Episode 405: Preparation for Electric Fields Topic *suitable for home teaching*

This topic, from the Institute of Physics, explores electric fields and draws the comparison between these and gravitational fields. They both follow inverse square laws, and so their equations look very similar. The topic includes a series of learning episodes which are self-contained and last one or two lessons.

The episodes in this topic are:

Episode 406: Fields, field lines and equipotentials

Episode 407: Coulomb’s law

Episode 408: Field strength, potential energy and potential

Episode 409: Uniform electric fields

Following completion of the topic, students will have been given the opportunity to:

1. understand the concept of an electric field and explain how a field might arise

2. interpret diagrams showing field lines and equipotentials

3. understand the meaning of the term field strength

4. understand and use Coulomb’s law, and the meaning of the term permittivity

5. understand and use uniform field equations

6. understand and use the terms electric potential energy and potential, and relate potential to field strength

7. draw parallels between electric and gravitational fields.