If the distance between two charges is doubled, how does the electrostatic force
Practice Questions
Q1
If the distance between two charges is doubled, how does the electrostatic force between them change?
It doubles
It halves
It quadruples
It reduces to one-fourth
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the distance between two charges is doubled, how does the electrostatic force between them change?
Step 1: Understand that electrostatic force between two charges is described by Coulomb's law.
Step 2: Know that Coulomb's law states that the force (F) is inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r) between the charges. This means F ∝ 1/r^2.
Step 3: If the distance (r) is doubled, we can express this as r becomes 2r.
Step 4: Substitute 2r into the formula: F ∝ 1/(2r)^2.
Step 5: Calculate (2r)^2, which equals 4r^2.
Step 6: Now, the formula becomes F ∝ 1/(4r^2).
Step 7: This means the new force (F') is F' = F/4, indicating that the force is reduced to a quarter of its original value.
Coulomb's Law – Coulomb's law describes the electrostatic force between two charges, stating that the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
