---
title: "An electric dipole with a dipole moment of magnitude \\(p = 5.0 \\times 10^{-6} \\text{ C}\\cdot\\text{m}\\) is located in a uniform electric field of magnitude \\(E = 4.0 \\times 10^3 \\text{ N/C}\\). The dipole is initially oriented antiparallel to the electric field and is then rotated by \\(180^\\circ\\) so that it is aligned parallel to the field. What is the change in the electric potential energy \\(\\Delta U\\) of the dipole-field system during this rotation?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/121067/"
date_modified: "2026-08-23T04:57:41+00:00"
---

# An electric dipole with a dipole moment of magnitude \(p = 5.0 \times 10^{-6} \text{ C}\cdot\text{m}\) is located in a uniform electric field of magnitude \(E = 4.0 \times 10^3 \text{ N/C}\). The dipole is initially oriented antiparallel to the electric field and is then rotated by \(180^\circ\) so that it is aligned parallel to the field. What is the change in the electric potential energy \(\Delta U\) of the dipole-field system during this rotation?

An electric dipole with a dipole moment of magnitude \(p = 5.0 \times 10^{-6} \text{ C}\cdot\text{m}\) is located in a uniform electric field of magnitude \(E = 4.0 \times 10^3 \text{ N/C}\). The dipole is initially oriented antiparallel to the electric field and is then rotated by \(180^\circ\) so that it is aligned parallel to the field. What is the change in the electric potential energy \(\Delta U\) of the dipole-field system during this rotation?

![A two-dimensional diagram showing a region with a uniform electric field. Three horizontal, parallel, solid black arrows of equal length point toward the right, evenly spaced vertically, labeled with a single \vec{E} above the top arrow. Centered between the field arrows is an electric dipole represented by a horizontal line segment with two small circles at its ends. The left circle contains a plus sign and the right circle contains a minus sign. A single arrow labeled \vec{p} points from the negative circle on the right toward the positive circle on the left. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/dipole-rotation-setup-1787461061-uuPPye.jpg)

- **A.** \(-4.0 \times 10^{-2} \text{ J}\)
- **B.** \(-2.0 \times 10^{-2} \text{ J}\)
- **C.** \(+2.0 \times 10^{-2} \text{ J}\)
- **D.** \(+4.0 \times 10^{-2} \text{ J}\)

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/121067/*