ELECTRIC CHARGES AND FIELDS

Electric Charge
Electric charge is the property of matter which causes the
matter to experience a certain force when placed in an electric
field. Static charges produce Electric Field and when these
charges start to move and become dynamic, they produce a
magnetic field as well, moving charge is responsible for the
production of electricity as well, to be precise, it is the
movement of electrons that produces electricity.
Electric Charge Formula
If the charge flowing inside a circuit producing electric current is
needed to be calculated, the formula used for the same will be,

q=I×T
where,

I is the current flowing inside the circuit

T is the time for which the current is flowing.
SI Unit of Electric Charge
Electric Charge can be measured in various units and the SI
unit for measuring Electric Charge is Coulomb, which is
represented by ‘C’.

The value present of a single charge is 1.6 × 10-19C i.e. both

proton and electron have a charge equal to the magnitude 1.6
× 10-19C
Other Units of Electrical Properties
VOLTAGE V Volt
CURRENT I Ampere
RESISTANCE R Ohm
CHARGE Q Coulomb
CAPACITANCE C Farad
POWER W Watts
Types of Electric Charge
Positive Charge
Positive charges are also known as Protons and the electric field lines come out of the positive
charge. The charge present on a proton is +1.6 × 10 -19C. If an object is positively charged, it can be
concluded that the object has more protons than electrons.

Negative Charge
Negative charges are also known as electrons. The electric field lines come from infinity inside a
negative charge. The amount of charge present on an electron is -1.6 × 10-19C. If an object is
known to be negatively charged, that means that the object has more electrons than protons.
Note:

1 Coulomb = = 6.25 1018 electrons

 Coulomb’s Law is used to define the Force
Coulomb’s Law between two charges. Two charges can either
have a force of attraction or a force of
repulsion between them.
Let’s say that there are two charges q 1, and
q2 placed at a distance of ‘r’ between them,
then the force between them will be defined as,
Sample Problems
1. Compute the electric force between two charges of 5 x 10-9 C and -3
x 10-8 C which are separated by d = 10cm.

Solution: the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point

charges is given by Coulomb’s law as

Note that in Coulomb’s law force formula, the sign of charges is not included only its
absolute values must be entered.
1. Two charges, 5 C and 15 C are separated by 10 cm. What is
the force between them?
2. Two charges, 5 C and 15 C are separated by some distance.
Force between them is 6.75x1013 N. What is the distance
between them in cm?
3. Two charges, one is 5 C and another is unknown but force
between them is 6.75x1013 N and they are separated by 10
cm. What is the other charge?
4. If the electrical force of repulsion between two 1C charges
is 10 N, how far apart are they?