Lesson T5.2.2

T5.2.2 Electric fields Quiz: KS3 Physics, Unit 5

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T5.2.2, Electric fields: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Physics (National Curriculum), Unit 5: Electricity and magnetism, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is an electric field?

    • A region where a magnet attracts iron and pulls it towards it
    • A region where a charged object experiences a force
    • A thin layer of air that surrounds a battery and insulates it
    • A flow of electric current through a wire connected to a cell

  2. Which force acts between two charged objects that are not touching?

    • Tension in a rope
    • Electrostatic force
    • Contact friction
    • Upthrust in a liquid

  3. Which way do electric field lines point around a positive charge?

    • Along the surface of the charge
    • Towards the positive charge
    • In circles around the charge
    • Away from the positive charge

  4. Where is an electric field strongest?

    • Equally strong at every distance
    • Only at the edges of a large object
    • Close to the charge that creates it
    • Far away from the charge in empty space

  5. What does it mean when electric field lines are close together?

    • The charges there are moving very fast
    • There is no charge in that region
    • The field is stronger in that region
    • The field is weaker in that region

  6. Electric field lines never cross each other. Why?

    • Lines repel each other in all directions
    • At any point the field has only one direction
    • Lines only exist between two charges
    • Crossing lines would cancel the charge

  7. Which way does a small positive charge move when placed in an electric field?

    • In the direction of the field lines
    • It stays still in any field
    • At right angles to the field lines
    • Against the direction of the field lines

  8. What shape do the field lines between a positive and a negative charge make?

    • Circles that wrap all the way around the positive charge only
    • Straight lines that run parallel to each other across the gap
    • Lines that leave the negative charge and never reach the positive one
    • Curved lines running from the positive charge to the negative charge

  9. Between two like charges, the field lines do which of these?

    • Join the two charges in a straight line
    • Point towards one of the two charges only
    • Circle around each charge
    • Curve away from each other and do not join

  10. Two parallel metal plates carry opposite charges. What does the field between them look like?

    • Circles of changing strength
    • Lines that spread out in all directions
    • Parallel lines of nearly equal strength
    • Lines that are strongest at the edges

  11. A negative charge creates an electric field. Which way do its field lines point?

    • Away from the negative charge
    • Towards the negative charge
    • Along the surface of the charge
    • Round it in circles

  12. Why can a charged balloon attract a wall without touching it?

    • The wall is magnetic, so it pulls the balloon in across the gap
    • Air carries a small amount of its charge across the gap to the wall
    • The balloon's weight makes it slide down the wall until it reaches it
    • Its electric field reaches across the gap and acts on the wall

  13. A charged object is moved further away from a second charge. What happens to the force between them?

    • It stays exactly the same
    • It gets stronger
    • It reverses direction
    • It gets weaker

  14. Arrows are drawn on electric field lines. What do the arrows show?

    • The direction a positive charge would be pushed
    • The temperature of the surrounding air
    • The mass of the charged object
    • The speed of the electrons in the field

  15. Field lines spread out from a point charge. What happens to the spacing of the lines as the distance from the charge increases?

    • They spread further apart
    • They bend into circles
    • They get closer together
    • They stay the same spacing

  16. A negatively charged object sits in the field of a positive charge. Which way is the force on the negative object?

    • Towards the positive charge
    • Away from the positive charge
    • Upwards at right angles
    • There is no force, because it is negative

  17. Why does an electric field act on a charge placed inside it?

    • Only positive charges feel any electric force
    • Charges need to touch the field to feel it
    • The field exerts a force on any charge placed in it
    • Fields only act on metal objects

  18. Which statement about the electric field around a charged object is correct?

    • It exists in the space around the object, even where there is no matter
    • It exists only at the moment the object is actually touched by someone
    • It can exist only in a perfect vacuum with no air or other matter
    • It is found only inside the charged object and never outside of it

  19. Which change would make the electric force between two charges larger?

    • Increasing the distance between them
    • Making both charges neutral
    • Moving the charges closer together
    • Moving the charges further apart

  20. A charged object is held near a neutral metal sphere. Why does the side of the sphere nearest the object become charged?

    • The object's weight pushes the charges around inside the metal sphere
    • The sphere heats up on the side nearest the object and the charges move
    • The sphere absorbs all the stray charge from the air around it in the room
    • The field pushes electrons towards or away from that side, separating the charges

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