Fields and interactions

Magnetism, electricity and gravity are all examples of a non-contact forces. Masses and charges that are involved in non-contact forces have a region around them called a field. Fields can be compared by their directions, shapes and the attractive/repulsive effects. The inverse square law provides a quantitative measure of the effect of gravitational fields and electric fields at a distance from a mass or charge. Fields can be used to model magnetic phenomena which include shapes and directions of fields produced by bar magnets, current-carrying wires and solenoids.

This resource revises fields and interactions and within fields and interactions there are 4 key concepts:

• What is a field?
• Gravitational Fields
• Electric Fields
• Magnetic Fields.

To determine if this resource will benefit you, start by answering the following questions.

• What happens when you place two like charges together? What about two unlike charges?
• What happens when you cut a magnet in half?
• How far reaching is the effect of Earth’s gravity?
• Is the acceleration due to Earth’s gravity constant all over the surface of the world? What about in space?

The answers to these questions are provided on the following pages. Use this resource to refresh your memory, reinforce your understanding of these concepts, and prepare more effectively for university-level learning.

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