Flashcards on Electrostatics and Electromagnetism
Electrostatics and Electromagnetism Explained for Students
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Electrostatics
74 cards
Card 1
Question: State the fundamental law of electrostatics.
Answer: Like charges repel each other; unlike charges attract each other.
Card 2
Question: What does conservation of charge mean?
Answer: The total electric charge in an isolated system remains constant; charge cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred.
Card 3
Question: Write the quantization of charge and define e.
Answer: q = n·e where e = 1.60×10^−19 C and n is an integer.
Card 4
Question: Which subatomic particles carry electric charge and what are their charges?
Answer: Electrons carry negative charge (−1.60×10^−19 C) and protons carry positive charge (+1.60×10^−19 C).
Card 5
Question: What is the SI unit of electric charge and how many electrons correspond to one coulomb?
Answer: The coulomb (C). 1 C = 6.25×10^18 electrons.
Card 6
Question: Give common metric prefixes used in electrostatics and their values.
Answer: 1 μC = 1×10^−6 C; 1 nC = 1×10^−9 C; 1 pC = 1×10^−12 C.
Card 7
Question: State Coulomb's Law for the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point charges.
Answer: F = k·|q1 q2|/r^2 = (1/4πε0)·|q1 q2|/r^2, where k ≈ 8.99×10^9 N·m^2/C^2 and ε0 = 8.854×10^−12 C^2/(N·m^2).
Card 8
Question: When using Coulomb's Law, how should you treat sign of charge and vector direction?
Answer: Use magnitudes to compute force magnitude; determine force direction from attraction/repulsion rules based on charge signs.
Card 9
Question: Describe charging by friction (triboelectric effect).
Answer: Rubbing two neutral materials transfers electrons so one becomes negative (gains electrons) and the other positive (loses electrons).
Card 10
Question: What is the triboelectric series and what does it rank?
Answer: A list that ranks materials by their tendency to gain or lose electrons when contacted, from positive end (loses electrons easily) to negative end (ga