Coulomb’s Law and Electric Forces

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to Coulomb’s Law, electric forces, and associated electrical principles.

Coulomb’s Law

Describes the force between two charged objects, proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Electric Field Strength (E)

The measure of how strong an electric field is in the region surrounding a charged object.

Electrical Potential Energy (PE)

The energy associated with the position of a charged object in an electric field.

Electric Potential (V)

The electrical potential energy per unit charge, measured in volts (1V = 1J / 1C).

Potential Difference (∆V)

The work done per unit charge in moving a charge between two points in an electric field.

Elementary Charge (e)

The smallest unit of charge, approximately equal to $1.6 imes 10^{-19}$ coulombs.

Conservation of Mechanical Energy

In a closed system, the total mechanical energy remains constant; it can be transformed between potential and kinetic energy.

Mass of Electron (m_e)

Approximately $9.109 imes 10^{-31}$ kg, the mass of a fundamental particle.

Mass of Proton (m_p)

Approximately $1.675 imes 10^{-27}$ kg, the mass of a fundamental particle.

Mass of Neutron (m_n)

Approximately $1.673 imes 10^{-27}$ kg, the mass of a fundamental particle.