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Electrostatic and Gravitational Fields of Force

Field lines and equipotential surfaces

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 2

Overview

Field line pattern around an isolated positive point charge, field line pattern around an isolated negative point charge and gravitational field line pattern around an isolated spherical mass.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Evaluation

How does the spacing of field lines relate to the strength of the field?

Key term

What does a field line tell you about a field?

Key term

Describe the field line pattern around an isolated positive point charge.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What does a field line tell you about a field?

    Model answer

    The tangent to a field line at a point gives the direction of the field at that point, and the spacing of the lines shows how strong the field is.

  2. 2

    Describe the field line pattern around an isolated positive point charge.

    Model answer

    The lines are straight and radial, pointing outwards from the charge in every direction, and they spread out as the distance increases.

  3. 3

    Describe the field line pattern around an isolated negative point charge.

    Model answer

    The lines are straight and radial, pointing inwards towards the charge from every direction.

  4. 4

    Describe the gravitational field line pattern around an isolated spherical mass.

    Model answer

    The lines are straight and radial and always point inwards towards the centre of the mass.

  5. 5

    Why can two field lines never cross?

    Model answer

    A crossing point would have two different field directions at once, and the field at a point can only have one direction.

  6. 6

    How does the spacing of field lines relate to the strength of the field?

    Model answer

    Closely spaced lines indicate a strong field, and widely spaced lines a weak one, so a radial field weakens as the lines spread out with distance.

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