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A2L Item 134

Meta-Information
Description: 
Identify the situation for which moving a positive charge from infinity to the origin would require the most work.
Goal: 
Link work and potential change
Level: 
Undergraduate
Keywords: 
Electromagnetism
Keywords: 
Potentials
Keywords: 
Work
Source: 
283-450 Move q, do most work

For the following situations consider moving a positive charge from very far away to the origin along the y-axis. For which situation would you do the most work?

  1. A
  2. B
  3. C
  4. D
  5. A & C
  6. None of the above.
  7. Cannot be determined
Commentary

Answer

(1) Students indicating #7 because they do not know if the masses are charged should not be disconfirmed. If students key on magnitude only they will likely choose answer #5.