Electrostatics Study Guide

For the test over electrostatics you should know:

• The units for charge, electric field, capacitance, and potential and how they are related
• How electrostatic force changes when distance between charges or magnitude of charges is changed.
• The characteristics of conductors and insulators
• The type of force between like charges and opposite charges.
• The quantities that will be the same for capacitors in series or in parallel.
• The effect of a dielectric on capacitance, potential, charge, electric field
• The way a charge is distributed on a conductor, and the effect of sharp curves or points.
• What is indicated by the lines of an electric field
• The effect on an uncharged object due to a charged object brought near but not touching (induction), and actually touching (conduction)
• How to add capacitances in parallel and series
• How to draw the electric field of two like charges and two opposite charges
• How to measure the potential of a battery using a multimeter.

And be able to calculate:

• The electrostatic force between two charges
• The number of electrons needed to create a given charge.
• The combined capacitance for capacitors in parallel and in series.
• The charge on a capacitor given the capacitance and the potential.
• The charge on an object experiencing a given force in an electric field of given strength