Skip to content

Course home

x
Sign up
x

What electric potential means

What electric potential means

Positive point charge with outward field lines, marked distances r1 and r2, and a potential versus distance graph tending to zero at infinity

Electric potential at a point is the work done per unit positive charge in bringing a small positive test charge from infinity to that point. The word small matters because the test charge should not significantly change the field.

Electric potential and energy Lesson

  1. A Level
  2. /Physics
  3. /Electric potential and energy

Step-by-step lessons on OCR A A Level Physics Electric potential and energy. Each one builds up to exam-style questions. Physics is one of the most mathematically demanding A Levels -- at least 40% of the marks across the three papers require maths skills at Level 2 (GCSE) standard or above, so build calculation and graph-handling fluency alongside the conceptual content from the start.

Lessons