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Home · IGCSE 0625 · Electricity and magnetism · Electric fields · Practice
Extended · Practice questions · Electric fields
Supplement (Extended) content

Fields, lines, and direction.

Six original Cambridge-style questions on electric fields: defining the field, the direction rule, the patterns around point charges and between parallel plates, and the force on a negative charge.

Original questions All questions on this page are original work, written in the Cambridge IGCSE style. They are not from past papers. They test the same concepts and skills the syllabus rewards.
The rules examiners look for

Out of plus, into minus.

01
Recall
[2 marks]

Define an electric field, and state how the direction of an electric field at a point is defined.

  • An electric field is a region in which an electric charge experiences a force. ✓
  • Its direction at a point is the direction of the force on a positive charge placed there. ✓
02
Application
[2 marks]

Describe and sketch in words the electric field pattern around a single isolated negative point charge.

  • The field is radial: straight lines along the radii. ✓
  • The arrows point inward, toward the negative charge (the force on a positive charge is toward it). ✓
03
Application
[3 marks]

Two parallel metal plates are connected so that the left plate is positive and the right plate is negative.

(a) State the direction of the electric field between the plates.
(b) State one feature of the field that shows it is uniform.

(a) From the positive (left) plate to the negative (right) plate, so the field points to the right. ✓

(b) The field lines are straight, parallel and evenly spaced. ✓✓

04
Analysis
[2 marks]

A negative charge is placed at a point in an electric field where the field points to the left. State the direction of the force on the charge, and explain.

  • The force is to the right. ✓
  • The field direction is the force on a positive charge, so a negative charge feels a force in the opposite direction. ✓
05
Application
[3 marks]

Describe the electric field pattern produced by one positive and one negative point charge placed a short distance apart.

  • Field lines start on the positive charge and end on the negative charge. ✓
  • They curve across the gap from + to −, with arrows pointing from + to −. ✓
  • The lines are most closely spaced (field strongest) close to each charge. ✓
06
Analysis
[2 marks]

On a field diagram for a single positive charge, a student draws the field lines getting closer together far away from the charge. State what is wrong and give the correct description.

  • It is wrong because the field gets weaker with distance, not stronger. ✓
  • The lines should be closest together near the charge and spread further apart with distance. ✓

Mark this once you have attempted all six and checked your working. It records a Practiced badge on the topic and adds a one-time bonus. Revealing the solutions alone does not count.