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United StatesPhysics 2

Unit 10: Electric Force, Field, and Potential

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How does a capacitor store charge and energy, and what sets its capacitance?

Topic 10.6 Capacitors: relate charge, voltage and capacitance, find the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor, and calculate the energy stored.
A focused answer to AP Physics 2 Topic 10.6, covering capacitance as charge per volt, the parallel-plate capacitor and what sets its capacitance, the role of a dielectric, the uniform field between the plates, and the energy stored, with full worked examples.
11 min answer →

How do objects become charged, and why is charge never created or destroyed?

Topic 10.2 Conservation of Charge and the Process of Charging: apply conservation of charge to charging by friction, conduction and induction.
A focused answer to AP Physics 2 Topic 10.2, covering the conservation of electric charge, the difference between conductors and insulators, and the three charging processes (friction, conduction and induction with grounding), with full worked examples.
10 min answer →

How does energy conservation link the voltage a charge crosses to the kinetic energy it gains?

Topic 10.7 Conservation of Electric Energy: apply conservation of energy to charges moving through potential differences, relating qV to kinetic energy.
A focused answer to AP Physics 2 Topic 10.7, covering conservation of energy for charges moving through electric potential differences, the relation between qV and kinetic energy, the electron-volt, and energy bookkeeping for charges accelerated by fields, with full worked examples.
10 min answer →

What is electric charge, and how strong is the force between two charged objects?

Topic 10.1 Electric Charge and Coulomb's Law: describe electric charge and apply Coulomb's law to the force between point charges.
A focused answer to AP Physics 2 Topic 10.1, covering the two kinds of electric charge, the attraction and repulsion rule, the quantisation and conservation of charge, and Coulomb's law for the inverse-square force between point charges, with full worked examples.
11 min answer →

What is an electric field, and how does it tell a charge which way to move?

Topic 10.3 Electric Fields: define the electric field, calculate the field of a point charge, and represent fields with field lines and superposition.
A focused answer to AP Physics 2 Topic 10.3, covering the electric field as force per unit charge, the field of a point charge, field-line diagrams and their rules, superposition of fields, the uniform field between parallel plates, and fields in conductors, with full worked examples.
12 min answer →

What is voltage, and how is it related to the electric field and to energy per charge?

Topic 10.5 Electric Potential and its Relation to the Electric Field: define electric potential, relate potential difference to field and to potential energy, and use equipotentials.
A focused answer to AP Physics 2 Topic 10.5, covering electric potential as energy per unit charge, the potential of a point charge, the relation between potential difference and the field, equipotential surfaces, and the work done moving a charge through a potential difference, with full worked examples.
12 min answer →

How much energy is stored when charges are pushed together or pulled apart?

Topic 10.4 Electric Potential Energy: calculate the electric potential energy of a system of point charges and relate it to work done.
A focused answer to AP Physics 2 Topic 10.4, covering electric potential energy as the work stored in assembling charges, the formula U = k q1 q2 / r for a pair of point charges, the role of sign, the work-energy connection, and superposition over multiple pairs, with full worked examples.
11 min answer →