| Lesson Plan |
| Grade: |
Date: 25/02/2026 |
| Subject: Physics |
| Lesson Topic: Describe simple electric field patterns, including the direction of the field: (a) around a point charge (b) around a charged conducting sphere (c) between two oppositely charged parallel conducting plates (end effects will not be examined) |
Learning Objective/s:
- Describe the radial electric field pattern around a point charge and state its direction for positive and negative charges.
- Explain the field distribution of a uniformly charged conducting sphere, including why the field inside is zero.
- Illustrate the uniform electric field between oppositely charged parallel plates and identify its direction.
- Apply the appropriate formula to calculate the magnitude of the electric field for each configuration.
|
Materials Needed:
- Projector and screen
- Whiteboard and markers
- Printed worksheets with diagrams of the three configurations
- PhET “Charges and Fields” simulation (or similar)
- Student response clickers or coloured sticky notes for quick checks
- Ruler and compass for drawing field lines (optional)
|
Introduction:
Begin with the question, “What would invisible lines look like if they showed how a charge pulls or pushes?” Connect this to students’ prior knowledge of charge and Coulomb’s law. Explain that today they will be able to sketch those lines for three common situations and correctly use the associated field‑magnitude formulas.
|
Lesson Structure:
- Do‑now (5 '): Quick quiz on charge sign and field direction; students submit answers via clickers.
- Mini‑lecture (10 '): Point charge – introduce radial field, formula \(E = k|q|/r^{2}\), and direction; show diagram.
- Guided practice (8 '): Students label a diagram of a charged conducting sphere, discuss why the interior field is zero, and write the outside‑field formula.
- Demonstration (7 '): Run the PhET simulation for parallel plates; highlight uniform field lines and direction.
- Group activity (10 '): Worksheet where teams match configurations to formulas, draw correct field lines, and justify direction.
- Check for understanding (5 '): Exit ticket – one short written response: “State the field magnitude formula and direction for a negatively charged sphere.”
|
Conclusion:
Summarise the three field patterns and the key formulas, confirming that students can now predict both magnitude and direction. Collect exit tickets as a retrieval check and assign a short homework set of additional sketching problems to reinforce the concepts.
|