Electromagnetism: Electrostatics- Electric Field and Potential

Typical Problems (Part 1- Set 1)

These question banks have been developed for students who are - (a) in initial stages of solving problems from text book or reference book so as to gain proficiency in application of concepts learnt, and (b) deprived of adequate exposure at learning. Such unprivileged and deprived students need guidance for stepwise application of concepts and associated mathematics, while evolving solutions. Here, main purpose is to inculcate in the students an ability to appreciate physics and related mathematics involved in problems and apply them to reach a solution. Accordingly, illustrations have been made explanatory to the extent possible. Once, students get equipped with that capability, gradually they would be able to evolve optimized solutions and shortcuts suiting to them, individually. Greater is the practice more intuitive becomes the optimization of steps. Those students who are at a stage of refining their problem solving skills or more apt at concepts may choose to skip illustrations or use them selectively to the best of their advantage.

Physics is a subject not to learn but a matter of realization through experiments and its visualization in surrounding. But, our target students are not equipped either to conduct experiment or an environment which facilitates them visualization of science and play around with it. This is where simulation is a technique to validate concepts and study effect of variation in parameters related to the concept. Education creates an opportunity of systematic learning concepts without reinventing the wheel. It is more apt in science education.

Solving typical problems with gradual increase in complexity helps students to build power of visualization of concepts, without loss of confidence in one’s ability. It requires reasonable proficiency in language to understand problem, in first go. Next comes evolving solution or answer based on concepts learnt. At this stage extremely simpler calculations are being skipped, with a hope that reader would be able to decipher the intermediate steps.

Questions and problems appearing in competitive examinations are seldom encountered in real life, and are never straight application of formula. They demand integration of interdisciplinary knowledge. Higher the level of examination greater is the extent of complexity and i is used as a means of filtering out the best. Beyond the purpose of success in examinations, ability to solve such typical problems, enhances one’s competence to handle unknown problems speedily, correctly and with a greater degree of clarity and confidence. This kind of ability is a a result of thought process evolved during education and is an essential attribute for success in life.

Mentors’ Manual is one of the dimensions of the Gyan Vigyan Sarita through which efforts are being made to reach out to remote teachers and share our experience of mentoring the unprivileged children who severely lack necessary exposure. These students are disconnected from us for multiple reasons. Despite, efforts to establish direct interaction through Interactive Online Mentoring Sessions (IOMS) our reach to target students is extremely feeble. Yet, the IOMS has established as a working model of selfless mentoring of unprivileged children. This experience is being disseminated to the teachers spread out by writing of chapters in an open source Mentors’ Manual supported with illustrations of solutions to typical questions.

India, growing digital, provides an optimism to every student to be able to have an access to virtual laboratory; it is an alternative to physical laboratory. It provides an opportunity to carry out virtual experiments in an e-environment. In this environment excellent simulation videos are available on the web which are either free or available at a price. But, problem mostly encountered by students is in sequencing and scaling of web resource to suit their learning need. It is in light of the fact that every web search generates a long list of links. This is severely distracting. Mentors are, however, the best persons to use these videos either to modulate and upgrade their illustrations or advise students a sequential list of web resource. Yet it does not rule out importance of hands-on by students in problem solving; it is called dry-run of concepts.

In light of this, this Question Banks includes problems from various sources and support them with illustrations. These illustrations are not just solutions but an attempt to explain use of basics involved in solving problems. In this effort repository of problems from good books in physics by authors viz. Prof. H.C. Verma and a team of Robert Resnick, David Halliday and Kenneth S. Krane and a few more have been used. These authors have graded questions while incorporating all concepts covered in the book. Thus it necessitates a student to read each chapter carefully before taking up questions.

This initiative is of a small group of passionate persons who are focused to mentor unprivileged children with a sense of Personal Social Responsibility (PSR) in a non-organizational, non-remunerative, non-commercial and non-political manner. You are welcome to add value to this initiative by way of suggestion, advising correction or new type of questions, or any other form that suits to your passion and convenience.

A set of representative questions alongwith answers and illustrations to the solutions, out of the question bank, are available for reference.

Complete set of typical questions, alongwith answwers and illustration to the solutions, on Electromagnetism: Electrostatics (Part 1-set1) covering Electric Field and Potential are available as free web-resource in three parts, as under –

1. Typical Questions Only

2. Answers  (Refer it to verify your answer. It help in building confidence)

3. Illustration to Solution (Refer it only when unable to solve twice. It help to correct errors.)

—00—