Review for General Physics 2 Quarterly Exam

These flashcards cover key concepts in physics related to electric forces, charges, electric fields, and laws governing their interactions.

Instantaneous dipole

An atom or a molecule with most of its negative charges shifted to one side as a result of their random movement.

Coulomb’s law

States that an electrostatic force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two charges.

Electrostatic force

The force that causes attraction and repulsion between electric charges.

Electric field

An area around a charge where the electrostatic force can be experienced.

Test charge

A single charge whose behavior is measured based on the presence of external factors.

Source charge

The charge from which the electric field originates.

Electric flux

The flow of an electric field through a given area, measurable in units.

Gauss’s law

States that the electric flux through any closed surface is equal to the net charge inside the surface divided by the permittivity of free space.

Gravitational potential energy

The energy due to a body’s elevation from the ground.

Electric potential

The amount of work needed to move a charge from one reference point to another.

Electric current

The continuous flow of electrons regulated in one direction.

Electric conductor

Any material that allows the free flow of electric current.

Resistance

The limitation to current flow.

Ohm’s law

Summarizes the relationship among voltage, electric current, and resistance.

Electric circuit

The pathway for the current to move to and from the source and appliances.

Resistor

An electronic component used to provide a specific amount of resistance.

Law of charges

States that like charges repel each other, and unlike charges attract each other.

Ion

An atom that has an imbalance in the number of protons and electrons.

Polarization

The separation of electrical charges to opposite poles due to induction.

Grounding

A process that includes a wire connecting the neutral body to the ground.

Dipole

The separation of positive and negative charges to opposite ends of a body.

Point dipoles

Atoms bearing a positive side and a negative side.

Molecular dipoles

Molecules having a negatively charged side and a positively charged side.