GATE Electrical Engineering Electromagnetic Fields Syllabus

Electromagnetic Fields syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Electromagnetic Fields in GATE Electrical Engineering, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Coulomb's Law

   2 topics

   • Electric Field Intensity
   • Electric Flux Density
2. 2

   Gauss's Law

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

3. 3

   Divergence

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

4. 4

   Electric field and potential due to point, line, plane and spherical charge distributions

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

5. 5

   Effect of dielectric medium

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

6. 6

   Capacitance of simple configurations

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

7. 7

   Biot‐Savart’s law

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

8. 8

   Ampere’s law

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

9. 9

   Curl

   overview

   Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

10. 10

    Faraday’s law

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

11. 11

    Lorentz force

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

12. 12

    Inductance

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

13. 13

    Magnetomotive force

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

14. 14

    Reluctance

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

15. 15

    Magnetic circuits

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

16. 16

    Self and Mutual inductance of simple configurations

    overview

    Examined as a single unit within Electromagnetic Fields — no further topic split in the official outline.

Electromagnetic Fields flashcards for GATE Electrical Engineering

19 of 50 cards from the Electromagnetic Fields deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Define electric field intensity (electric field strength) at a point.

   It is the force experienced per unit positive test charge placed at that point: $\vec{E} = \dfrac{\vec{F}}{q}$, where $\vec{F}$ is the force and $q$ is the (small positive) test charge.

2. What are the SI units of electric field intensity $\vec{E}$?

   Newton per coulomb ($\text{N/C}$), which is equivalent to volt per metre ($\text{V/m}$).

3. State the electric field intensity at distance $r$ from an isolated point charge $Q$ in free space.

   $$\vec{E} = \frac{Q}{4\pi\varepsilon_{0} r^{2}}\,\hat{a}_{r}$$ directed radially outward for a positive charge.

4. What is the value of the permittivity of free space $\varepsilon_{0}$?

   $\varepsilon_{0} \approx 8.854 \times 10^{-12}\ \text{F/m}$, and $\dfrac{1}{4\pi\varepsilon_{0}} \approx 9 \times 10^{9}\ \text{N·m}^{2}/\text{C}^{2}$.

5. How does the electric field intensity of a point charge vary with distance?

   It follows an inverse-square law, $E \propto \dfrac{1}{r^{2}}$, so doubling the distance reduces $E$ to one-quarter.

6. Write the electric field due to $n$ discrete point charges using superposition.

   $$\vec{E} = \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{Q_{k}}{4\pi\varepsilon_{0} R_{k}^{2}}\,\hat{a}_{R_{k}}$$ where $R_{k}$ is the distance from charge $Q_{k}$ to the field point.

7. Express the electric field of a continuous volume charge distribution.

   $$\vec{E} = \int_{v} \frac{\rho_{v}\,\hat{a}_{R}}{4\pi\varepsilon_{0} R^{2}}\,dv$$ where $\rho_{v}$ is the volume charge density and $R$ is the source-to-field distance.

8. Define electric flux density (electric displacement) $\vec{D}$.

   It is the electric flux per unit area normal to the flux: $\vec{D} = \varepsilon \vec{E}$ (in free space $\vec{D} = \varepsilon_{0}\vec{E}$). It represents flux density independent of the medium.

9. What are the SI units of electric flux density $\vec{D}$?

   Coulomb per square metre ($\text{C/m}^{2}$).

10. State the relationship between $\vec{D}$ and $\vec{E}$ in a linear isotropic medium.

    $\vec{D} = \varepsilon \vec{E} = \varepsilon_{0}\varepsilon_{r}\vec{E}$, where $\varepsilon_{r}$ is the relative permittivity (dielectric constant).

11. Why is electric flux density $\vec{D}$ often preferred over $\vec{E}$ in problems involving materials?

    $\vec{D}$ depends only on the free charge and is independent of the medium's permittivity, whereas $\vec{E}$ depends on the medium. This simplifies boundary and Gauss's-law analysis.

12. Write the electric flux density at distance $r$ from a point charge $Q$.

    $$\vec{D} = \frac{Q}{4\pi r^{2}}\,\hat{a}_{r}$$ Note it contains no $\varepsilon_{0}$, since it depends only on the charge.

13. State Gauss's law in integral form for electric flux density.

    $$\oint_{S} \vec{D}\cdot d\vec{S} = Q_{\text{enc}}$$ The total electric flux out of a closed surface equals the free charge enclosed.

14. State Gauss's law in differential (point) form.

    $$\nabla\cdot\vec{D} = \rho_{v}$$ The divergence of $\vec{D}$ at a point equals the volume charge density there.

15. Define electric flux $\psi$ in terms of $\vec{D}$.

    $$\psi = \int_{S} \vec{D}\cdot d\vec{S}$$ measured in coulombs ($\text{C}$); by Gauss's law the flux through a closed surface equals the enclosed charge.

16. According to Faraday's experiments, how much electric flux emanates from a charge $Q$?

    The total electric flux $\psi$ equals the charge itself: $\psi = Q$ (in coulombs), independent of the surrounding medium.

17. Find $\vec{E}$ due to an infinite line charge of linear density $\rho_{L}$ at radial distance $\rho$.

    $$\vec{E} = \frac{\rho_{L}}{2\pi\varepsilon_{0}\rho}\,\hat{a}_{\rho}$$ The field varies as $\dfrac{1}{\rho}$ and is directed radially from the line.

18. Find $\vec{D}$ due to an infinite line charge of density $\rho_{L}$ at radial distance $\rho$.

    $$\vec{D} = \frac{\rho_{L}}{2\pi\rho}\,\hat{a}_{\rho}$$ obtained from Gauss's law using a coaxial cylindrical surface.

19. State the electric field intensity due to an infinite sheet of surface charge density $\rho_{s}$.

    $$\vec{E} = \frac{\rho_{s}}{2\varepsilon_{0}}\,\hat{a}_{n}$$ It is uniform, independent of distance from the sheet, and directed normal to it.

See more Electromagnetic Fields flashcards →

Planning Electromagnetic Fields for GATE Electrical Engineering

Electromagnetic Fields (GATE Electrical Engineering) FAQ