Physic II Lab experiment Charges and Fields

Please follow the attachments and the instructions.

In this experiment, we are going to begin with the simplest charge distribution, a point charge.  You will investigate the symmetry of the field.  In other words, you will investigate what you can change without changing the strength or direction of the electric field of a point charge.   You will also take data on the radial dependence of the electric field.

In Part II, you will work with two slightly more complicated charge distributions.  You will find that the dipole and quadrupole field drop off more rapidly than that of the point charge.  Lastly, in Part III, you will review the concept of mechanical work in terms of forces.  An important concept to recall is that a force perpendicular to a displacement can do no work; it cannot change the energy of an object so acted upon. 

While completing the experiment Charges and Fields, make sure to keep the following guiding questions in mind:

• The electric field is a vector field in which both the magnitude and direction play an equally important role.
• What does it mean for a quantity to “drop off”?  And r², r³, or even faster?
• How do electrical forces govern the strength and solidity of our bodies and the everyday objects around us?

To complete the experiment, you will need to:

1. Be prepared with a laboratory notebook to record your observations.
2. Click the image to open the simulation experiment.
3. Perform the experiment as described.
4. Transfer your data and results from your laboratory notebook into the lab report template provided at the end of this experiment description.
5. Submit your version of the laboratory experiment report.