Question

A + 8.42 nC point charge and a - 3.75 nC point charge are 2.73 cm apart. What is the electric field strength at the midpoint between the two charges?

Answer 1

Given:

The charge q1 = 8.42 nC

The charge q2 = -3.75 nC

The distance between the charges is d = 2.73 cm

To find the electric field strength at the midpoint between the two charges.

Step-by-step explanation:

The distance between the charges and the midpoint is d' =d/2

The electric field strength can be calculated by the formula

`E\text{ = }(k|q|)/(d^(\prime2))`

The electric field strength at the midpoint due to the charge q1 will be

`\begin{gathered} E_1=\frac{9*10^9*8.42*10^(-9)\text{ C}}{((2.73)/(2)*10^(-2))^2} \\ =\text{ 4.07}*10^5\text{ V/m} \end{gathered}`

The electric field strength at the midpoint due to the charge q2 will be

`\begin{gathered} E_2=(9*10^9*3.75*10^(-9))/(((2.73)/(2)*10^(-2))^2) \\ =1.8*10^5\text{ V/m} \end{gathered}`

The electric field strength at the midpoint between the charges will be

`\begin{gathered} E=E_1+E_2 \\ =4.07*10^5+1.8*10^5 \\ =\text{ 5.87}*10^5\text{ V/m} \end{gathered}`

The electric field strength at the midpoint between the two charges is 5.87 x 10^(5) m.