Question

A negative charge of -0.0005 C and a positive charge of 0.0007 C are separated by 0.83 m. What is the force between the two charges?

Answer 1

ANSWER

-4572.51 N

EXPLANATION

Given:

• The charge of one particle, q₁ = -0.0005 C

,

• The charge of a second particle, q₂ = 0.0007 C

,

• The distance between the charged particles, r = 0.83 m

Find:

• The force between the two charges. F

The force between two charged particles, q₁ and q₂, separated by a distance r, is given by Coulomb's Law,

$F=k\cdot\frac{q_1q_2_{}}{r^2}$

Where k is Coulomb's constant and has a value of approximately 9x10⁹ N*m²/C².

Replace the known values in the equation above and solve to obtain F,

$F=9\times10^9\frac{N\cdot m^2}{C^2}\cdot\frac{-0.0005C\cdot0.0007C}{0.83^2m^2}\approx-4572.51N$

Hence, the force between the two charges is -4572.51 N. The negative sign indicates that this force is attractive.