PHY 114 A General Physics II
11 AM-12:15 PM TR Olin 101
Plan for Lecture 1:
1. Welcome & overview
2. Class structure & announcements
3. Electrical charges and forces
08/18/2025 PHY 114 A Spring 2012 -- Lecture 1 1
PHY 114 A General Physics II
11 AM-12:15 PM TR Olin 101
Instructor: Natalie Holzwarth (Olin 300)
Course Webpage: http://www.wfu.edu/~natalie/s12phy114
Webpage for Webassign system:
http://www.webassign.net/
You will also need an
i-clicker device for each class
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Where to find information about the course on the web:
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Course organization:
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Tentative schedule – subject to change (after vote)
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i-clicker exercise:
When would you prefer to have scheduled office hours? (Note additional
meetings with your instructor can always be arranged.)
A. Before class (9-10:30 AM TR)
B. After class (12:15-1:30 PM TR)
C. Evenings 6-7 PM TR
D. Evenings 6-7 PM MWF
E. Other
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PHY 114 Labs will start Monday Jan. 23rd and run
through the week of April 16th.
PHY 114 Tutorial sessions will also start next
week.
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General advice on how to learn physics:
Physics is built on basic principles (“laws”) from which all results can be
derived (deduced)
Focus your attention on understanding the basic principles
Practice using the basic principles to solve problems
Take care to formulate your questions and make sure they are answered
Note: In general, the best way to develop your problem solving skills is to practice
solving problems. There is less (no ??) need to memorize.
As you are working problems, you may wish to construct a sheet of paper
containing the basic equations you need to consult in order to solve the
problems. You can take this same basic equation sheet to use during the in-class
exams.
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Overview --
Important concepts from General Physics I
F=ma (force acceleration)
Kf + Uf = Ki + Ui + W(other) (energy relationships)
Important concepts in General Physics II
General Physics I is still true
Electricity & Magnetism
Light
“Modern” Physics
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Charging ahead.... (Chap. 23 of S & J)
• Most matter is made up of charged particles
labeled + (proton: qp= 1.60217733 x 10-19 C)
labeled - (electron: qe= - 1.60217733 x 10-19 C)
• Coulomb’s law describes the electrical force between two charged
particles:
q1q2
F ke rˆ
2 12 1
| r1 r2 | r1 r2
2
or equivalently :
q1q2 r1 r2
F ke
| r1 r2 |3
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Coulomb’s law (continued) q1q2
F ke rˆ
2 12
| r1 r2 |
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Coulomb’s law (continued) q1q2
F ke rˆ
2 12
| r1 r2 |
10c 2
ke
4 0 4
9 2 2
ke 8.99 10 N m / C
0 8.85 10 12 C 2 / N m 2 (permittivity of free space)
0 4 10 7 T m/A (permeability of free space)
c 3.00 108 m/s (speed of light in vacuum)
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i-clicker exercise:
Consider a proton (mp=1.67x10-27 kg; qp=+1.60x10-19 C) and an electron
(me=9.11x10-31 kg; qe=-1.60x10-19 C) separated by 5.29x10-11 m. The
particles are attracted to each other by both the force of gravity and by
Coulomb’s law force. Which of these has the larger magnitude?
A. Gravitational force
B. Coulomb’s law force
Gm p me 6.67 10 11 1.67 10 27 9.11 10 31
Gravity : F 3.6 10 47 N
r 2
5.29 10 11 2
k e q p qe 8.99 109 1.60 10 19 1.60 10 19
Coulomb : F 8.2 10 8 N
r 2
5.29 10 11 2
We will mostly ignore gravitational effects when we consider electrostatics.
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Problem solving steps
1. Visualize problem – labeling variables
2. Determine which basic physical principle(s) apply
3. Write down the appropriate equations using the variables
defined in step 1.
4. Check whether you have the correct amount of
information to solve the problem (same number of
knowns and unknowns).
5. Solve the equations.
6. Check whether your answer makes sense (units, order of
magnitude, etc.).
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Problem example from Webassign:
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9.21e-4
Problem solving steps
1. Visualize problem – labeling variables
2. Determine which basic physical principle(s)
apply
3. Write down the appropriate equations using
the variables defined in step 1.
4. Check whether you have the correct amount
of information to solve the problem (same
number of knowns and unknowns).
5. Solve the equations.
6. Check whether your answer makes sense
(units, order of magnitude, etc.).
ke q1q2 8.99 109 8 10 6 8 10 6 4
F 2 9 .21 10 N
r 252
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Where do the charges qi come from?
All matter is composed of nuclei (qN = Ze) and electrons (qe = -e) and
generally there are an equal number of positive and negative
charges.
Insulating material Metallic material
Cu+
Cl-
Na+
e-
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Note: Coulomb’s law applies both at the atomic level and at the macroscopic scale
Example on the macroscopic scale:
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T
ke q 2
x2
mg
T sin mg
x/2
ke q 2
tan
T cos 2 L
x
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Coulomb’s law for multiple charges
F12 F13
F1 F12 F13
ke | q1q2 | ke | q1q3 |
F1
d12
d1 d 2 2
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i-clicker exercise
Consider the configuration of 4 charges at the 4 corners of a square
shown in the diagram. Which vector a,b,c,d, or e (pointing into the
screen) indicates the direction of net force on the charge?
+Q
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