9.1 Electric Potential Energy

Describe the electric potential energy of a system.

• The electric potential energy of a system of two point charges equals the amount of work required for an external force to bring the point charges to their current positions from infinitely far away.
• The general form for the electric potential energy between two charged objects is given by the equation
• The total electric potential energy of a system can be determined by finding the sum of the electric potential energies of the individual interactions between each pair of charged objects in the system. TOPIC 9.2 Electric Potential Course Return to T able of Cont © 2026 College Boar ents d Framework V.1