Physics – 4.2.1 Electric charge | e-Consult

A positive test charge placed in an electric field will experience a force directed away from the point charge. This happens because the electric field lines originate from a positive point charge and extend outwards in all directions. Since the test charge is positive, it is attracted to these field lines, resulting in a force pushing it away from the point charge.

The electric field strength (E) changes with distance (r) from a point charge according to the inverse square law: E ∝ 1/r². This means that as the distance from the point charge increases, the electric field strength decreases proportionally to the square of the distance. The further away from the point charge you are, the weaker the electric field will be.