Define the potential difference between two points.

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Jasmine Grover

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Potential difference, also known as voltage, is a measure of the electrical potential energy difference between two points in an electric circuit. It represents the amount of energy required to move a unit charge from one point to another in the circuit.

  1. The potential difference between any two points is defined as the amount of work done to move a unit of positive charge without acceleration from one point to another between the two points.
  2. It is denoted by dV.

dv = \(dw \over dq\)

  • The potential difference between two points in a circuit can be thought of as the electrical equivalent of the height difference between two points in a gravitational field.
  • Just as the height difference determines the amount of potential energy that an object possesses, the potential difference between two points in a circuit determines the amount of energy that is available to be transferred to the circuit's components.
  • Potential difference is usually measured in volts (V), which is a unit of electrical potential.

potential difference

Therefore, the potential difference between two points in a circuit is a measure of the electrical potential energy difference between those two points and represents the amount of energy that is available to be transferred to the circuit's components.

The potential difference between baby two points A and B is the shift in the potential energy of a charge q, divided by the charge when it’s shifted from A to B.

Vb – Va \({U_b - U_a \over q} = {W_{ab}\over q} = dV\)

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CBSE CLASS XII Related Questions

  • 1.
    The figure shows three point charges kept at the vertices of triangle ABC. The net electric field, due to this system of charges, at the midpoint M of base BC will be:

      • \( \frac{q}{4 \pi \epsilon_0 l^2} \) pointing along MA
      • \( \frac{q}{\pi \epsilon_0 l^2} \) pointing along AM
      • \( \frac{q}{2 \pi \epsilon_0 l^2} \) pointing along AM
      • Zero

    • 2.
      A tank is filled with a liquid to a height of \( 12.5 \, \text{m} \). The apparent depth of a needle lying at the bottom of the tank is measured to be \( 9.0 \, \text{m} \). Calculate the speed of light in the liquid.


        • 3.
          A long solenoid of length \( L \) and radius \( r_1 \) having \( N_1 \) turns is surrounded symmetrically by a coil of radius \( r_2 \, (r_2>r_1) \) having \( N_2 \) turns (\( N_2 \ll N_1 \)) around its mid-point. Derive an expression for the mutual inductance of solenoid and coil. Is \( M_{12} = M_{21} \) valid in this case?


            • 4.
              Write any two features of nuclear forces.


                • 5.
                  Suppose a pure Si crystal has \( 5 \times 10^{28} \) atoms per \( \text{m}^3 \). It is doped with \( 5 \times 10^{22} \) atoms per \( \text{m}^3 \) of Arsenic. Calculate majority and minority carrier concentration in the doped silicon. (Given: \( n_i = 1.5 \times 10^{16} \, \text{m}^{-3} \))


                    • 6.
                      Two parallel plate capacitors X and Y are connected in series to a 6 V battery. They have the same plate area and same plate separation but capacitor X has air between its plates, whereas capacitor Y contains a material of dielectric constant 4. Calculate the capacitances of X and Y, if the equivalent capacitance of the combination of X and Y is \( 4 \, \mu\text{F} \). Calculate the potential difference across the plates of X and Y.

                        CBSE CLASS XII Previous Year Papers

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