Teaching Gauss's law as a problem-solving tool for problems with enough symmetry is traditionally done by using its integral form. Here we discuss the use of its differential form by solving problems with spherical, cylindrical, or planar symmetry. We verify this approach does not lead to significant increase in difficulty compared to the traditional one. As a matter of fact, we see the differential form avoids introduction of intermediate abstractions, like the concept of gaussian surface, which shows some of the potentialities of this approach for facilitating student's understanding of this law.
Keywords:
Gauss's law; electrostatics; gaussian surface