REVIEWER FOR GENERAL PHYSICS 2

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER

● A quantity of 1 C is equal to the electrical charge of approximately 6.24 x 1018 electrons or protons.
𝑞
● N= 𝑒
Where: N - the number of electrons
q - the charge
e - the charge of one electron (1.6 × 10−19)

● Charging by conduction: charging involves making the physical connection of the charged object to the
neutral object.
● Charging by friction: the transfer of electrons from one uncharged object to another by rubbing the two
objects together.
● Charging by induction: a process where the charged object is brought near but never contacted to the
object being charged.
● Grounding: a backup pathway that provides an alternating route for the current to flow back to the ground
if there is a fault in the wiring
● Insulators: a material in which electric current does not flow freely. The atoms of the insulator have tightly
bound electrons that cannot readily move.
● Conductors: materials that permit electrons to flow freely from particle to particle.
● Electroscope: an instrument that allows you to identify whether an object is positively or negatively
charged.
● Van De Graaff Generator: a machine that produces a large amount of excess charge, used for
experiments with high voltage.
● Spark Chamber: a device used for detecting charged particles.
● Defibrillator: a machine used to provide an electrical shock to a heart attack victim's heart in order to
restore the heart's normal rhythmic pattern.

● Capacitor: an electronic device that stores charge and energy; stores energy in the form of electrical
charges and fields.
▪ The amount of charge a capacitor can store depends on two major
factors—the voltage applied and the capacitor's physical
characteristics, such as its size.
▪ Electrostatic potential energy gets stored in the capacitor. It is thus
related to the charge and voltage between the plates of the capacitor.
▪ Discharging a capacitor means releasing the charge stored within
the capacitor.
▪ A dielectric material is used to separate the conductive plates of a
capacitor. This material has weak electrical conductivity but can store
an electrical charge.
▪ Adding a dielectric will increase the capacitance and therefore
decrease the potential energy stored in the capacitor, so you have to do
negative work to decrease that potential energy.

● Resistor-capacitor circuit (RC Circuit): an electrical circuit consisting of passive

components like resistors and capacitors, driven by the current source or the
voltage source.
▪ The capacitor stores energy and the resistor connected to the circuit
control the rate of charging or discharging.
 REVIEWER FOR GENERAL PHYSICS 2
● Coulomb’s Law: states that the force between two charges is proportional to the amount of charge on both
charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

● Electric field strength: greatest where the lines are closest together
and weakest where lines are furthest apart.
▪ Based on the given illustration, the order of the intensity of the electric
field strength from weakest of strongest is: D-A-E-C-B
▪ Direction of isolated positive charge – moving away/outward
▪ Direction of Isolated negative charge – moving towards/inward

● Electric potential: the amount of work needed to move a unit charge

from a reference point to a specific point against an electric field. Electric potential of a point charge is
V=kQ/r
● Electric potential energy: the energy that is needed to move a charge against an electric field.
▪ You need more energy to move a charge further in the electric field, but also more energy to move it
through a stronger electric field.

● Electric potential difference/Potential difference: also known as voltage, is the external work needed to
bring a charge from one location to another location in an electric field.
▪ As the positive test charge moves through the external circuit from the positive terminal to the negative
terminal, it decreases its electric potential energy and thus is at low potential by the time it returns to the
negative terminal.
▪ If two like charges are brought towards each other, the potential energy increases.
▪ If two unlike charges are brought towards each other, the electric potential energy of the system
decreases.
● Equipotential Line: a line along which the electric potential is constant. An equipotential surface is a
three-dimensional version of equipotential lines. Equipotential lines are always perpendicular to electric
field lines.

● Ohm's Law: a formula used to calculate the relationship between voltage, current and resistance in an
electrical circuit.
▪ It has a formula of V = I⦁R, where V is the voltage (in volts) across the conductor, I is the current (in
ampere) flowing through the conductor and R is the resistance (in ohms).
▪ Resistivity is an intrinsic property that signifies how efficiently a given material opposes the flow of
electric current.
▪ Resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a
circuit element.

● Kirchhoff’s First Rule (The Junction Rule): The sum of all currents entering a junction must equal the
sum of all currents leaving the junction
 REVIEWER FOR GENERAL PHYSICS 2
● Kirchhoff’s Second Rule (The Loop Rule): The algebraic sum of changes in potential around any
closed-circuit path (loop) must be zero