Question

Determine the magnitude Enet of the net electric field at point P. Use K for the electrostatic constant. Express your answer in terms of q, d, and K.

Answer 1

To calculate the net electric field at point P, Coulomb's law is applied to each charge, which determines their individual electric fields, and then these are summed vectorially to find the combined effect at P.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the magnitude of the net electric field at point P, we apply Coulomb's law.

A single point charge Q creates an electric field E at a distance r from the charge that has a magnitude given by:

E = k|Q|/r²

Where k is the electrostatic constant, Q is the charge creating the field, and r is the distance from the charge to the point where the field is being calculated.

If the problem involves multiple charges, we would calculate the electric field due to each charge separately and then vectorially add these fields to find the net electric field (Enet) at point P.

For instance, if there were two charges q1 and q2 at distances d1 and d2 from point P, their respective electric fields would be:

• E1 = k|q1|/d1²
• E2 = k|q2|/d2²

Then, the net electric field (Enet) would be a vector sum of E1 and E2, accounting for the direction of each field relative to point P.

Answer 2

The magnitude of the net electric field at point P is calculated by summing the electric fields due to individual charges. The electric field due to a point charge is E = k|Q|/r², where k is the electrostatic constant and r is the distance from the charge to the point.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the magnitude of the net electric field (Enet) at point P, you need to consider the electric fields generated by the individual charges and then calculate their vector sum. If we consider a point charge Q, the magnitude of the electric field (E) it creates at a distance r from it is given by the equation:

E = k|Q|/r²

where k is the electrostatic constant (K in this context), and r is the distance from the charge to the point in question. If there are multiple charges, you would calculate the electric field due to each charge at point P and sum them vectorially to get Enet.