Question

During lightning strikes from a cloud to the ground, currents as high as 2.50×10^4 Amps can occur and last for about 40.0 microseconds . How much charge is transferred from the cloud to the earth during such a strike?

Answer 1

1 C

Step-by-step explanation:

The intensity of electric current is defined as

`I=(q)/(t)`

where

I is the current

q is the amount of charge transferred

t is the time interval during which the charge is transferred

For the lightning in this problem, we have

`I=2.50\cdot 10^4 A` is the current

`t=40.0 \mu s = 40.0\cdot 10^(-6) s` is the time interval

Solving the formula for q, we find the amount of charge transferred:

`q=I t = (2.50\cdot 10^4 A)(40.0\cdot 10^(-6)s)=1 C`