Static Electricity - Mission SE9 Detailed Help

Two objects (X and Y) are placed a particular distance from each other. The charge on X is 1.160 x 10-6C and the charge on Y is 2.68 x 10-6C. If the force between the objects is 0.0500 N, what is the distance (in meters) between the two objects?
 
(Numbers are randomly selected and may differ from those listed above.)


 
Coulomb's Law of Electrical Interaction:
The electrical force exerted between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of the quantity of charge on the objects (Q1 and Q2) and inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance (d) between the two objects. In equation form:     
  
Felect= k • Q1• Q2/ d2

where k is the constant of proportionality known as the Coulomb's law constant. The value of k is 9.0x109N•m2/ C2.


 
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Coulomb's law equation (stated in the Know the Law section) can be used to calculate the separation distance between objects X and Y. The equation is set up to solve for force so the first steps will involve algebra steps to transform the equation into the form of d = ... . Once done, known values of k, Q1 and Q2 (in units of Coulombs or C) and F (in units of Newton or N) can be substituted into the equation to solve for the separation distance.


 

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