plumiElectric fields and potential: Edexcel A‑Level Physics questions
Every Edexcel A-Level Physics exam question on Electric fields and potential (specification points 108–115), 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
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Calculations
Q14(a)
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Q14(b)(i)
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Q14(b)(ii)
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Q14(c)
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Q15(a)(i)
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Q15(b)(i)
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Q17(b)(i)
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Q14(b)
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Q9(a)(i)
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Q9(a)(ii)
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Q9(c)
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Q13(a)
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Q15(b)
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All 35 questions on Electric fields and potential, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q6 (1 mark): The distance between the two plates was decreased. Which row of the table is correct? Direction of electric field Change in electric field strength A P to Q dec
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q14(a) (2 marks): Draw the electric field around a negative point charge. (2)
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q14(b)(i) (3 marks): At a distance of 0.06 m from the centre of a particular flower the potential is –16 V. Show that the charge on this flower is about –0.1 nC. (3)
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q14(b)(ii) (3 marks): The minimum field strength that a bee can detect is 120 V m–1 . A teacher suggests that bees can detect the field when they are closer than 10 cm from the flowe
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q14(c) (2 marks): It is suggested that the hairs on a bee deflect slightly when close to the flower. Explain what would cause a hair to deflect in an electric field. (2)
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q4 (1 mark): Which of the following vector diagrams shows the forces acting on S2? A B C D A B C D
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q5 (1 mark): The electrostatic force between the two charges is initially F. The charge on S1 is doubled whilst the charge on S2 is unchanged. The distance between S1 and S2
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q15(a)(i) (3 marks): Add to the diagram to show the electric field between the two plates. (3)
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q15(b)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the minimum potential difference across the plates for sparks to be created. distance between parallel plates = 2.0 mm (2) Minimum potential differenc
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q17(b)(i) (4 marks): In a textbook, it states that an alpha particle with this energy would be brought to rest when it reached a distance of 5.0×10−14 m from the centre of the gold
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q14(b) (3 marks): A website gives a value of the electric field strength E, at two distances from the electric cable. Distance / m E / N C–1 3 1200 25 100 Deduce whether these da
- June 2023, Paper 3, Q9(a)(i) (1 mark): Add to the diagram to show the polarity of the power supply when the oil drop is at rest. (1)
- June 2023, Paper 3, Q9(a)(ii) (6 marks): The oil drop was at rest when V = 4870 V. The student expected the charge on the oil drop to be a whole number multiple of the charge on an electron. Deduce whe
- June 2023, Paper 3, Q9(c) (3 marks): The student repeated the measurements on fifty oil drops. For each drop the student calculated the charge on the oil drop. His results are shown in the bar char
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q6 (1 mark): The graph shows how the potential V varies with distance d in an electric field. V d Which of the following shows the corresponding variation in electric field
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q8 (1 mark): A point object has a charge +Q. Which of the following diagrams shows equipotential lines differing by a constant potential difference, and electric field lines
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q9 (1 mark): An alpha particle with initial kinetic energy 8.8 × 10−13 J approaches a nucleus of a gold (197 79Au) atom. Which of the following is an equation for the closes
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q8 (1 mark): A potential difference is applied across two parallel plates. A particle carrying a charge of +0.1 C is placed between the plates and experiences a force F. The
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q13(a) (4 marks): Draw lines to represent the electric field in the shaded area. (4)
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q15(b) (4 marks): In one experiment the alpha particles had an initial energy of 7.7 MeV. Calculate the distance of closest approach of the alpha particles to the nucleus of a go
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q3 (1 mark): The distance between a proton and an electron is r. The electrostatic force is F. The distance between the proton and electron is doubled. Which of the followin
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q6 (1 mark): The graph shows how an electric potential V varies with distance x. V x Which of the following shows the corresponding variation of electric field strength E wi
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q14(a) (3 marks): Explain why the hill is suitable as a model for the electric field surrounding the nucleus of an atom. (3)
- October 2020, Paper 3, Q7(c)(i) (2 marks): Show that for electrons to be undeflected their velocity must be given by E v = B where B is the magnetic flux density of the magnetic field. (2)
- October 2020, Paper 3, Q7(c)(ii) (3 marks): The beam is produced by accelerating electrons through a potential difference of 250 V. The electric field strength is 1.4 × 104 V m−1. The magnetic flux densit
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q7 (1 mark): A potential difference V is applied across two parallel plates. An electron midway between the two plates at point X experiences an electric force F. 0 V +V Y X
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q16(a) (3 marks): Sketch the electric field around a positive point charge. (3)
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q16(b) (4 marks): The graph shows how potential varies with distance from the centre of a charged sphere. 6× 106 5× 106 4× 106 3× 106 2× 106 1× 106 0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 Distan
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q16(c) (3 marks): A magician did a trick which he claimed was the most dangerous ever. He positioned himself midway between two charged spheres which were separated by a distance
- June 2018, Paper 3, Q12(b)(i) (4 marks): An alpha particle approaching a gold nucleus, 79 197Au, head-on will be brought to rest and returned along its original path. Calculate the minimum distance bet
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q18(b)(i) (3 marks): In the diagram below, electric field lines have been drawn around one pair of these spheres. Add to the diagram to show • the directions of the field lines • th
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q18(b)(ii) (2 marks): The distance between the centres of each charged sphere in this pair is 5.0 cm. Show that the force between this pair of charged spheres is about 0.04 N. charge
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q13(b) (4 marks): In a mass spectrometer, chlorine-35 ions are accelerated through a potential difference of 8.50 kV to produce an ion beam. Show that the speed of singly ionised
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q13(c)(i) (2 marks): Add to the diagram to indicate the directions of the electric field and the magnetic field. (2)
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q13(c)(ii) (4 marks): The magnetic flux density applied to the velocity selector is 24.5 mT. Deduce whether this magnetic flux density is suitable to produce a beam of chlorine-35 io
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