Electric

Charge,
Coulomb’s Law,
Electric Fields,
and Electric
Flux
 QUESTIONS
• What is electric charge? How does it differ from electric current?
• How does an object get electrically charged?
• What are the different charging mechanisms in electricity?
• What is an electric force? An electric field?
• What does coulomb’s law state?
• What other concepts can you relate with electricity?
 OBJECTIVES
1. Describe using a diagram charging by rubbing and charging by induction
STEM_GP12EM-IIIa-1;
2. Explain the role of electron transfer in electrostatic charging by rubbing
STEM_GP12EMIIIa-2;
3. Describe experiments to show electrostatic charging by induction STEM_GP12EM-IIIa-
3;
4. Calculate the net electric force on a point charge exerted by a system of point charges
STEM_GP12EM-IIIa-6;
5. Describe an electric field as a region in which an electric charge experiences a force
STEM_GP12EM-IIIa-7; and
6. Calculate the electric field due to a system of point charges using Coulomb’s law and
the superposition principle STEM_GP12EM-IIIa-10.
 INTRODUCTION
This time, we will be exploring the electromagnetic force,
one of nature’s fundamental forces, which possesses both
electric and magnetic force. However, we need to know how
this interaction involves particles with electric charge in
understanding this force. This could also be fundamentally
represented by mass. When an object with mass is
accelerated by an applied force, objects with electric charges
are also accelerated by the presence of electric forces.
ELECTRIC
CHARGES
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

The electric charge is an attribute that is as

fundamental as mass, electric current, and
amount of substance. It is measured in Coulombs
(C). This should not be confused with electric
current (A) which is the flow of electric charge
per unit time.
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

Different objects are made up of different atoms;

hence their chemical composition is fundamental
to the understanding of the electrical nature of
objects. As such, we shall review the atomic
composition of matter and how it affects the
electrical charge of things.
 ATOMS
An atom is
composed of
electrons,
protons, and
neutrons.
The table below shows the properties of the charged
particles in terms of mass and their charge.
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

Materials contain a huge amount of

positively charged particles called
protons and negatively charged
particles called electrons.
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

When there is an equal number of protons and

neutrons in a matter, the body is electrically
neutral. In making a body negatively charged,
electrons are added to a body. On the other hand,
a positively charged body removes electrons.
ELECTRIC CHARGE
 ELECTRIC CHARGE
The transfer of electrons from one body to another
proves the law of conservation of charges. These
charges are neither created nor destroyed.
According to the principle of conservation of
charges, the sum of electric charges of a body
within a closed system is always constant.
 ELECTRIC CHARGE
In understanding electrostatic interactions, we have to
keep in mind the following conventions:
 ELECTRIC CHARGE
In understanding electrostatic interactions, we have to
keep in mind the following conventions:
 ELECTRIC CHARGE
This attraction between electrons and protons
holds the atom together. Where it varies with
particles distance from each other. This means
that if a lone electron is left on the valence
shell, its attraction to the nucleus is weak and
is loosely bound to the atom.
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

Materials that allow the movement of

electrons from one region to another are
called conductors of electricity, while
materials that do not allow the flow of
electrons are called insulators.
 ELECTRIC CHARGE

Semiconductors on the other hand, are

materials with electrical conductivity values
that are in between those of an insulator and
of a conductor. They have resistance which
decreases as their temperatures are
increased.
PERIODIC
TABLE OF
ELEMENTS
 ELECTRONEGATIVITY
Elements with a high electronegativity are generally
nonmetals and electrical insulators and tend to
behave as oxidants in chemical reactions.
Conversely, elements with a low electronegativity
are generally metals and good electrical conductors
and tend to behave as reductants in chemical
reactions.
 CHARGING OBJECTS

Charging objects could happen

through induction, conduction and
friction. These charging processes
can be demonstrated through an
electroscope.
 CHARGING BY FRICTION

When two neutral bodies are rubbed

against each other, due to friction one
of them losses electrons and hence gets
positively charged and the body that
gains electrons gets negatively charged.
 CHARGING BY FRICTION

Experiment: Take a small piece of

uncharged plastic rod and cloth, rub against
each other this will result both of them get
charged. Same thing will happen between
rubber rod and fur, Glass rod and silk cloth.
 CHARGING BY CONDUCTION

When a charged body is brought in

direct contact with an uncharged
body (or neutral body), it shares its
charge with it. Thus, the uncharged
body becomes charged.
 CHARGING BY INDUCTION
The process of temporary electrification of
an initially neutral conduction body
(induced) by bringing a charged body
(inducer) close to it without making any
actual contact between the bodies is known
as charging by induction.
HOW WOULD YOU KNOW IF
AN OBJECT WILL EITHER
GAIN OR LOSE ELECTRONS
 TRIBOELECTRIC SERIES

The triboelectric series is a list that ranks various

materials according to their tendency to gain or lose
electrons. It usually lists materials in order of
decreasing tendency to charge positively (lose
electrons) and increasing tendency to charge
negatively (gain electrons).
COULOMB’S LAW
 COULUMB’S LAW

Similar to atoms, unlike charged

objects attract each other; on the
other hand, similarly charged ones
repel each other.
 COULOMB’S LAW

Charles Augustin de Coulomb studied the attractive and

repulsive forces between charges. He found out that the
magnitude of force decreases when the distance of
separation between the charges increases. This is shown
by Coulomb’s law as expressed in the equation below:
COULOMB’S LAW
COULOMB’S
LAW
 COULOMB’S LAW

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/coulombs-law/latest/coulombs-
law_all.html
 EXAMPLE

Suppose that two point charges, each with

a charge of +1.00 Coulomb are separated
by a distance of 1.00 meter. Determine the
magnitude of the electrical force of
repulsion between them.
 EXAMPLE

The force of repulsion of two +1.00

Coulomb charges held 1.00 meter apart
is 9 billion Newton. This is an incredibly
large force that compares in magnitude to
the weight of more than 2000 jetliners.
 EXAMPLE

This problem was chosen primarily for its

conceptual message. Objects simply do
not acquire charges on the order of 1.00
Coulomb. In fact, more likely Q values are
on the order of 10^-9 or possibly 10^-6
Coulombs.
 EXAMPLE

Two balloons are charged with an identical

quantity and type of charge: -6.25 nC. They
are held apart at a separation distance of
61.7 cm. Determine the magnitude of the
electrical force of repulsion between them.
 EXAMPLE

Two balloons with charges of +3.37 µC

and -8.21 µC attract each other with a
force of 0.0626 Newton. Determine the
separation distance between the two
balloons.
 SYSTEM OF POINT CHARGES

Two-point charges are located in xy coordinate

system. A charge 2.00 𝑥 10n𝐶 is located at (0,4.00
cm) and the other charge −3.00 𝑥 10n𝐶 is located
at (3.00 cm, 4.00 cm). If the third charge 5.00 n𝐶
is placed at origin, find the resultant force at the
third charge.
SYSTEM OF POINT CHARGES
SYSTEM OF POINT CHARGES
SYSTEM OF POINT CHARGES
SYSTEM OF POINT CHARGES
SYSTEM OF POINT CHARGES
ELECTRIC FIELDS
 ELECTRIC FIELDS

The electric field is an imaginary field

line that helps explain the interaction
between charged particles. It is a region
where electric charges experiences a
force.
 ELECTRIC FIELDS

Hence, the resulting electric force on a charged

object is a result of the force exerted by the
electric field on the charged object. Michael
Faraday first introduced the concept of electric
field, which he initially called lines of forces
 ELECTRIC FIELDS
A single positive and negative charge
Two equal and opposite charges
Two equal negative and positive charges
 ELECTRIC FIELDS

1. Electric field lines never intersect.

2. The electric field lines can never form
closed loops, as line can never start
and end on the same charge.
 ELECTRIC FIELDS

3. The field is strong when the lines are close

together, and it is weak when the field lines
move apart from each other.
4. The number of field lines is directly
proportional to the magnitude of the charge.
 ELECTRIC FIELDS

5. The electric field line starts from the

positive charge and ends from negative
charge.
6. If the charge is single, then they start or
end at infinity.
 ELECTRIC FIELDS

F= Electric force experienced by a test charge

q= test charge
Unit: Newton per coulomb (N/C)
If q is positive, the direction of E is the direction of F.
On the other hand, the force on a negative charge is
opposite to the direction of the E.
 EXAMPLE

What is the strength of the

electric field 5cm to the left
of a 7.5mC negative charge?
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE
ELECTRIC
FLUX
 ELECTRIC FLUX

The relationship between electric charge and

electric field was also formulated alternatively in
Gauss’s law (Karl Friedrich Gauss 1777-1855). This
is logically equivalent to Coulomb’s law, but this
was easier to use in finding electric field for
symmetrical charge distribution.
 ELECTRIC FLUX

Gauss’s law general statement is expressed as

𝜙𝐸=𝐸𝐴cosƟ
where is the electric flux 𝑁𝑚^2 𝐶, E is the magnitude of
electric field expressed in 𝑁𝐶 , Ɵ is the angle between
the normal line of the surface and electric field lines. and
A is the area of a given surface expressed in m^2.
 ELECTRIC FLUX

Electric flux refers to the amount of

electric field lines penetrating a
given surface.
 ELECTRIC FLUX

The electric flux is maximum if the electric field lines

are perpendicular to the surface or parallel to the normal
line of the surface. The electric flux is zero when the
electric field line is parallel to the surface or
perpendicular to the normal line of the surface. At a given
angle, the electric flux is directly proportional to the
component of the electric field lines.
ELECTRIC FLUX
ELECTRIC FLUX
ELECTRIC FLUX
ELECTRIC FLUX
ELECTRIC FLUX
ELECTRIC FLUX
ELECTRIC FLUX