What is the correct unit for the electric field?

What is the correct unit for the electric field?

• A. V/m
• B. J/C
• C. C/N
• D. N/C

Answer: (D)

Electric field strength is defined as the force a test charge would experience per unit of charge placed in the field. That makes its unit newtons per coulomb, since E = F/q. In SI, this is equivalent to volts per meter (1 N/C = 1 V/m), so you can also write the field as V/m, but the standard unit is N/C. The other options don’t fit: energy per charge (J/C) isn’t a field, and charge per force (C/N) isn’t the right quantity.

Electric field strength is defined as the force a test charge would experience per unit of charge placed in the field. That makes its unit newtons per coulomb, since E = F/q. In SI, this is equivalent to volts per meter (1 N/C = 1 V/m), so you can also write the field as V/m, but the standard unit is N/C. The other options don’t fit: energy per charge (J/C) isn’t a field, and charge per force (C/N) isn’t the right quantity.