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Science · Grade 11

Electric Charge, Fields and Potential

Learners explain charging as the transfer of electrons, with charge conserved and quantised, and use Coulomb's law to calculate electric forces and compare them with gravity. They model the space around charges as an electric field (E = F/q, E = kQ/r², field-line rules), define potential difference as energy per unit charge, and use uniform fields between plates and energy conservation (qV = ½mv²) to predict how charged particles move.

  • 5 lessons
  • About 120 minutes
  • Charge, fields and potential check: 10 questions
  • Ways to answer: choose an answer, draw a graph, highlight a text, match pairs, type a number and put in order
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What learners will discover

  • Explain charging by friction, contact and induction as the movement of electrons, and apply conservation and quantisation of charge (e = 1.60 × 10⁻¹⁹ C), including polarisation of neutral objects.
  • Use Coulomb's law, F = kq~1~q~2~/r², to calculate electric forces and their directions, apply inverse-square reasoning, and compare electric and gravitational forces.
  • Describe electric fields with E = F/q and E = kQ/r², find the direction of the force on positive and negative charges, and use the rules for drawing and reading field lines.
  • Define potential difference as work done per unit charge (V = W/q), use E = V/d for a uniform field, and apply qV = ½mv² to charges accelerated from rest.

Lessons

  1. Charge and how objects become charged 9 steps5 practiceabout 22 min
  2. Coulomb's law 8 steps5 practiceabout 24 min
  3. Electric fields and field lines 9 steps5 practiceabout 25 min
  4. Uniform fields and potential difference 8 steps5 practiceabout 25 min
  5. Accelerating charges and comparing fields 7 steps5 practiceabout 22 min
  6. Charge, fields and potential check 10 questions at the end

Keep exploring

More 11th grade science

Guide for grown-ups