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In Class 12 Physics, this topic from Chapter 1, Electric Charges and Fields, explains how an electric dipole behaves when placed in a uniform external electric field. Students learn why the equal and opposite forces on the charges produce zero net force but a torque that tends to align the dipole with the field. They study the torque formula, equilibrium positions, stability, and the dipole’s potential energy, U = −p·E, using clear vector and physical interpretations.
TOPIC PRACTICE
Quiz this set
Up to 24 questions from this page. Select your focus, then start.
24 questions
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Easy · Level 8View options
In the direction of the electric field
Opposite to the electric field
Always upward
Always zero
Easy · Level 8View options
Opposite to electric field
In the direction of electric field
Always right
Always zero
Easy · Level 8View options
To align dipole moment with the field
To make dipole moment always perpendicular to field
To make separation zero
To make charges of same sign
Easy · Level 8View options
Torque
Only mass
Only heat
No effect
Easy · Level 8View options
Zero
Always maximum
Always upward
Always opposite to field
Easy · Level 8View options
When dipole moment is parallel or antiparallel to electric field
When dipole moment is at ninety degrees to field
When field is very large
When charge is very small
Easy · Level 8View options
When dipole moment is perpendicular to electric field
When dipole moment is parallel to field
When field is zero
When charge is zero
Easy · Level 8View options
To align dipole moment with electric field
To keep dipole moment always perpendicular to field
To remove dipole moment
To make the charges of same sign
Easy · Level 8View options
Dipole moment parallel to electric field
Dipole moment antiparallel to electric field
Dipole moment perpendicular to field
Dipole moment zero
Easy · Level 8View options
Dipole moment antiparallel to electric field
Dipole moment parallel to electric field
Dipole moment zero
Dipole moment always upward
Easy · Level 8View options
Minimum
Maximum
Always exactly zero
Infinite
Easy · Level 8View options
Maximum
Minimum
Always zero
Independent of the field
Easy · Level 8View options
Zero
Always maximum
Infinite
Always downward
Easy · Level 8View options
When dipole moment is parallel to the field
When dipole moment is perpendicular to the field
When the field is very large
When the charges are unequal
Easy · Level 8View options
When dipole moment is perpendicular to the field
When dipole moment is parallel to the field
When the charges are zero
When the separation is zero
Easy · Level 8View options
Align with the field direction
Always move away from the field
Lose its charge
Become zero immediately
Easy · Level 8View options
Because as many field lines enter as leave
Because an outside charge produces no field
Because there is no field on a closed surface
Because the outside charge is always zero
Easy · Level 8View options
A net force may act on it
No force can ever act on it
Its charge disappears
Its dipole moment is always zero
Easy · Level 8View options
It increases
It decreases
It becomes zero
It remains unchanged
Easy · Level 8View options
It becomes double
It becomes half
It becomes four times
It becomes zero
Easy · Level 8View options
Maximum
Zero
Half
Negative zero
Easy · Level 8View options
Because no turning effect is produced
Because charges disappear
Because unit of field changes
Because area becomes zero
Easy · Level 8View options
When dipole moment is perpendicular to the field
When dipole moment is parallel to the field
When charge is zero
When separation is zero
Easy · Level 8View options
When dipole moment is parallel or anti-parallel to the field
When dipole moment is perpendicular to the field
When field is very strong
When area is large
Question 1EasyLevel 8
In a uniform electric field, in which direction does the force on the positive charge of a dipole act?
Correct answer: A
The electric force on a charge is F = qE. For the positive charge, q > 0, so the force has the same direction as the electric field. Therefore option A is correct. The negative charge of the same dipole experiences a force opposite to the field, which is why the two forces can produce torque. The force is not always zero; only special net-force conditions can make the resultant zero.
In a uniform electric field, force on the negative charge of a dipole acts in which direction?
Correct answer: A
The governing relation is F = qE. For a negative charge, q is negative, so the force vector is opposite to the electric-field vector. Therefore, the negative charge of the dipole experiences force opposite to the field, making option A correct. The positive charge experiences force along the field; hence the two dipole forces are equal and opposite in a uniform field. Options C and D ignore charge sign and field direction.
When a dipole is placed in an electric field, in which way does it try to turn?
Correct answer: A
The torque on an electric dipole in a uniform field is τ = pE sin θ. Its action tends to reduce the angle θ between the dipole moment p and the electric field E, bringing them into the same direction. The aligned position is stable because the potential energy U = −pE is minimum there. Hence option A is correct; perpendicular orientation gives maximum torque, not permanent alignment.
What generally acts on an electric dipole placed in a uniform electric field?
Correct answer: A
In a uniform electric field, the charges +q and −q of a dipole experience equal forces in opposite directions. Their vector sum is zero, so the net translational force is zero, but because the forces act along different lines, they form a couple and produce torque τ = pE sinθ. The torque tends to align p with E. Therefore option A is correct.
What is the net force on a dipole in a uniform electric field?
Correct answer: A
The governing idea is that a dipole in a uniform electric field experiences equal and opposite forces on its two charges. The positive charge is pushed along the field and the negative charge against it. Therefore, their vector sum is zero, although the separated forces can produce a torque. Hence option A is correct; the other choices confuse net force with torque or assume an unsupported direction.
For a dipole in a uniform electric field, the torque magnitude is given by τ = pE sin θ, where θ is the angle between dipole moment p and field E. Since sin 0° and sin 180° are both zero, torque vanishes when the two vectors are parallel or antiparallel. Thus option A is correct. At 90°, torque is maximum, so option B is the opposite case.
The torque on an electric dipole is τ = pE sin θ. For fixed dipole moment p and field E, the largest possible value of sin θ is 1, which occurs at θ = 90°. Therefore, the dipole moment must be perpendicular to the electric field, giving τmax = pE. Option A is correct. Parallel alignment gives zero torque, while zero field or zero charge also gives zero torque, not a maximum.
When a dipole is released in a uniform electric field, toward which orientation does it tend to rotate?
Correct answer: A
A dipole in a uniform electric field experiences zero net force but generally experiences torque τ = pE sin θ. This torque rotates the dipole so that its dipole moment p moves toward the direction of E. The parallel orientation is stable because the potential energy U = −pE cos θ is minimum there. Thus option A is correct; the other choices do not describe the electric torque.
Which is the stable equilibrium position of an electric dipole?
Correct answer: A
The potential energy of a dipole in a uniform electric field is U = −pE cos θ. At θ = 0°, the dipole moment is parallel to the field and U is minimum, so a small angular displacement produces a restoring torque; this is stable equilibrium. At θ = 180°, energy is maximum and equilibrium is unstable. Therefore option A is correct, while perpendicular alignment is not an equilibrium orientation for a nonzero field.
Which is the unstable equilibrium position of an electric dipole?
Correct answer: A
For a dipole in a uniform field, U = −pE cos θ. When θ = 180°, the dipole moment is antiparallel to the field and the potential energy is maximum, U = +pE. A small displacement then produces a torque that moves the dipole farther from this orientation, so it is unstable equilibrium. Hence option A is correct; parallel alignment has minimum energy and is stable.
If the dipole moment and electric field point in the same direction, what is the dipole’s potential energy?
Correct answer: A
The potential energy of a dipole in a uniform electric field is U = −p·E = −pE cosθ. When the dipole moment and field are parallel, θ = 0°, so U = −pE, the minimum possible value for fixed p and E. Hence option A is correct. The antiparallel arrangement gives maximum energy +pE, while perpendicular orientation gives zero energy.
If the dipole moment is opposite to the electric field, how is the dipole’s potential energy described?
Correct answer: A
For a dipole in a uniform electric field, U = −pE cosθ. In the opposite, or antiparallel, orientation, θ = 180° and cosθ = −1, giving U = +pE, the maximum value for fixed p and E. Therefore option A is correct. This is an unstable equilibrium because a small rotation produces torque that tends to turn the dipole toward the field direction.
What is the net force on an electric dipole placed in a uniform electric field?
Correct answer: A
In a uniform electric field, the positive charge experiences force +qE and the negative charge experiences force −qE. These forces have equal magnitudes and opposite directions, so their vector sum is zero: F_net = qE − qE = 0. Therefore option A is correct. A torque can still act when the dipole is tilted, so zero net force does not mean zero rotational effect.
When is torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field zero?
Correct answer: A
The torque on a dipole in a uniform field is τ = pE sin θ, where θ is the angle between the dipole moment and the field. For parallel alignment, θ = 0°, so sin θ = 0 and τ = 0; the antiparallel case also gives zero. Among the choices, option A is correct. Perpendicular alignment gives maximum torque, not zero torque.
When is torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field maximum?
Correct answer: A
The torque magnitude on a dipole is τ = pE sin θ. For fixed dipole moment p and field E, sin θ reaches its maximum value, 1, when θ = 90°. Therefore τ_max = pE and the dipole moment is perpendicular to the field, making option A correct. Parallel alignment gives zero torque, while zero charge or zero separation gives no effective dipole moment.
When released in a uniform electric field, what does an electric dipole generally try to do?
Correct answer: A
A dipole in a uniform electric field has zero net translational force, but it experiences torque τ = pE sin θ when its dipole moment is not aligned with the field. This torque reduces the angle θ and tends to rotate p into the field direction, the stable orientation. Hence option A is correct. The dipole does not lose charge or automatically vanish.
Why does a charge placed outside a closed surface not change the total flux through it?
Correct answer: A
Gauss’s law depends only on the net charge enclosed by a closed surface. An external charge can certainly produce an electric field on the surface, so option B is false. However, its field lines that enter the surface must leave it elsewhere; inward and outward contributions cancel in the closed integral. Thus its net flux contribution is zero.
What is possible when an electric dipole is placed in a non-uniform electric field?
Correct answer: A
In a non-uniform electric field, the field magnitude can differ at the positions of the positive and negative charges. The forces qE on the two charges may therefore have unequal magnitudes, so they do not completely cancel and a net force can act on the dipole. Option A is correct. In a uniform field the net force is zero, though torque may act; the dipole’s charges and moment do not disappear merely because the field is non-uniform.
A dipole is placed in a uniform electric field. If its dipole moment increases while the angle remains unchanged, what happens to the torque?
Correct answer: A
The torque on an electric dipole in a uniform field is τ = pE sin θ. If E and θ remain constant, torque is directly proportional to the dipole moment p. Thus, increasing p increases τ in the same ratio; for example, doubling p doubles the torque. Option A is correct. The torque would be zero only when θ is 0° or 180°, not merely because p changes.
If the electric field is doubled while the dipole moment remains unchanged, what happens to the torque at the same angle?
Correct answer: A
The magnitude of torque on a dipole is τ = pE sin θ. Here p and θ are unchanged, so τ is directly proportional to E. Replacing E by 2E gives τ′ = p(2E)sin θ = 2τ. Therefore the torque doubles and option A is correct. It becomes zero only for a parallel or antiparallel orientation, and it becomes four times only if both p and E were doubled.
Dipole moment is at ninety degrees to the electric field. What is the condition of torque?
Correct answer: A
The torque on an electric dipole in a uniform field is τ = pE sinθ, where θ is the angle between the dipole moment and the electric field. For θ = 90°, sin90° = 1, so τ = pE, its greatest possible value for fixed p and E. Therefore option A is correct. Torque is zero when the dipole is parallel or antiparallel to the field, because sin0° and sin180° are both zero; it is not half at ninety degrees.
Dipole moment is parallel to electric field. Why is torque zero in this case?
Correct answer: A
The torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field is τ = pE sinθ. When the dipole moment is parallel to the field, θ = 0°, and sin0° = 0; hence τ = 0. Physically, the equal and opposite forces on the two charges act along the same line, so they do not form a turning couple. Option A is correct. The charges do not disappear, the field unit is unchanged, and dipole torque does not depend on an area becoming zero.
When is torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field maximum?
Correct answer: A
The torque on an electric dipole in a uniform field is τ = pE sin θ, where θ is the angle between dipole moment p and field E. Its maximum value occurs when sin θ = 1, which means θ = 90°. Thus the dipole moment must be perpendicular to the field. For parallel or antiparallel alignment, sin θ is zero and the torque vanishes.
When is torque on a dipole in a uniform electric field zero?
Correct answer: A
For a dipole in a uniform electric field, torque is τ = pE sin θ. It becomes zero when sin θ = 0, which occurs at θ = 0° or 180°. These are the parallel and antiparallel orientations of the dipole moment with respect to the field. At 90°, torque is maximum, so the perpendicular option is not correct; field strength alone does not make torque zero.
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