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ScotlandPhysics

Area 3: Electromagnetism

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do capacitors store charge and behave in d.c. and a.c. circuits?

Capacitance and the energy stored, charging and discharging through a resistor with the time constant, and the behaviour of capacitors in d.c. and a.c. circuits.
An SQA Advanced Higher Physics answer on capacitors, covering capacitance and the energy stored, the charging and discharging of a capacitor through a resistor with the time constant, and the behaviour of capacitors in direct-current and alternating-current circuits.
14 min answer →

How do electric fields and potential describe the force on charges?

Electric charge and Coulomb's law, electric field strength, electric potential, and the motion of a charged particle in an electric field.
An SQA Advanced Higher Physics answer on electric fields, covering electric charge and Coulomb's law, electric field strength, electric potential, and the motion of a charged particle accelerated through a potential difference or deflected in a uniform field.
15 min answer →

How did Maxwell unify electricity and magnetism into electromagnetic radiation?

Electromagnetic radiation as orthogonal oscillating electric and magnetic fields, the unification of electricity and magnetism by Maxwell, and the speed of light from the relationship c equals one over the square root of permittivity times permeability.
An SQA Advanced Higher Physics answer on electromagnetic radiation, covering radiation as orthogonal oscillating electric and magnetic fields, Maxwell's unification of electricity and magnetism, and how the speed of light follows from the permittivity and permeability of free space.
13 min answer →

How do inductors oppose changing current and store energy in a magnetic field?

Self-inductance and back emf, Lenz's law, the energy stored in an inductor, the growth and decay of current in an RL circuit, and inductive reactance.
An SQA Advanced Higher Physics answer on inductors, covering self-inductance and back emf, Lenz's law, the energy stored in an inductor's magnetic field, the growth and decay of current in an RL circuit, and inductive reactance in a.c. circuits.
14 min answer →

How do magnetic fields exert forces on currents and moving charges?

The magnetic field around a current, the force on a current-carrying conductor and on a moving charge, magnetic flux, and Millikan's experiment.
An SQA Advanced Higher Physics answer on magnetic fields, covering the field around a current-carrying conductor, the force on a current-carrying conductor and on a moving charge, magnetic flux, and Millikan's oil-drop experiment determining the charge on the electron.
15 min answer →