Positive and negative point charges of equal magnitude are kept at (0, 0, a 2 ) and (0, 0, -a 2 ), respectively. The work done by the electric field when another positive point charge is moved from (−a, 0, 0) to (0, a, 0) is

JEE Advanced 2007 Physics question

Positive and negative point charges of equal magnitude are kept at and , respectively. The work done by the electric field when another positive point charge is moved from (−a, 0, 0) to (0, a, 0) is

(A)positive
(B)negative
(C)zeroCorrect
(D)depends on the path connecting the initial and final positions

Answer: (C)

Solution

The two charges form a dipole along the z-axis, and the x-y plane (z = 0) is its equatorial plane, where every point is equidistant from +q and −q, so the potential is

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Question ID VK-037476