Final answer:
When the separation distance between two point charges is increased by a factor of three, the force between them is reduced to 1/9th of the original force. The new force will be 5.00 N / 9 = 0.56 N. Therefore, the correct answer is a) (0.56 N).
Step-by-step explanation:
When two point charges exert a 5.00 N force on each other and the distance between them is increased by a factor of three, we can determine the new force by using Coulomb's Law.
Coulomb's Law states that the electrostatic force (F) between two charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r) between them: F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2. When the distance is increased by a factor of three, the new force is calculated as F' = F / 3^2.
Substituting the provided values into the equation gives us F' = 5.00 N / 9 = 0.56 N. Therefore, the correct answer is (a) 0.56 N.
The force between two point charges is given by Coulomb's Law, which states that the force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
If the distance between the charges is increased by a factor of three, the force between them will decrease by a factor of 1/9. This is because the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance.