Two charged particles 1 m apart exert a 1-N force on each other.If the particles are instead 0.5 m apart,the force on each particle will be
A)1.0 N.
B)2.0 N.
C)4.0 N.
D)8.0 N.
E)16.0 N.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The force between two charged particles is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Using the formula F = k(q1q2)/r^2 where k is Coulomb's constant, q1 and q2 are the charges of the particles, and r is the distance between them, we can solve for the charges of the particles.

1 N = k(q1q2)/1^2  --> q1q2 = 1/k

When the distance between the particles is halved to 0.5 m, the force between them will increase by a factor of 4 (inverse of the square of 0.5).

F' = (4)(1 N) = 4 N

Since the charges of the particles do not change, the force on each particle will be the same. Therefore, the force on each particle will be 2 N (half of 4 N).

Therefore, the correct answer is C) 4.0 N.

Two Charged Particles 1 M Apart Exert a 1-N Force