What is the electric field at a point midway between two equal and opposite charges?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the electric field at a point midway between two equal and opposite charges?
Zero
Maximum
Minimum
Depends on distance
The electric fields due to both charges cancel each other out at the midpoint, resulting in zero electric field.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: What is the electric field at a point midway between two equal and opposite charges?
Solution: The electric fields due to both charges cancel each other out at the midpoint, resulting in zero electric field.
Steps: 7
Step 1: Identify the two charges. Let's call them Charge A (positive) and Charge B (negative).
Step 2: Place Charge A and Charge B an equal distance apart.
Step 3: Find the midpoint between Charge A and Charge B. This is the point we are interested in.
Step 4: Understand that electric fields point away from positive charges and towards negative charges.
Step 5: At the midpoint, the electric field from Charge A points away from it (to the right) and the electric field from Charge B points towards it (to the right as well).
Step 6: Since the magnitudes of the electric fields from both charges are equal but in opposite directions, they cancel each other out.
Step 7: Therefore, the total electric field at the midpoint is zero.
