Question

A piece of styrofoam has a charge of 0.002 mC and is placed 0.5 m from a grain of salt with a charge of 0.03 nC. How much electrostatic force is produced?

Answer 1

2.16×10⁻⁶ N

Step-by-step explanation:

Applying,

F = kqq'/r² (coulomb's Law)....................... Equation 1

Where F = electrostatic force, k = coulomb's constant, q = charge on the styrofoam, q' = charge on the grain of salt, r = distance between the charges.

From the question,

Given: q = 0.002 mC = 2.0×10⁻⁶ C, q' = 0.03 nC = 3.0×10⁻¹¹ C, r = 0.5 m

Constant: k = 8.99×10⁹ Nm²/C²

Substitute these values into equation 1

F = (2.0×10⁻⁶)(3.0×10⁻¹¹)(8.99×10⁹)/0.5²

F = 2.16×10⁻⁶ N