Answer:
Using Coulomb's Law, we know that the force of attraction between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. In this case, we have two charged spheres 5m apart with an attraction of 15.0 x 10^6 N.
a) If both charges are doubled and the distance remains the same , we can calculate the new force of attraction using Coulomb's Law. Doubling the charges means we have a new charge of 2q on each sphere. Plugging in the new values, we get:
F = k * (2q)^2 / (5m)^2 = 4 * (k * q^2 / 5m^2) = 4 * (15.0 x 10^6 N) = 60.0 x 10^6 N.
Therefore, the new force of attraction is 60.0 x 10^6 N.
b) If an uncharged, identical sphere is touched to one of the spheres and then taken far away, the touched sphere will take on the same charge as the original charged sphere. This is because the charges on the two spheres will equalize and redistribute when they touch. The new force of attraction between the two charged spheres will be the same as the original force before the sphere was touched, since the charge on the touched sphere is the same as the original charged sphere. Once the touched sphere is taken far away, it will no longer contribute to the force of attraction between the two charged spheres, and the force will remain the same.
c) If the separation between the two charged spheres is increased to 30 cm, we can calculate the new force of attraction using Coulomb's Law. Plugging in the new distance value, we get:
F = k * q^2 / (0.3m)^2 = (k * q^2) / (0.09m^2) = (15.0 x 10^6 N) * (5^2) / (3^2) = 125.0 x 10^6 N.
Therefore, the new force of attraction between the two charged spheres is 125.0 x 10^6 N.
Step-by-step explanation: