AP Physics C - Electric Field Hockey Lab
Name: ___________________________
1.
Go to http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/electric-hockey and click on the “Run Now” button.
2.
The goal of the game is the move the test charge or ‘puck’ into the goal. To do this you create an electric field by
placing positive and/or negative charges on the screen so that the puck moves into the goal.
3.
You will be graded on doing the following write-up. You may help each other, but your sketches/printouts should be
unique.
4.
The write up should include the following:
a. Title
b.
Purpose/Theory – Summarize why we did this activity, discuss electric fields and how a charged particle
reacts when in the presence of one.
c.
Observations/Calculations – Successfully complete all 3 levels of the game. Sketch or print the screen for
each completed level and draw field lines for at least 4 charges that are near each other. Printing the screen
with the arrows showing does not meet this requirement. When drawing your field lines remember the
following:
i. Field lines have arrows on them pointing in the direction a POSITIVE charge would move (which is
always opposite of the direction a negative charge would move).
ii. Field lines show the path a POSITIVE test charge would move. Imagine the path the ‘puck’ would
travel if it started at a different spot on the screen.
iii. Remember that field lines never cross each other and that as the field gets stronger the lines get
closer.
d.
Conclusion – Discuss any insights you have gained about how particles behave in an electric field and how a
field is formed and its properties.