Question

The electric potential at a certain location from a point charge can be represented by V. What is the value of the electric potential at the same location if the strength of the charge is tripled?

Answer 1

If you triple the charge, the electric potential is 3V.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you triple the charge, the electric potential is 3V. Put another way, the value of the electric potential at the same location is tripled if the strength of the charge is tripled.

But why this is true?

Well, the potential V due to a single point charge q is:

`V=(1)/(4\pi\varepsilon_(0))(q)/(r)`

If the strength of the charge is tripled means that our new q1=3q, therefore:

`V=(1)/(4\pi\varepsilon_(0))(3q)/(r)`

`V=3(1)/(4\pi\varepsilon_(0))(q)/(r)`

So you can see that in fact if you triple the charge, the electric potential is 3V.