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title: "An electric dipole consists of two point charges, \\(-q\\) and \\(+q\\), fixed on the \\(x\\)-axis at positions \\(x = -d/2\\) and \\(x = +d/2\\), respectively. Three points in space are identified as follows:  * Point \\(P_1\\) is located at the origin \\((0, 0)\\). * Point \\(P_2\\) is located on the \\(x\\)-axis at \\((d, 0)\\). * Point \\(P_3\\) is located on the \\(y\\)-axis at \\((0, d/2)\\).  Which of the following correctly ranks the magnitudes of the net electric field \\(E_1\\), \\(E_2\\), and \\(E_3\\) at points \\(P_1\\), \\(P_2\\), and \\(P_3\\), respectively?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/117053/"
date_modified: "2026-08-04T06:17:07+00:00"
---

# An electric dipole consists of two point charges, \(-q\) and \(+q\), fixed on the \(x\)-axis at positions \(x = -d/2\) and \(x = +d/2\), respectively. Three points in space are identified as follows:

* Point \(P_1\) is located at the origin \((0, 0)\).
* Point \(P_2\) is located on the \(x\)-axis at \((d, 0)\).
* Point \(P_3\) is located on the \(y\)-axis at \((0, d/2)\).

Which of the following correctly ranks the magnitudes of the net electric field \(E_1\), \(E_2\), and \(E_3\) at points \(P_1\), \(P_2\), and \(P_3\), respectively?

An electric dipole consists of two point charges, \(-q\) and \(+q\), fixed on the \(x\)-axis at positions \(x = -d/2\) and \(x = +d/2\), respectively. Three points in space are identified as follows:

* Point \(P_1\) is located at the origin \((0, 0)\).
* Point \(P_2\) is located on the \(x\)-axis at \((d, 0)\).
* Point \(P_3\) is located on the \(y\)-axis at \((0, d/2)\).

Which of the following correctly ranks the magnitudes of the net electric field \(E_1\), \(E_2\), and \(E_3\) at points \(P_1\), \(P_2\), and \(P_3\), respectively?

![A two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system with a horizontal x-axis and a vertical y-axis intersecting at the origin. Two point charges lie on the x-axis: a negative charge labeled -q at position x = -d/2 and a positive charge labeled +q at position x = +d/2. Point P1 is marked at the origin (0, 0). Point P2 is marked on the positive x-axis at position x = +d. Point P3 is marked on the positive y-axis at position y = +d/2. A dashed horizontal segment along the x-axis connects -q to +q with total length labeled d. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1785824227-jovzIG.jpg)

- **A.** \(E_1 > E_3 > E_2\)
- **B.** \(E_2 > E_1 > E_3\)
- **C.** \(E_1 > E_2 > E_3\)
- **D.** \(E_3 > E_2 > E_1\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/117053/*