Question

A proton and an alpha particle are released from rest when they are 0.225 nm apart. The alpha particle (a helium nucleus) has essentially four times the mass and two times the charge of a proton. What is the initial acceleration of the alpha particle?

Answer 1

To find the initial acceleration of the alpha particle, you can use Newton's second law of motion and Coulomb's law to calculate the force between the proton and the alpha particle and divide it by the mass of the alpha particle.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the initial acceleration of the alpha particle, we can use Newton's second law of motion, which states that force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma). In this case, the force is the Coulomb force between the proton and the alpha particle.

The Coulomb force can be calculated using Coulomb's law, which states that the force between two charged particles is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Plugging in the given values, we have:

F = (k * (e1 * e2)) / r^2

Where k is the electrostatic constant (approximately 9 * 10^9 Nm^2/C^2), e1 and e2 are the charges of the proton and the alpha particle respectively, and r is the distance between them.

The initial acceleration of the alpha particle can then be found by dividing the force by its mass.