Question

Three point charges are arranged on a line. Charge q3 = 5.00 nC and is at the origin. Charge q2 = -3.50 nC and is at x = 5.00 cm. Charge q1 is at x = 1.50 cm. What is the arrangement of the charges on the line?

1) q1 is between q2 and q3
2) q2 is between q1 and q3
3) q3 is between q1 and q2
4) q1 and q2 are on the same side of q3

Answer 1

Charge q1 is between q2 and q3 on the line, with q1 at x = 1.50 cm, q3 at the origin, and q2 at x = 5.00 cm.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question you have asked pertains to the arrangement of three point charges on a line. Assuming we are considering the charges along a one-dimensional axis (let's call it the x-axis), the arrangement can be described in comparison to their positions relative to the origin (which is a fixed point on the axis). To explain this simply, if we are given the distances of each of the charges from the origin, we can precisely determine their arrangement.

In your case, charge q3 = 5.00 nC is said to be at the origin (x = 0), charge q2 = -3.50 nC is at x = 5.00 cm, and charge q1 is at x = 1.50 cm. Knowing their positions along the x-axis, we can say that q1 is between q2 and q3 since q1 is located at 1.50 cm which is between the origin (0 cm) and 5.00 cm where q2 is located. Therefore, option 1) 'q1 is between q2 and q3' is the correct arrangement for these three charges.