Question

(a) How strong is the attractive force between a glass rod with a 0.700 μC charge and a silk cloth with a –0.600 μC charge, which are 12.0 cm apart, using the approximation that they act like point charges? (b) Discuss how the answer to this problem might be affected if the charges are distributed over some area and do not act like point charges.

Answer 1

The attractive force between a 0.700 µC charged glass rod and a -0.600 µC charged silk cloth 12.0 cm apart is 0.2625 N, as calculated by Coulomb's law. If charges are distributed over an area instead of acting as point charges, the force calculation might differ, depending on the geometry and distribution of the charges.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the attractive force between a glass rod with a 0.700 µC charge and a silk cloth with a -0.600 µC charge that are 12.0 cm apart, we can use Coulomb's law. Coulomb's law is given by the formula F = k * |q1*q2| / r^2, where F is the force between the charges, q1 and q2 are the values of the charges, r is the distance between the charges, and k is Coulomb's constant (approximately 8.988 × 10^9 Nm^2/C^2). Plugging in the values, we get F = (8.988 × 10^9 Nm^2/C^2) * |0.700 × 10^-6 C * -0.600 × 10^-6 C| / (0.12 m)^2, which results in a force of approximately 0.2625 N.

Discussing how the answer to this problem might be affected if the charges are distributed over some area rather than acting like point charges: The resulting force might differ from the point charge approximation. This is because the distribution of charge affects the electric field produced by the charges, potentially reducing the force if the charges are spread out over a larger area compared to being concentrated at a point. The effect typically depends on the actual distribution and geometry of the charges.

Answer 2

a)
`F=-3.1465 N`

b) Greater attractive force

Step-by-step explanation:

Assuming they are point charges, we can use coulomb's law to know the magnitude of the force between these objects:

`F=(kq_1q_2)/(d^2)`

Here, K is the Coulomb constant,
`q_1` and
`q_2` are the point charges and d is the distance bewteen the charges.

a) So, we have:

`F=((8.99*10^9(Nm^2)/(C^2))(7*10^(-6)C)(-6*10^(-6)C))/(12*10^(-2)m)\\F=-3.1465 N`

b) There will be a greater amount of charge on the side closest to the object with opposite charge, therefore this will increase the charge at that point, increasing the attractive force.