Final answer:
The strength of the electric field decreases with the square of the distance from the charge, following an inverse square law. Doubling the distance from a charge causes the electric field strength to become one-fourth as strong. This is consistent with Coulomb's Law for the electrostatic force.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is related to electric fields and how the strength of the electric field varies with distance from a charge. According to Coulomb's Law, the electrostatic force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that if the distance between two charges is doubled, the electrostatic force between them becomes one-fourth of its original value.
In the case of the electric field strength due to a point charge, the strength is also inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the charge, thus exhibiting a 1/r² relationship. If we measure the electric field 0.5 m directly above the midpoint and then at 1 m, we would expect the electric field strength to become one-fourth as strong when the distance is doubled from 0.5 m to 1 m. This aligns with the inverse square law.
To calculate the electrostatic force, we use Coulomb's Law formula: F = k * (q1 * q2) / r², where k is Coulomb's constant (8.9875×10¹ Nm²/C²). For example, if we have two charges of 1 C each separated by a distance of 0.5 m, their electrostatic force can be calculated using this formula. If the distance is increased to 1 m, the force will decrease by a factor of four, because the square of the distance (r²) increases by a factor of four.