| charge distribution | The spatial arrangement and density of electric charge in a region of space. |
| chemical processes | Reactions that cause separation of positive and negative charges, such as those occurring in a battery to create electric potential difference. |
| displacement | A vector quantity representing the change in position from one point to another. |
| dot product | A mathematical operation between two vectors that produces a scalar result, used to determine the component of one vector in the direction of another. |
| electric field | A vector field that represents the force per unit charge exerted on a test charge at any point in space due to a charge distribution. |
| electric field component | The magnitude of the electric field in a specific direction (such as x, y, or z direction). |
| electric field vector map | A visual representation showing the direction and magnitude of the electric field at various points in space. |
| electric potential | The electric potential energy per unit charge at a point in space, describing the work done per unit charge to move a test charge from a reference point to that location. |
| electric potential difference | The difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points in a circuit, measured in volts. |
| equipotential lines | Lines that connect points of equal electric potential in an electric field; also called isolines of electric potential. |
| integration | A calculus method used to sum infinitesimal contributions to find the total electric field from a continuous charge distribution. |
| isoline map | A visual representation showing lines of equal value (such as equal electric potential) across a region. |
| point charge | An idealized model of a charged object treated as if all its charge is concentrated at a single location in space. |
| principle of superposition | The principle that the total electric field is the vector sum of fields produced by individual charges. |
| scalar superposition | The method of adding scalar quantities (electric potentials) from multiple sources to find the total potential at a point. |
| spatial rate of change | The rate at which a quantity changes with respect to position or distance in a particular direction. |
| test charge | A point charge of small enough magnitude that its presence does not significantly affect the electric field it is used to measure. |