Question

The work done in carrying a point charge from one point to another in an electrostatic field depends on the path along which the point is carried.
(A) True
(B) False

Answer 1

Hint:
Work done for point charges is the amount of energy required to move a charge from one point to another. An electrostatic field is the physical field that is supposed to surround an electrically charged particle.

Complete step by step answer:
A point charge is a hypothetically charged object regarded as concentrated in a mathematical point in space, without any spatial context. And electrostatics is the field of study of these charges at rest, not essentially point. The charges exert a force on each other and this is given by Coulomb's Law. The charges follow a simple rule: like charges repel, and unlike charges attract each other.
An electric field is assumed to be present around any electrically charged particle. The imaginary field lines come out of a positively charged particle and enter into a negatively charged particle. Electric field is also defined as the electric force per unit charge, and hence the intensity of electric field lines is directly proportional to the electric force at that point.
An electrostatic field is also conservative in nature. This means that the amount of work done in moving a point charge from one point to another only depends on the charge’s initial and final position and not on the path it takes to move.
Hence, the correct answer for the given question is option (B); False.

Note:
Just like the electrostatic field, the gravitational field is also conservative in nature. We know that the work done is calculated as the product of force and displacement. So, if a body moved in a circle and came back to its initial position, the displacement will be zero and so will be the work done.