If the electric potential at a point is 0 V, what can be said about the electric field at that point?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
If the electric potential at a point is 0 V, what can be said about the electric field at that point?
It is zero
It is positive
It is negative
It cannot be determined
The electric field is the negative gradient of the electric potential. If the potential is constant (0 V), the electric field is zero.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: If the electric potential at a point is 0 V, what can be said about the electric field at that point?
Solution: The electric field is the negative gradient of the electric potential. If the potential is constant (0 V), the electric field is zero.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand what electric potential means. Electric potential is a measure of the potential energy per unit charge at a point in an electric field.
Step 2: Recognize that 0 V means there is no potential energy at that point.
Step 3: Learn about the electric field. The electric field is a measure of the force that a charge would feel at a point in space.
Step 4: Know that the electric field is related to the electric potential. Specifically, the electric field is the negative change (or gradient) of the electric potential.
Step 5: If the electric potential is constant (like 0 V), it means there is no change in potential at that point.
Step 6: Since there is no change in potential, the electric field must be zero at that point.