Log in
Sign up for FREE
arrow_back
Library

Electric Potential Energy (6/19/2024)

star
star
star
star
star
Last updated almost 2 years ago
11 questions
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Read the Quick Read article.
Electric Potential Energy
When we harness electricity to power our circuits, gizmos, and gadgets, we’re really transforming energy. Electronic circuits must be able to store energy and transfer it to other forms like heat, light, or motion. The stored energy of a circuit is called electric potential energy.
Just like mass in a gravitational field has gravitational potential energy, charges in an electric field have an electric potential energy. A charge’s electric potential energy describes how much stored energy it has, when set into motion by an electrostatic force, that energy can become kinetic, and the charge can do work.
Electrical energy is made of moving electrons
An electric field is the region around a charged particle or object within which a force would be exerted on other charged particles or objects.
1
1
View the simulator below and answer the questions as you work with it.
Question 3
3.

Question 4
4.

Question 5
5.

Question 6
6.

Question 7
7.

View and interact with the Phet simulator and answer the following questions.
Question 8
8.

Question 9
9.

Watch the "What Causes Lightning " video and answer the questions.
Question 10
10.

Question 11
11.

Question 1
1.

Question 2
2.

Unclick "show forces" and "show electric field", bring a positive particle and another positive particle together, what happens to the "potential energy scale" on the right?
The potential energy increases.
The potential energy decreases.
The potential energy stays the same.
Now, change one of the particles to "negative", what does the scale show?
The potential energy increased.
The potential energy decreased.
The potential energy stayed the same.
Check the "show forces" box and move a positive particle away and then towards the negative particle, when does the force (arrow) increase?
The force increases when it gets closer to the negative particle.
The force increases when it is farther away from the negative particle.
Change both particles into negative, describe the amount of force when you bring them close.
There is not much force.
There is a lot of force.
What happens to the potential energy bar when you bring 2 like charges together?
It decreases.
It increases.
On the simulator charge the balloon by wiping it on the sweater several times. What type of particles move to the balloon from the sweater?
red (positive)
blue (negative)
Now, bring the charged balloon near the wall, what happens to the electric field in the wall?
It moves away from the balloon.
It moves toward the balloon.
When is the electric potential energy the greatest?
When the charges are moving toward each other in the cloud
When the charges are away from each other in the cloud
When does the electric potential energy turn into kinetic energy?
When the charges are in the cloud away from each other
When the charges move toward each other and form lightning
A charge's electric potential energy describes how much kinetic energy it has.
True
False
Electric energy is made of moving _______________.
protons
neutrons
electrons