Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ____ Date: _________

Electric Potential Energy and Electrical Potential

1. The electrical potential energy associated with an electron and a proton is -4.32 x 10-18 J. What is
the distance between these two charges? (5.29 x 10-11 m)

kq 1 q 2 kq 1 q 2
EPE = with algebra, r = =
r EPE

[( 8.99 x 109 Nm2/C2)(1.6x 10-19 C) (1.6x 10-19 C)]\(4.32 x 10-18 J) = 5.29 x 10-11 m

2. Two alpha particles, each consisting of two protons and two neutrons, have an electrical potential
energy of 6.32 x 10-19 J. What is the distance between these two particles at that moment in
time? (1.46 x 10-9 m)

kq 1 q 2 kq 1 q 2
EPE = with algebra, r = =
r EPE

[( 8.99 x 109 Nm2/C2)((2)1.6x 10-19 C) ((2)1.6x 10-19 C)]\(6.32 x 10-18 J) = 1.46 x 10-9 m

3. Two charges are located along the x-axis. One has a charge of 6.4 μC, and the second has a
charge of -3.2 μC. If the electrical potential energy associated with each pair is -0.041 J, what is
the distance between the charges? (4.5 m)

kq 1 q 2 kq 1 q 2
EPE = with algebra, r = =
r EPE

[( 8.99 x 109 Nm2/C2)(6.4x 10-6 C) (3.2 x 10-6 C)]\(0.041 J) = 4.5 m

4. In the charging process, 1013 electrons are removed from a metal sphere and placed on an
initially uncharged second sphere. The observed electrical potential energy associated with the
two spheres is found to be -0.072 J. What is the distance between the two spheres? (0.32 m)

1013 electrons are moved from the sphere, giving it a net positive charge. The second sphere
receives the 1013 electrons, giving it a net negative charge, equal in magnitude but opposite
polarity to the first sphere. Because they are a polar pair of spheres, they now have a electrical
potential energy associated with the charges and locations. First, we must determine the charge
on these spheres.

1013 electrons x 1.6x 10-19 C/ electron = 1.6 x 10-6 C on each sphere

kq 1 q 2 kq 1 q 2
EPE = with algebra, r = =
r EPE

[( 8.99 x 109 Nm2/C2)( .6 x 10-6 C) (.6 x 10-6 C)]\(0.072 J) = 0.32 m

Name: _________________________________________________ Period: ____ Date: _________

5. Why is electrical potential a more useful quantity for most calculations rather than electrical
potential energy?
While electric potential energy has a dependency upon the charge of the object experiencing the
electric field, electric potential is purely location dependent. The concept of electric potential is
used to express the effect of an electric field of a source in terms of the location within the
electric field, allowing us to use the information over a broader range.

6. The magnitude of a uniform electric field between two plates is about 1.7 x 106 N/C. If the
distance between the plates is 1.5 cm, find the potential difference between the plates. (26,000 V)

Potential difference is another term for voltage, or the electrical potential energy per unit charge.
Between parallel plates, V = Ed = (1.7 x 106 N/C)(0.015 m) = 25,500 V or rounded 26,000V

7. A force of 0.043 N is needed to move a charge of 56.0 μC a distance of 20 cm. in the direction of
a uniform electric field. What is the potential difference that will provide this force? (-154 V)

This is a two part questions. First, find the Δ EPE using Δ EPE = Fe x displacement

Δ EPE = (0.043 N)(0.2m) = 0.0086 J

EPE
Next, determine the voltage by using V = = (0.0086 J)/ (56 X 10-6 C) = 154 V
q

Note that you cannot use V = kq/r because we do not know the q associated with the electric field
for use in this equation, we only know the value of the point charge.