AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism Flashcards: Electric Charge and Electric Force
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Review key ideas with interactive flashcards. This set includes 11 cards to help you master important concepts.
According to Coulomb's law, what happens to the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point charges if the distance 'r' between them is doubled?
Based on the inverse square relationship in Coulomb's law ($F \propto 1/r^2$), if the distance is doubled, the electrostatic force decreases to one-fourth of its original magnitude.
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According to Coulomb's law, what happens to the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point charges if the distance 'r' between them is doubled?
Based on the inverse square relationship in Coulomb's law ($F \propto 1/r^2$), if the distance is doubled, the electrostatic force decreases to one-fourth of its original magnitude.
What is a point charge?
A point charge is a model in which the physical size of a charged object or system is considered negligible in the context of the situation being analyzed.
If the magnitude of one of two interacting point charges is tripled while the other remains the same, how does the electrostatic force between them change?
According to Coulomb's law ($|\vec{F}_{E}|=k rac{|q_{1}q_{2}|}{r^{2}}$), the force is directly proportional to the product of the charges, so the force will be tripled.
For an object with both mass and charge, how does the magnitude of the gravitational force typically compare to the electrostatic force?
For any two objects that have both mass and electric charge, the magnitude of the gravitational force is usually much smaller than the magnitude of the electrostatic force.
What law describes the electrostatic force between two charged objects?
Coulomb's law describes the electrostatic force between two charged objects, with the magnitude given by the equation $|\vec{F}_{E}|=k rac{|q_{1}q_{2}|}{r^{2}}$.
What is charge?
Charge is a fundamental property of all matter.
What physical quantity does the equation $|\vec{F}_{E}|=k rac{|q_{1}q_{2}|}{r^{2}}$ calculate?
This equation calculates the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two charged objects as described by Coulomb's law.
How does the electric force arise?
The electric force results from the interactions between charged objects or systems.
What two types of forces result from interactions between charged objects that also possess mass?
The interactions between charged objects with mass result in both electric forces and gravitational forces.
What property of a material describes its tendency to become polarized when placed in an electric field?
A material's electric permittivity describes the degree to which it becomes polarized in the presence of an electric field.
What is electric permittivity?
Electric permittivity is a measurement of the degree to which a material or medium is polarized in the presence of an electric field.