Question

Two point-charges exert a 5 N force on each other. What will the force become if the distance between them is increased by a factor of three?

Answer 1

force decreased by a factor of 9

Step-by-step explanation:

According to Coulomb's law:

`F_c = C(C_1C_2)/(R^2)`

where C1 and C2 are the charges of the 2 points. Fc is the charge force and R is the distance between them. Since the distance is squared in the denominator, if R is increased by a factor of 3, the force Fc would be decreased by a factor of
`3^2 = 9` times