Question

An astronaut on the ISS is doing an experiment with two puffy Cheetos inside a carefully sealed container. A charge of 1.2 E−5 C is place on the first Cheeto. The second one receives a charge of 2.5 E−6 C. The force acting on the first Cheeto is 5.73 E−1 N. What is the distance between the Cheetos if k = 8.99 E9 N*m2/C2?

A. 40 cm
B. 49 cm
C. 60 cm
D. 70 cm

Answer 1

A. 40 cm

We can use Coulomb's law to calculate the distance between the two Cheetos:

F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2

where F is the force acting on the first Cheeto, q1 and q2 are the charges on each Cheeto, k is the Coulomb constant and r is the distance between the two Cheetos.

Given that the force acting on the first Cheeto is 5.73 E−1 N, the charge on the first Cheeto is 1.2 E−5 C, the charge on the second Cheeto is 2.5 E−6 C and the Coulomb constant is 8.99 E9 N*m2/C2.

We can rearrange the equation to solve for the distance r:

r = (k * q1 * q2 / F)^(1/2)

r = (8.99 E9 N*m2/C2 * 1.2 E−5 C * 2.5 E−6 C / 5.73 E−1 N)^(1/2)

r = 0.04 m

So the distance between the two Cheetos is 40 cm.