Question

An electric dipole is formed from ± 5.0 nc point charges spaced 3.0 mm apart. The dipole is centered at the origin and oriented along the y-axis. What is the magnitude of the electric dipole moment?

Answer 1

The magnitude of the electric dipole moment for point charges of ± 5.0 nc spaced 3.0 mm apart is 15 pC·m (15 × 10^-12 C·m).

Step-by-step explanation:

The magnitude of the electric dipole moment for a pair of point charges ±5.0 nc (nanocoulombs) spaced 3.0 mm apart, oriented along the y-axis and centered at the origin, can be calculated using the formula:

p = qd,

where p is the electric dipole moment, q is the magnitude of one of the charges, and d is the separation distance between the charges. The dipole moment is a vector quantity that points from the negative to the positive charge, so its direction in this case would be along the y-axis. However, since the question only asks for the magnitude, we only need to calculate the product of the charge and the separation distance:

p = (5.0 nc)(3.0 mm) = (5.0 × 10^-9 C)(3.0 × 10^-3 m) = 15 × 10^-12 C·m

The magnitude of the electric dipole moment is 15 pC·m (picoCoulomb meters).