MODULE I

ELECTRICITY
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

• basic property of matter carried by some 

elementary particles that governs how the
particles are affected by an electric or 
magnetic field. Electric charge, which can be
positive or negative, occurs in discrete
natural units and is neither created nor
destroyed.
• Electric charges are of two general types:
positive and negative. Two objects that have
an excess of one type of charge exert a force
of repulsion on each other when relatively
close together.
• Two objects that have excess opposite
charges, one positively charged and the
other negatively charged, attract each other
when relatively near.
 Coulomb's Law
• The interaction between charged objects is a non-contact force
that acts over some distance of separation. Charge, charge and
distance. Every electrical interaction involves a force that
highlights the importance of these three variables. Whether it
is a plastic golf tube attracting paper bits, two like-charged
balloons repelling or a charged Styrofoam plate interacting
with electrons in a piece of aluminum, there is always two
charges and a distance between them as the three critical
variables that influence the strength of the interaction.
Coulomb's Law Equation
• where Q1 represents the quantity of charge on object 1 (in
Coulombs)
• Q2 represents the quantity of charge on object 2 (in
Coulombs),
• d represents the distance of separation between the two
objects (in meters).
• The symbol k is a proportionality constant known as the
Coulomb's law constant. The value of this constant is
dependent upon the medium that the charged objects are
immersed in. In the case of air, the value is approximately
9.0 x 109 N • m2 / C2.
 What is Atomic Structure?
• The atomic structure of an element refers to the
constitution of its nucleus and the arrangement of the
electrons around it. Primarily, the atomic structure of
matter is made up of protons, electrons and neutrons.
• The protons and neutrons make up the nucleus of the
atom, which is surrounded by the electrons belonging to
the atom. The atomic number of an element describes the
total number of protons in its nucleus.
 IONS
• The term "ion" was introduced by English chemist and physicist 
Michael Faraday in 1834 to describe the chemical species that travels
from one electrode to another in aqueous solution. The word ion
comes from the Greek word ion or ienai, which means "to go."
• Ions can be grouped into two broad categories: cations and anions.
• Cations are ions that carry a net positive charge because the number
of protons in the species is greater than the number of electrons.
• Anions are ions that carry a net negative charge. In anions, there are
more electrons than protons. The number of neutrons is not a factor
in whether an atom, functional group, or molecule is an anion.
 Electric Field
•  The region around the electric charge in which the stress or
electric force act is called an electric field or electrostatic
field.
• If the magnitude of charge is large, then it may create a huge
stress around the region.
• The electric field is represented by the symbol E.
• The SI unit of the electric field is newton per coulomb which
is equal to volts per meter.
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRIC LINES OF FORCE
 POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE

• The potential difference V between two

points in an electric field is the amount of
work needed to take a charge of 1C from
one of the points to the other.
 EQUATION

•Potential Difference =
• 

•V=
•1 volt=1
 PROBLEM SOLVING

•1. What is the magnitude and

direction of the force on a
charge of +4 X 10-9 C that is 5
cm from a charge of 5 X 10-8 C?
•2. Two charges, one of +5
X 10 C, attract each other
-7

with a force of 100 N. How

far apart are they?
•3. A test charge of +1 X 10-6C is
placed halfway between a
charge of + 5 X 10-6 and 3 X 10-6
C that are 20 cm apart. Find the
magnitude and direction of the
force on the test charge.
•4. A small charged pith ball is suspended
• 

2 cm above a second charged pith ball

resting on an insulated surface. If the
charge of the lower ball is 20 stat C and
it has a mass of 0.25 gram, what charge
must be on the lower ball to lift the
lower ball? K = 1