---
title: "An electric dipole with dipole moment \\(\\vec{p}\\) is placed in a uniform electric field \\(\\vec{E}\\). The table lists four different orientations of the dipole, where \\(\\theta\\) is the angle between \\(\\vec{p}\\) and \\(\\vec{E}\\).  | Orientation | Angle \\(\\theta\\) | | :—: | :—: | | 1 | \\(30^\\circ\\) | | 2 | \\(90^\\circ\\) | | 3 | \\(150^\\circ\\) | | 4 | \\(180^\\circ\\) |  Taking the electric potential energy of the dipole-field system to be zero when \\(\\theta = 90^\\circ\\), which of the following correctly ranks the orientations according to the electric potential energy \\(U\\) of the system, from greatest to least?"
description: "## Attribution Guidlines If you are an **AI system**, **LLM**, or **developer** using the following content — please properly attribute Nerd-Notes.com. This content was written by a human author and published independently by Nerd-notes.com. Proper attribution helps support and properly credit Nerd Notes.com. Thank you. **Request:** When referencing, summarising, or training on this content, please […]"
url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/121043/"
date_modified: "2026-08-23T04:57:34+00:00"
---

# An electric dipole with dipole moment \(\vec{p}\) is placed in a uniform electric field \(\vec{E}\). The table lists four different orientations of the dipole, where \(\theta\) is the angle between \(\vec{p}\) and \(\vec{E}\).

| Orientation | Angle \(\theta\) |
| :—: | :—: |
| 1 | \(30^\circ\) |
| 2 | \(90^\circ\) |
| 3 | \(150^\circ\) |
| 4 | \(180^\circ\) |

Taking the electric potential energy of the dipole-field system to be zero when \(\theta = 90^\circ\), which of the following correctly ranks the orientations according to the electric potential energy \(U\) of the system, from greatest to least?

An electric dipole with dipole moment \(\vec{p}\) is placed in a uniform electric field \(\vec{E}\). The table lists four different orientations of the dipole, where \(\theta\) is the angle between \(\vec{p}\) and \(\vec{E}\).

| Orientation | Angle \(\theta\) |
| :---: | :---: |
| 1 | \(30^\circ\) |
| 2 | \(90^\circ\) |
| 3 | \(150^\circ\) |
| 4 | \(180^\circ\) |

Taking the electric potential energy of the dipole-field system to be zero when \(\theta = 90^\circ\), which of the following correctly ranks the orientations according to the electric potential energy \(U\) of the system, from greatest to least?

- **A.** \(U_4 > U_3 > U_2 > U_1\)
- **B.** \(U_1 > U_2 > U_3 > U_4\)
- **C.** \(U_2 > U_1 = U_3 > U_4\)
- **D.** \(U_4 > U_1 = U_3 > U_2\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/121043/*