Students often find the study of electrostatics to be abstract, heavily mathematical, and non-intuitive. This paper describes an inquiry-based approach to teaching electrostatics in an introductory calculus-based physics class that emphasizes the primacy of student conceptual understanding.

1.
Randal
Harrington
, “
Getting a charge out of transparent tape
,”
Phys. Teach.
38
,
23
(
Jan.
2000
).
2.
The Electrostatic Balloon Lab utilizes video analysis software. Sample videos and data at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g45slf7f9o6xr0p/AAD9dvpbwc1JQep-K7hQvJ_Na?dl=0.
3.
Richard
Leacock
, “
Coulomb’s Law
,”
Internet Archive
, uploaded by A/V Geeks, Feb. 6,
2011
, https://archive.org/details/coulombs_law.
4.
The Coulomb’s Constant Simulation utilizes a PhET simulation to determine the proportionality Coulomb’s constant, https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/coulombs-law/latest/coulombs-law_en.html.
5.
Peter H.
Bohacek
, “
Using a laptop screen to model point-source, line-source, and planar-source fields
,”
Phys. Teach.
49
,
124
(
Feb.
2011
).
6.
Christopher A.
Brueningsen
, “
Tinkering with Gauss’s law
,”
Phys. Teach.
32
,
12
(
Jan.
1994
).
7.
The Electric Potential PhET Simulation utilizes a PhET simulation to determine the relationship between the electric potential and distance for point charge, an “infinite” line of charge, two “infinite” “sheets” of charge, and for a “spherical” shell of charge, https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/charges-and-fields/latest/charges-and-fields_en.html.
8.
The Electric Potential PhET Simulation data and data analysis, https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2z9oq9iz6gb4uy7/AADESyDetyCPKYWhMW-f3oPda?dl=0.
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