Question

Two charges, q1 and q2, are separated by a distance, r, and exert a force, F, on each other. Identify what new force will exist if q2 is cut in half and r is tripled.

Answer 1

The new force will be 1/18 of the original force when q2 is halved and the distance r is tripled, according to Coulomb's Law.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the new electrostatic force between two charges when one charge is altered and the distance between them is changed, we can apply Coulomb's Law, which states that the force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The formula is given by F = k*(q1*q2)/r^2, where F is the force between the charges, q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges, r is the distance between the centers of the two charges, and k is Coulomb's constant.

If the charge q2 is halved, it becomes q2/2, and if the distance r is tripled, the new distance is 3r. Substituting these into Coulomb's Law gives us the new force F' = k*(q1*(q2/2))/(3r)^2. Simplifying that, we get F' = (1/18)*k*(q1*q2)/r^2, which is 1/18 of the original force F. Therefore, the new force, when q2 is halved and r is tripled, will be F/18.