure 1) due to
either the lower half of the upper half of the infinite wire is half the value in equation
(10).
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵= (𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑖 − 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒) … (11)
4𝜋𝑟

Page | 49
9.0 AMPERE’S LAW
⃗⃗
Ampere’s law states that “the line integral (of the vector of magnetic field) 𝐵
around any closed path equals 𝝁𝒐 times the net current through the area
enclosed by the path”.Thus,

⃗⃗ 𝑑𝑙⃗ = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙
∮𝐵 (1)

The circle on the integral sign indicates that this integral is always computed for a
closed path, one whose beginning and end points are the same.
9.1 Right Hand Rule for Ampere’s law
The right hand rule for Ampere’s Law is used to determine the signs for currents
encircled by an amperian loop. The situation is illustrated in the figure below.

The rule states that: when you curl your right hand around the amperian loop, with
the fingers pointing in the direction of integration, a current through the loop in the
general direction of your outstretched thumb is assigned a plus sign, and a current
generally in the opposite direction is assigned a minus sign.

The ampere’s equation for the figure above can then be written as

Page | 50
 ⃗⃗. 𝑑𝑙⃗ = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 = 𝜇𝑜 (𝐼1 − 𝐼2 )
∮𝐵 … (2)

9.2 Applications of Ampere’s Law

(1) The Magnetic Field outside a long straight Conductor

𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝

𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒
𝑟
𝑖
⃗⃗
𝐵

𝑑𝑙⃗

𝑭𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑨

𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐴 above shows a long straight wire that carries current 𝑖 directly out of page.
The magnetic field lines are circles centered on the conductor. If we integrate
counterclockwise, so that 𝑑𝑙⃗ has the direction as shown in the figure, we can write the
L.H.S of Ampere’s Law as

⃗⃗. 𝑑𝑙⃗ = ∮ 𝐵𝑑𝑙 cos 𝜃

∮𝐵 … (3)

⃗⃗ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑙⃗ 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙)

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝜃 = 0 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐵 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑙 (𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐵

∮ 𝐵𝑑𝑙 cos 0 = ∮ 𝐵𝑑𝑙 = 𝐵 ∮ 𝑑𝑙 = 𝐵(2𝜋𝑟) … (4)

Note that ∮ 𝑑𝑙 above is the summation of all the line segment lengths 𝑑𝑙 around the
circular loop, that is, it simply gives the circumference 2𝜋𝑟 of the loop.
𝑅. 𝐻. 𝑆 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒 ′ 𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤 = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼
∴ 𝐵(2𝜋𝑟) = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵= … (5)
2𝜋𝑟
Equation (5) is the same as equation (#).

Page | 51
 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝

𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒
𝑟
𝑖
⃗⃗
𝐵

𝑑𝑙⃗
𝑭𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑩

⃗⃗ and 𝑑𝑙⃗ are anti parallel, the L.H.S of

If we integrate in clockwise manner such that 𝐵
Ampere’s Law becomes

⃗⃗ . 𝑑𝑙⃗ = ∮ 𝐵𝑑𝑙 cos 𝜃 = ∮ 𝐵𝑑𝑙 cos 180𝑜 = − ∮ 𝐵𝑑𝑙

∮𝐵

= −𝐵 ∮ 𝑑𝑙 = −𝐵(2𝜋𝑟)

𝑅. 𝐻. 𝑆 𝑜𝑓 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒 ′ 𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤 = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼
−𝐵(2𝜋𝑟) = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵=− … (6)
2𝜋𝑟
We obtain the same result with negative value which shows that the direction of the
current is reversed
(2) Magnetic Field inside a long, straight wire with current

𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 ⃗⃗
𝐵

𝑑𝑙⃗
𝑟
𝑖

𝑅
𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝

Page | 52
The figure above shows the cross-section of a long straight wire of radius 𝑅 that
carries a uniformly distributed current 𝐼 directly out of the page. Because the current
is uniformly distributed over a cross section of the wire, the magnetic field 𝐵
produced by the current must be cylindrically symmetrical.
Thus, to find the magnetic field at points inside the wire, we can use an Amperian
loop of radius 𝑟 as shown in the figure, where 𝑟 < 𝑅. The symmetry shows that 𝐵 is
tangent to the loop. Therefore from ampere’s law, the LHS of the law yields

⃗⃗ 𝑑𝑙⃗ = 𝐵 ∮ 𝑑𝑙 = 𝐵(2 𝜋𝑟)

∮𝐵 … (1)

to find the RHS of the ampere's law,

The current density 𝐽 is the current per unit area, that is
𝐼 𝐼
𝐽 = = … (2)
𝐴 𝜋𝑅 2
𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 = 𝐽(𝜋𝑟 2 ) … (3)
𝐼
∴ 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 = 2
(𝜋𝑟 2 ) … (4)
𝜋𝑅
Recall Ampere's law

⃗⃗ 𝑑𝑙⃗ = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙
∮𝐵 … (5)

Substituting equation (1) and equation (4) into equation (5), we have
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵 (2𝜋𝑟) = 2
(𝜋𝑟 2 )
𝜋𝑅
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵 = ( )𝑟 … (6)
2𝜋𝑅 2
Equation (6) shows that the magnitude 𝐵 of th magnetic field is proportional to 𝑟.
Example Problem

Page | 53
Figure (a) shows the cross section of a long conducting cylinder with inner radius 𝑎 =
2.0𝑐𝑚 and outer radius 𝑏 = 4.0𝑐𝑚. The cylinder carries a current out of the page, and
the magnitude of the current density in the cross section is given by 𝐽 = 𝐶𝑟 2 , with 𝐶 =
⃗⃗ at a point that is 3.0𝑐𝑚
3.0 × 106 𝐴/𝑚4 and 𝑟 in meters. What is the magnetic field 𝐵
from the central axis of the cylinder.

𝑟 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝

𝑎
𝑏

𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐴 𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐵

Discussion
(1) ⃗⃗ is inside the material of the
The point at which we want to evaluate 𝐵
conducting cylinder.
(2) The current distribution has cylindrical symmetry. (i.e) it is the same all
around the cross section for any given radius.
(3) ⃗⃗ at the point.
The symmetry allows us to use ampere’s law to find 𝐵

Calculations
We integrate the current density magnitude from the cylinder’s inner radius a to the
loop radius 𝑟
𝑟 𝑟
𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 = ∫ 𝐽 𝑑𝐴 = ∫ 𝐶𝑟 2 2𝜋𝑟 𝑑𝑟 … (1)
𝑎 𝑎
𝑟 𝑟
3
𝑟4
𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 = 2𝜋𝑐 ∫ 𝑟 𝑑𝑟 = 2𝜋𝑐 [ ] … (2)
𝑎 4 𝑎

𝑟4 𝑎4
𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 = 2𝜋𝑐 [ − ] … (3)
4 4

Page | 54
 𝑟 4 − 𝑎4
Iencl = 2𝜋𝑐 ( )
4
𝑟 4 − 𝑎4
𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 = 𝜋𝑐 ( ) … (4)
2
𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑒′𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑤

⃗⃗ 𝑑𝑙⃗ = 𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙
∮𝐵 … (5)

𝐿. 𝐻. 𝑆 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (5) = 𝐵(2𝜋𝑟)

𝑅. 𝐻. 𝑆 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (5) = − 𝜇𝑜 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙
We note that 𝐼𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑙 is negative because the current is directed out of the page which
does not conform to the arbitrarily chosen direction of amperian loop by right hand
rule.
𝑟 4 − 𝑎4
∴ 𝐵(2𝜋𝑟) = − 𝜇𝑜 𝜋𝑐 ( ) … (6)
2
𝜇𝑜 𝑐 4
𝐵=− (𝑟 − 𝑎4 )
4𝑟
(4𝜋 × 10−7 𝑇. 𝑚⁄𝐴)(3 × 106 𝐴⁄𝑚4 )
𝐵=− × [(0.03𝑚)4 − (0.02𝑚)4 ]
4(0.03𝑚)
𝐵 = −2.0 × 10−5 𝑇
⃗⃗ at a point 3.0𝑐𝑚 from the central axis has the magnitude
Thus, the magnetic field 𝐵
𝐵 = 2.0 × 10−5 𝑇

Page | 55
10.0 INDUCTION AND INDUCTANCE
10.1 Magnetic flux
The magnetic flux is defined as the strength of magnetic field represented by lines of
force. It is usually represented by the symbol ɸ.

Considering an element of area 𝑑𝐴 on an arbitrary shaped surface, if the magnitude

of the magnetic field at this element is 𝐵, the magnetic flux Φ through the element is
⃗⃗ . 𝑑𝐴⃗
Φ=𝐵 … (1)
where 𝑑𝐴⃗ is a vector that is perpendicular to the surface and has a magnitude equal
to the area 𝑑𝐴. Hence, the total magnetic flux ɸ through the surface is

⃗⃗. 𝑑𝐴⃗
Φ = ∫𝐵 … (2)

Equation (2) defines the magnetic flux through a plane lying in a magnetic field for
which an arbitrary shaped surface is considered. See figure 1 below.

𝑑𝐴⃗ ⃗⃗
𝐵

Figure 1

Equation (2) is a special case, suppose that the loop lies is an arbitrary shaped surface
⃗⃗ makes an angle 𝜃 with area element 𝑑𝐴
(see figure 1) and that the magnetic field 𝐵
perpendicular to the place. Therefore, the dot product in equation (2) becomes:

⃗⃗ . 𝑑𝐴⃗ = 𝐵𝐴 cos 𝜃
ΦB = ∫ 𝐵 … (3)

However, If the magnetic flux through a place lying in a magnetic field is to be

determined, therefore we consider the following cases: -
Case 1

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If the magnetic field is parallel to the plane see figure 2 below, therefore 𝜃 = 900 and
the flux is zero i.e. from equation (3)
ΦB = 𝐵𝐴 cos 𝜃 = 𝐵𝐴 cos 90𝑜 = 0
ΦB = 0
⃗⃗
𝐵
𝑑𝐴⃗

𝐹𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 2
The flux through the plane is zero when magnetic field is parallel to the plane surface.

Case 2
If the magnetic field is perpendicular to the plane, i.e 𝜃 = 00 , see figure 3 below
therefore, the flux in maximum valued i.e. from equation 2.
ΦB = 𝐵𝐴 cos 𝜃 = 𝐵𝐴 cos 0𝑜 = 𝐵𝐴
ΦB = 𝐵𝐴 … (4)

In equation 4, the magnetic flux is maximum.

𝑑𝐴⃗

⃗⃗
𝐵 ⃗⃗
𝐵

The flux through the plane is maximum when the magnetic field is perpendicular to
the plane.

10.2 Faraday’s law of induction

Page | 57
Faraday’s law of induction states that “the electromotive force (e.m.f) induced in
a coil of wire is proportional to the rate of change of magnetic flux linking the
coil”.

Thus, we interpreted the statement of the law to the relations

𝑑ΦB
𝜉𝛼− … (1)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑ΦB
𝜉=− … (2)
𝑑𝑡
However, if the circuit is a coil consisting of 𝑁 loops all of the same area and if ɸ is the
flux through one loop an e.m.f is induced in every loop; thus; the total induced e.m.f
in the coil is given by the expression.
𝑑ΦB
𝜉 = −𝑁 … (3)
𝑑𝑡
𝑁 = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑝𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑟𝑒
Recall that:
ΦB = 𝐵𝐴 cos 𝜃
Suppose that a conducting loop enclosing an area 𝐴 lies in a uniform magnetic field
𝐵, the magnetic flux through the loop is equal to ΦB = 𝐵𝐴 cos 𝜃 encloses an area 𝐴
in the presence of a uniform magnetic field 𝐵. The angle between 𝐵 and the normal
to the loop is 𝜃. Thus, the induced emf can be expressed as
𝑑(𝐵𝐴 cos 𝜃)
𝜉 = −𝑁 … (4)
𝑑𝑡

10.2.1 Application of Faraday’s Law

A practical application of the Faraday’s law is the production of sound in an electric
guitar. The coil in this case called the pickup coil is placed near the vibrating guitar
string which is made of a metal that can be magnetized. A permanent magnet inside
the coil magnetizes the Profurn of the string nearest the coil. When the string vibrates

Page | 58
at some frequency, its magnetized segment produces a changing magnetic flux
through the coil. The changing flux induces as emf in the coil that is fed to an amplifier.
The output of the amplifier is sent to the loudspeakers, which produces the sound
waves we hear.
Quiz
“Explain a practical application of the Faraday’s Law in the production of sound in an
electric guitar”.

Example Problem
A coil consists of 2000 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 of wire having a total resistance of 2.0Ω. Each turn is a
square of side 18𝑐𝑚, and a uniform magnetic field directed perpendicular to the plane
of the coils is turned on. If the field changes linearly from 0 to 0.5𝑇 in 0.8s,
(𝑎) What is the magnitude of the induced emf in the coil while the field is changing?
(𝑏) What is the magnitude of the induced current in the coil while the field is
changing?
Solution:
The magnetic flux through the coil at t = 0 is zero because B = 0 at the time.

𝑑ΦB
|𝜉| = 𝑁
𝑑𝑡

ΔΦB
|𝜉| = 𝑁
Δ𝑡

ΔΦB (ΦB(t2) − ΦB(t1) )

|𝜉| = 𝑁 = 𝑁
Δ𝑡 𝑡2 − 𝑡1

The magnetic flux through the coil at t = 0.85 in

(Since the uniform field in directed bar (perpendicular to the plane of the coil).

EXERCISES

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A loop of wire enclosing an area A is placed in a region where the magnetic field is
perpendicular to the plane of the loop. The magnetic of B varies in the time according
to the expression B = Bmaxe-at where a is some constant. That is, at t = 0, the field is
max, and for t >0, the field decreases exponentially. Obtain the e.m.f induced in the
loop.

Solution

𝐵 = 𝐵𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡 … (1)

𝑑ΦB 𝑑
𝜉 = − = − (𝐵𝐴) … (2)
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑆𝑢𝑏𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (1) 𝑅𝐻𝑆 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (2), 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒

𝑑
𝜉 =− 𝐵 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡 . 𝐴 … (3)
𝑑𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐵𝑚𝑎𝑥 , 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠,

𝑑 −𝑎𝑡
𝜉 = −𝐴 𝐵𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑒 … (4)
𝑑𝑡
Therefore,

𝜉 = 𝑎𝐴 𝐵𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡 … (5)

The expression of equation (5) indicates that the induced emf decays exponentially
with time. Note that the maximum e.m.f occurs at 𝑡 = 0, where 𝐸𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝑎𝐴 𝐵𝑚𝑎𝑥 .

Page | 60
 Department of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Course Title: Electricity, Magnetism and Modern Physics

Course Code: PHY 102
Session: 2013/14 Time Allowed: 2hrs

Instruction: Answer Four (4) Questions in All - two from Section A and two from section B.

Section A

1. (a) Explain with the aid of a diagram how you can produce a negatively charged
sphere by method of induction.
(b) Each of two small spheres is charged positively, the combined charge being
5.0 × 10−5𝐶. If each sphere is repelled from the other by a force of 1.0N when the
spheres are 2.0m apart, calculate the charge on each sphere.
(c) Three charges were positioned as shown in the figure below. If 𝑄1 = 𝑄2 = 8𝜇𝐶
and 𝑑 = 0.5𝑚, determine 𝑞 if the electric field at 𝑃 is zero.

2. (a) Distinguish between the terms: electric field and electric field intensity.
(b) A positive charge 𝑄1 = 8𝑛𝐶 is at the origin, and a second positive charge
𝑄2 = 12𝑛𝐶 is on the 𝑥 −axis at 𝑥 = 4𝑚. Find
(i) the net electric field at a point P on the 𝑥 axis at 𝑥 = 7𝑚.
(ii) the electric field at a point Q on the 𝑦 axis at 𝑦 = 3𝑚 due to the charges.

3 (a) State the formulation of the following identities of charges:

(i) Volume Charge density (ii) Surface Charge density (iii) Linear Charge density
(b) Explain with appropriate equations, the electric potential difference
(c) Two point charges Q1 = 10µc and Q2 = −2µc are arranged along the x-axis at
x = 0 and x=4m respectively. Find the position along the x-axis where v = 0.

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Section B
Instruction: answer any two questions

4 (a) What is Magnetic flux?

(b) An electron with a rest mass of 9.11 x 10 -31kg moves in a circular orbit of radius
1.4 × 10−7𝑚 in a uniform magnetic field of 3.5 x 10 -1 Weber/meter square,
perpendicular to the speed with which electron moves. Find the cyclotron frequency of the
moving electron.
(c) Discuss your answer in 4b above.

5. (a) State the Biot-Savart Law.

(b) Using the Biot-Savart Law, show that the magnitude of the magnetic field of a
straight current-carrying conductor is given as
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵=
2𝜋𝑟

6. (a) Explain the practical application of Faraday’s Law in the production of sound
in an electric guitar.
(b) A coil consists of 300 turns of wire having a total resistance of 2.0Ω. Each turn is
a square of side 10𝑐𝑚, and a uniform magnetic field directed perpendicular to the
plane of the coil is turned on. If the field changes linearly from 0 to 10𝑇 in 0.5 𝑠𝑒𝑐,
(i) What is the magnitude of the induced emf in the coil while the field is
changing?
(ii) What is the magnitude of the induced current in the coil while the
field is changing?
(c) The plane of a rectangular coil of dimensions 5𝑐𝑚 by 8𝑐𝑚 is perpendicular to the
direction of a magnetic field 𝐵. If the coil has 75 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 and a total resistance of
8Ω, at what rate must the magnitude of the 𝐵 change in order to induce a current
of 0.1𝐴 in the windings of the coil?

PHY 102 NOTE STUDY GUIDE/TUTORIAL

Page | 62
 Definitions and Statements
(1) What is an electric charge?
(2) State five (5) properties of an electric charge.
(3) State the Coulomb’s law.
(4) State the similarities and differences between electrostatic force and gravitational force.
(5) State the superposition principle.
(6) Distinguish between the terms: electric field and electric field intensity.
(7) What is electric potential difference?
(8) Define the following terms
a. Capacitance
b. Resistance
c. Potential difference
d. Electromotive force
e. Specific resistance
f. Conductance of a conductor
g. Current density.

Sample answering strategy and marking guide

Question 3:
The Coulomb’s Law states that the attractive or repulsive force between two charges 𝑞1
and 𝑞2 is directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of their distance apart. (𝟏 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌)

Mathematically,
𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹𝐸 = 𝑘 (𝟏 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌)
𝑟2
where,
𝐹𝐸 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑞1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑞2
𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠 (𝟏 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌)
1
𝑘 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 =
4𝜋𝜀𝑜
Question 8(g)
𝟏
Current density is the current per unit area of cross-section (𝟐 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌)
𝐼 𝟏
Mathematically, 𝐽 = 𝐴(𝟐 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌)
𝟏
The unit is Ampere per square meter (𝐴/𝑚2 )( 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌)
𝟐

Page | 63
PART 2

1. A coaxial cable of length 2m consists of a wire of diameter 1mm. If the capacitance of the
cable is 101.2pF, obtain the diameter of the outer shell.
2. Five point charges are placed at the edges of a regular sided pentagon shown below. A side
of the pentagon is 4cm. If the magnitude of each point charge is 2.2𝜇𝐶, find the electric
potential at the centre of the pentagon.

4𝑐𝑚

Clue: each triangle in the polygon is an isosceles triangle.

3. Prove that the electric potential difference between a point A and point B in an electric
field is
𝐵
𝑉𝐵 − 𝑉𝐴 = − ∫ 𝐸𝑑𝑙
𝐴
4. (a) Three charges 𝑄1 , 𝑄2 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑄3 are arranged as shown below.
𝐴𝑸𝟏

𝟔𝟎𝒐

𝟑𝒄𝒎 𝟓𝒄𝒎

𝟏𝟐𝟎𝒐
𝑫 𝑪𝑸𝟐 𝑩 𝑸𝟑

Determine the electrostatic force between charges

(i) 𝑄1 and𝑄2
(ii) 𝑄2 and𝑄3
(iii) 𝑄1 and𝑄3
Take 𝑄1 = 𝑄2 = 𝑄3 = 6𝜇𝐶
(b) Three charges were positioned as shown in the figure below. If 𝑄1 = 𝑄2 = 8𝜇𝐶and
𝑑 = 0.5𝑚, determine 𝑞 if the charge at 𝑃 is zero.
𝑃

2𝑑

𝑄2 d 𝑞 𝑄1 Page | 64
5.
⃗⃗
𝑃𝑑𝐵

𝑦
𝑟 = √𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2

𝑟̂
𝑖 𝜑 𝜋−𝜑

−𝑎 𝑥 𝑑𝑙 𝑎

(a) State the Biot-Savart Law.

(b) By applying the Biot-Savart Law, show that the magnitude of the magnetic field
of a straight current carrying conductor above is
𝜇𝑜 𝐼
𝐵=
2𝜋𝑦

6. (a) Distinguish between the terms: electric field and electric field intensity.
(b) A positive charge 𝑄1 = 8𝑛𝐶 is at the origin, and a second positive charge
𝑄2 = 12𝑛𝐶is on the 𝑥axis at 𝑥 = 4𝑚. Find
(iii) the net electric field at a point P on the 𝑥 axis at 𝑥 = 7𝑚.
(iv) the electric field at a point Q on the 𝑦 axis at 𝑦 = 3𝑚 due to the charges.
(v) the angle the resultant electric field in (ii) makes with the 𝑥-axis.

Page | 65