The nonconducting ring radius R shown above lies in the yz plane and carries a uniformly distributed charge Q.
A) determine the electric potential aat points along the X axis as a function of X.
I've been going at this for hours and have no clue how to start this one please help me.

Question

The nonconducting ring radius R shown above lies in the yz plane and carries a uniformly distributed charge Q.
A) determine the electric potential aat points along the X axis as a function of X. 
I've been going at this for hours and have no clue how to start this one please help me.

mrdoe · Answer

You should have derived the equation of the electric field along the perpendicular axis from the center of a charged ring in class. So take that and substitute it into the equation for electric potential in place of the electric field. Remember in your question the perpendicular axis from the center of the ring is the x-axis. There is a great summary here on the electric field due to a charged ring: http://www.phys.uri.edu/~gerhard/PHY204/tsl34.pdf

mrdoe · Answer

check out that link cause the ring is set up in the same plane as in your question