Three electrons are located at the vertices of an equilateral triangle,one at each vertex.The length of one side of the triangle is 1.00 nm.What is the magnitude of the net electrostatic force on each electron? A)2.30 * 10^-10 N B)3.25 * 10^-10 N C)3.99 * 10^-10 N D)4.60 * 10^-10 N

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The magnitude of the net electrostatic force on each electron can be found using Coulomb's law:

$F = \frac{kq^2}{r^2}$

where k is the Coulomb constant, q is the charge of each electron (which is the same), and r is the distance between the electrons (which is the same for all three electron pairs).

The force between two electrons will be repulsive, since they are both negatively charged. The angle between any two sides of an equilateral triangle is 60 degrees, so the distance between two electrons is the length of one side of the triangle.

$F = \frac{(9 	imes 10^9 	ext{ N}\cdot	ext{m}^2/	ext{C}^2)(1.60 	imes 10^{-19} 	ext{ C})^2}{(1.00 	imes 10^{-9} 	ext{ m})^2} = 3.99 	ext{ N}$

Since each electron experiences the same repulsive force from the other two electrons, the magnitude of the net electrostatic force on each electron is also 3.99 N.

Three Electrons Are Located at the Vertices of an Equilateral